Summary: For years she had to watch as the folly of her horrid mistake was forced upon her only child. Forced to wait for the chance to correct her horrid mistake, born from ignoring her instincts and leaving her child in the hands of the untrustworthy. But now, the path to correct her mistake was open to her once more. Though is it too late, will her child not forgive her, has his pain corrupted him beyond healing? Only time could say for sure, but she would sooner impose a self-exile to Tartarus for eternity than give up before she had even tried. She owed him that much, at the very least, and by Chaos, he would get it if it was the last thing she ever did. Rated M for safety and possible future smut.
AN: Ok, this is my first Fanfiction, so please be nice. I've got a lot of shit planned for this story, yes, shit. As I honestly don't think I'll be very good or received very well but this idea just wouldn't leave me alone and just kept building. I remember once hearing an author (don't remember who) saying that an idea's likely good if you let it put it on the back burner and you can still remember it or it just keeps growing. Or, it was something like that, likely didn't get the wording right but I remember what they were getting at. So given that this idea just wouldn't leave me be I put pen to paper, well, fingers to keys, and typed this out. So you know, this will have other series and elements from other series involved but the primary ones will be Naruto and Percy Jackson.
AN2: Though I've posted this in the Naruto/ PJO crossover page I thought to put it here too, as I will be having this be a multi-installment story that will have Naruto going back to the Elemental Nations later, this installment will be focused in the Percy Jackson universe, so I figured it best to let you all read the lead-up to it and decide if you want to read the other installments when we get there. However, if I get enough readers saying to take it down, as there is a page for this crossover, I will.
Hope you all like it and please remember to REVIEW it after you finish. Oh, and Happy Halloween.
(Chapter 1) What the Hell Is This
Slowly opening his eyes, Naruto was greeted by the sight of a dimly lit room. Yet, that quickly changed due to a small campfire bursting to life in the center of the "room" no sooner or later than when he sat up. Though that was rather difficult as despite not feeling restrained for the first time in his life, his whole body was in excruciating pain, and finally, there was the fact he found himself in the most comfortable bed he had ever been in. Which, was no small task thanks to Princess Haruna, Princess Koyuki, and the royal family of The Land of the Moon all making sure that he was in the lap of the most incredible luxury they could offer while his team and he recovered from the battles that had plagued their mission. However, it was more so the two princesses that had done so specifically for him, for reasons that escaped him, with the rest of his team simply being treated as honored guests. Meanwhile, he was treated as reverently as the two princesses, turned Daimyōs, themselves were for the duration of their brief recovery before they left to return to their village and report their mission's success.
Shaking his head to pull his mind from his scattered thoughts, the blonde refocused on his surroundings, and, much to his surprise, the added light of the small fire showed that he was not in a room but a tent. Provided the cloth making up the walls was any indication as for all he knew, at the moment, the bed could simply be sectioned off from the rest of the room like it had been in the room that Princess Haruna and Princess Koyuki had each let him stay in. Moreso, as Naruto examined his surroundings, he found that the bedframe was seemingly constructed from freshly cut branches and held together by leather straps. Shooting the chances of his thought of it being in a tent up to being as good as guaranteed.
Looking around the "tent", Naruto found it to be rather barren of furniture, only having a single tripod stool, positioned by the fire, that had been constructed from wood that was scavenged from a forest, given that it still had bark on it, and was held together with a leather strap. Next, Naruto spotted a crude table made from a half-cut log with three branches jammed into the curve of it. Two on either end of one side and one in the middle on the other as a counter-support. Looking at the floor that the furniture stood upon, the blonde became dumbfounded as it was covered in a multitude of different furs save for around the fire. As they formed a, clearly cut, circle around it followed by a slightly closer circle of the same thick cloth making up the rest of the "tent" before it gave way to a small gap of dirt up to the fire itself.
Though the gap was near nonexistent given that what the fire didn't take up was almost entirely taken up by an encirclement of stones around the said fire, the sight of which, completely removed the last chance, which was already highly doubtful, of him not being a tent.
Yet, that all was an afterthought at this point, as he simply couldn't get over how many furs were blanketing the floor due to his shinobi training teaching him how to spot fake furs from the real thing, along with the quality. Training that was all to allow fresh genin to more easily spot spies who were trying to pass themselves off as a high-end trader or hunter, no matter if they were a fresh genin like themselves or an accomplished Jonin who had gotten sloppy for one reason or another. And so that they, themselves, would be harder to spot given how common the cover was. Though, from what he could see they, much like his blanket, the furs covering the floor were all prime pelts.
It also wasn't helping that looking at the different furs made his head throb, likely from all the names of various animals pooping into his head one after another as his gaze moved over the floor. Yet, it wasn't just the names, he knew the animal's behavior patterns, and common diet for the species, the habitats most ideal for the species' population advancement and individual growth, how best to replicate that habitat in captivity, the size, and age of the animal that was killed to make the pelt versus the standard sizes others matching its age, the same going for the weight, and finally, how to perform any, and all surgeries a member of the species may need. It was enough to give Naruto a splitting headache as there were various pelts and all the information was trying to flood in at once. Even with the absurd amount of clones he used, the feedback was never this bad.
Finding it best not to keep staring that the pelts, the blonde looked around the tent for any other objects. Finding nothing else in the tent save for an occasional metal rod with a lit candle atop it. Naruto's eyes moved to the walls, all too eager to keep his eyes off the floor to continue to alleviate his pounding head. Only finding that they were covered with large images that had been woven directly into the thick cloth. Some of a young, long auburn-haired, seemingly female, hunter chasing her prey, others of an island that he felt strangely connected to, one of a black sun scorching the barren lands with its scaling flames, another of a person-sized version of the red swirl on the backs of all Konoha flak jackets, there was even a stunning image of a turbulent sea with a raging storm over it. Yet, all of that paled compared to what was sown into the two sides of the sloped roof. On one side was an incredibly detailed image of the moon with many stars in its background. Then, much to his confusion, the other was that of the Kyūbi no Kitsune peacefully sleeping in the mouth of a cave on the side of a mountain facing out at a beautiful meadow with a winding river cutting through it.
Shaking his head yet again, Naruto flipped the dual-sided fur blanket off himself only to shiver and look down at himself to find he was completely naked. Yet, before he could even debate what to do, there was a flash of light off to the side. Pushing through his slight discomfort, The Dreaded Prankster King of Yomi-no-Kuni looked out to inspect the tent once more, with his attention instantly honing in on the neatly folded pile of clothes that now sat atop the leather hide seat of the tripod stool. Raising from the bed, Naruto approached the stool, unconsciously sighing in relief and gratitude for the stool being so close to the fire upon its warmth washing over him, ending the irritating discomfort of the slight chill in the air.
Running his hand over the top of the folded, dark, ever so slightly reflective, dark silver cloth, the Number One Unpredictable, Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja found that the cloth was not only silk but the smoothest silk he had ever felt. It was like it was made from water with how flawless its smooth texture felt to his touch. What's more, the blonde could see, just from the opening in the collar of the outfit, that the inside was lined with fur. Which, just like that of the silk, was the softest fur he had ever felt. If he had to guess, the fur lining was not just one pelt, but rather the pelts of a hundred Chinchillas, if not more, all sewn together. With the furs pattered in such a way that the different silverish-gray colors looked like the swirling of numerous currents flowing from one vortex to the next. Making it all too clear that for whoever had lined the silk with the furs, it was done not only as a labor of love but they had personally bred the Chinchillas to the fur pattering they wanted.
Turning his attention to the collar of the outfit, he noticed that the weaver who had crafted the clothing had used silk that, though very close in color to the dark silver of the main body for the article, was still varied to not only be a different tone but also varied enough in itself to create a near-invisible pattern of storm clouds. In addition, Naruto noticed that one could just barely see what looked to be a second, inner, pure white collar. Lifting the edge, our blonde found that even the inside of the secondary collar was lined with chinchilla fur, and in the same pattern as the rest. The person who made the kimono was blatantly trying to give the illusion of an inner layer to the outfit, much like…
Starting to develop a sinking feeling in his gut, the supposed dead last of his class grabbed the edges of the shoulders for the clothing and lifted it into the air, causing it to smoothly unfold before his very eyes, like the flow of a calm stream. Upon getting a better look at the outfit, he confirmed his suspicion that it was, in fact, a very extravagant kimono. Though it was much heavier than it had any normal right to be even with the fur lining, and someone had made an apparent effort to make sure it would be able to pass for a full kimono despite its very apparent customization when not being worn.
Looking at the kimono in its entirety, his eyes were drawn to the bottom and sleeve hems that had been done in the same manner as the outer collar. The difference was that the hem along the bottom had a pattern of a raging sea. While the hem around the opening for the sleeves had the pattern of a chain of identical suns, with them being slightly more noticeable than the other patterns due to the suns' darker coloring.
Looking at the image of the Black Sun on the tent walls, Naruto found that the chain of suns on the hem of the sleeves was identical to the style of the sun in the image. Flipping the kimono around to look at the back, he was surprised to find a different color than silver, as there was a large, white, moon big enough that it covered the entire portion of the upper back. Turning the kimono around in his hands once more, he paused halfway through before turning the clothing to look at the other shoulder, and sure enough, there was a near-invisible, and dark silver version of the red spiral on the Konoha flak jackets.
Sighing, and with no other choice, the Hero of the Land of Waves, the Land of Moon, the Land of Snow which was renamed to the Land of Spring, and the Land of Vegetables slipped the kimono onto his body. Only to be surprised when the fire quickly grew a small, but still noticeable amount, somehow losing heat but increasing in light. Almost magically seeming to shift from providing him warmth to focusing on fully lighting up the tent now that the kimono was draped over his form. Honestly, things were starting to weird him out.
After all, the last things that he remembered were clashing with Sasuke one final time to end their fight, determined to bring him home and fulfill his promise to Sakura while also keeping him from the clutches of Orochimaru. Drifting in and out of consciousness, allowing him to briefly catch the sight of a humanoid silhouette that seemed to radiate the moonlight. Something he chalked up to a dream after waking up in the hospital back in the village and having his talk with Ero-Sanin. Then he suddenly wakes up in the most comfortable bed he had ever been in, only for it to defy reason due to being made from harvested forest branches, a leather hide, and leather straps. With placed in a spartanly decorated tent save for the many prime pelts used to carpet the floor and make up the blanket covering him. Oh, and let's not forget being buck-ass naked as the day he was born. Only for a fire to spontaneously ignite itself, which could now apparently control itself, and be given what seemed to be a highly expensive kimono that appeared out of fucking nowhere.
Sure, he was known to be unpredictable but this was becoming more inconceivable and asinine by the minute, even for him. And that was coming from the one that could pull out one stupidly impossible strategy after another from his ass, mid-fight, only for them to somehow work or even save the day in some cases.
*SMACK*
'Get a fucking grip Naruto, you got no clue where you are and strange shit is happening. You're all alone and in a Ninja's worst nightmare. You don't have the luxury of freaking the fuck out right now. That will just get your sorry ass six feet under,' our blonde thought to himself after striking both his hands against his perspective checks.
Folding the kimono closed, the blue-eyed boy grabbed the dark orange obi, idling noting that it had a pattern of multiple fluffy tails, of some sort, that was spiraling around its length. Wrapping it around his form before tying it off and then sliding the not to the center of his back. Looking back at the stool, Naruto couldn't help but groan at the unmistakable sight of a haori, given that he was already wearing the kimono it wasn't too hard to figure out what the next folded shirt-like item was. Plus, the admittedly modified but expensive kimono and the haori signaled one sure fact. Whatever, or more likely, whoever, had given him these clothes did so with formality in mind.
Which, much to his ire, meant he just lost a bet he had made with the Old Man Third, who had very stubbornly insisted on teaching him how to not only recognize the level of importance a kimono had and how to put all the pieces on by himself but that he would be grateful for the lessons one day. Oh, how the old monkey was either laughing his ass off at his misfortune or celebrating having finally won a bet against him.
Picking up the haori, he was shameless in his relief that there was no Haori Himo or Hakama. Meaning, that for whatever reason he was given the kimono, let alone the specificity of giving a kimono in the first place, the one responsible wasn't an uptight louse, and they could be, at the very least, a bit relaxed.
Turning his attention back to the article of clothing in his hands, Naruto shifted his hands to hold the shoulders, just as he had done for the kimono, so he could inspect it. Yet, much to his surprise, the haori was of equal length as the kimono itself. Though, in light of the kimono's modifications, he supposed he shouldn't be all that shocked that the haori wouldn't follow standers either. Shaking his head and refocusing once more, the blonde saw that the inside of the haori was the same dark orange as the obi, yet, there was the silhouette of a roaring nine-tailed fox that looked suspiciously like the Kyūbi in the same slightly reflective dark silver as the main body of his kimono. Though, the ears on the Kitsune were far too short and instead looked very much like normal fox ears.
Moving on to the rest of the haori, The Prankster King of Yomi-no-Kuni raised an eyebrow at seeing it was sleeveless. The outside of the haori was a pure white, in front at the very least. Turning the clothing around to see the back, Naruto saw that it too was pure white but had a thick, dark silver outline of the Kitsune silhouette on the inside that just about took up the entirety of it. Finally, there was a slightly reflective, dark silver image of the moon that only mostly cover his upper back this time and the moon had a white, undrawn bow with an arrow laid over it in the position it would be if it was notched and the bow drawn. Additionally, there were three other images, of the same silver fabric, surrounding the moon in a triangular pattern. The first was on the lower right-hand corner of the formed triangle and was a silver depiction Konoha Spiral, the second was on the lower left-hand corner of the formed triangle and was a depiction of a Three-Pronged Kunai that looked like the silhouette of the Kunai the Fourth Hokage was famous for using. The final image was at the peak of the triangle, and therefore above the moon, and was a depiction of the sun in the same style as the chain of suns along the hem of his kimono sleeves and the image of the black sun on the wall of the tent.
After slipping the haori on, Naruto turned back to the stool and picked up the last item consisting of white silk tabi with the same fur lining as his kimono. Sitting on the stool Naruto slipped the tabi on his feet. Once he had the tabi on his feet, the campfire, and candles extinguished themselves allowing the blonde to find the entrance to the tent given that it was the only wall with light entering through the slit between the two flaps. Standing, the blonde walked to the door and pulled one of the flaps to the side with his attention looking down in hopes of finding shoes. What he saw was another fur pelt with another tripod stool made from foraged wood, held together with a leather strap and a leather hide for the seat itself. Finally, in front of the stool was a pair of zōri sandals, but just like the rest of his clothes, they had been modified. Picking the zōri up to put them on, Naruto paused and flipped the sandal in his hands over and saw the bottom was covered in a quarter of an inch thick rubber before it gave way to an eighth of an inch of tread. Flipping the sandal back over the Numer One Unpredictable, Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja observed that the wood of the zōri was hollowed out, turning it into a shell, that was filled with some kind of firm but giving material. Only knowing the material has a cushion effect to it due to augmenting his hand strength with chakra and giving a squeeze, though the give that the material had shown when he did so wasn't much. The zōri still had the two straps that were positioned in the traditional v shape, however, they were made from the same slightly reflective, dark silver silk that was so prominent throughout his kimono. There was also, a third u-shaped strap to go around the back of his heel and hold the customized zōri to his foot.
No sooner did Naruto have the sandals on his feet, with a minor bit of difficulty thanks to the tightness of the third u-shaped strap, than the sky cleared just enough for a beam of Moonlight to land on the ground just before him and the two torches on either side of him extinguished themselves just as the campfire and candles had done before them. Standing, Naruto stepped forward only to pause with a quirked eyebrow at the two things that happened. First, the beam of light sifted forward, as seen by the section of ground being illuminated change to no longer include the pelt before the entryway of the tent, clearly showing the gap of moonlight was reacting in accordance to his movement. Second, was that there was no sound from his foot shifting from the fur pelt to the dirt of the forest. Thirdly, though more an idol thought than anything, that being it feeling as though he was walking on a cloud, with a slight sensation of weightlessness to him.
Lifting a foot to be even with the knee of his other leg, Naruto forcibly stagnated the flow of chakra in his raised leg before slamming it down with as much force as he could. Yet still, there was no sound. Smirking, the prankster in him, forcibly broke free of the suppression, that he had put it under since his graduation from the academy, and couldn't help but become enraptured at this fact, not even ninja sandals were this soundless. Oh… whoever gave him these, without a shred of doubt, failed to account for all the sure CHAOS he could unleash with them.
"HEHEHEHEHEHEHE," the lone Uzumaki chuckled evilly, simply unable to contain his wicked glee, with no regard for who may hear.
From that moment, he no longer cared in the slightest about who had done all of this for him, their motives, whether he was in enemy territory, how far in he was if so, that he had no weapons on his person, if he was even in the Land of Fire anymore, or if there was even a way home if he wasn't. For as far as Naruto was concerned, whoever blessed him with this momentous gift just became his best friend and he would see to it that they were oh so handsomely rewarded for their most generous and thoughtful gift. Oh yes, they would, and his victims… oh his victims, they would learn the true meaning of the terror that could only be brought forth by The Prankster King of Yomi-no-Kuni.
Elsewhere
Letting out the mother of the sneezes, a man, standing in his office while looking out the window, letting him oversee a warehouse-sized building with a maze of conveyor belts, that were moving a proverbial sea of packages. The man brought his free hand to his temple and began to rub it in an attempt to head off his building and sudden migraine
"Bro, Bro, Bro you still with me man," a masculine voice called from his phone against his other ear as two snakes endlessly spiraled around the phone's extendable antenna that was topped with a pair of wings.
"Ya… ya I'm still here."
"You don't sound too good, you need me to check you out?"
"No, no, I'm good. I… I just got a really bad vibe right now, like some new, mischievous monster of insanity was just unleashed in our world."
"Don't worry about it too much man, you know pops. He'll send my little sis to find it before putting an end to it if there was one. And hey, if she can't put it down, for whatever impossible reason, pops will just zap it to kingdom come. Trust me on this, prophecy is my thing, not yours, remember?"
"Uh, ya… ya your right," the man nervously replied, 'and I pray to Chaos you truly are, for all our sakes,' he privately thought to himself, strangely feeling his dreed, mysteriously and expediently grow at the mention of his half brother's twin.
Back with Naruto
Ducking under yet another branch, Naruto continued to walk through the dense forest that the tent had been set up at the edge of. He had tried walking away from the forest, to his immediate right and left, yet the area illuminated by the light of the moon, which made its way through a gap in the thick thunderclouds, only ever moved when he tried entering it. The short-tempered Uzumaki would have just explored elsewhere but learned firsthand that once he got so far from the base of the beam of moonlight, his vision became increasingly consumed in pitch-black darkness. Leaving him with no choice but to follow after the ever-elusive illuminated ground, as the two facts of his present situation made it all too clear that someone or something was behind this and was using his restriction and the light to guide him somewhere by force. He just prayed that this wasn't being caused by some poltergeist getting its jollies by screwing with him.
"You try living in a world with giant, talking animals, having a mountain-sized fox of pure chakra trapped inside you, and still not become open-minded to and fearful of what else could be out there," Naruto grumbled to himself as he recalled the harassment his team put him through when they found out that he not only believed ghosts existed but had an extreme fear of them.
Sighing, Naruto focused back on the present as stepped around the side of a bush, only to find the very beginnings of a game trail. As the ground was just starting to show the signs of the consistent troding that had gone through the section of forest. Looking to his left, Naruto found the trail deteriorated until it was reclaimed by nature. Looking to his right, Naruto was rather surprised that the beam of moonlight had shifted to have the trail cut right through its center. Taking a few hesitant steps toward the area of lit ground, the blonde boy was flooded with relief at the change of course as the moonlight was veering off of the straight line it had been on and was now moving along the game trail.
However, after a minute or two of walking, The Prankster King of Yomi-no-Kuni was horrified to realize that the area of illuminated ground was becoming dimmer. Looking up to the moon through the branches of the many trees surrounding him, he found that the gap in the clouds wasn't shifting as it once had, but was now slowly filling in. Bringing his focus back to the illuminated ground before him, Naruto began rushing toward it as fast as he could. Yet, to his continued horror, this, for some reason only caused the moonlight to vanish faster, in turn, causing his panic to spur him forward even faster.
Dropping to his hands and knees, upon the moonlight truly vanishing, Naruto rapidly and repeatedly slammed a fist into the very soil he knelt upon as hard as he could. Kicking up a bit of dust as his fist slowly formed an ever-expanding crater. Shifting into a seiza sitting position, our blond was about to throw his head back and bellow in frustration but stopped as the glow of moonlight cut through the thicket before him as though someone had just flicked on a light switch further into the forest. Taking a moment to look up, Naruto confirmed that there was no gap in the clouds to be causing such a phenomenon to be happening before returning his line of sight to ahead of him once more. The blonde genin rosing to his feet, pausing to brush off the expensive kimono with relief at just how strangely easy it was to return the normally difficult-to-clean silk to such pristine condition before the only Uzumaki of Konohagakure began to approach the phenomenon with as much serenity as he could muster.
After all, it didn't take a Naria to figure out that he would likely be coming face-to-face with the one responsible for the tent, the furs in the tent, and the highly expensive and, though modified for greater comfort, formal kimono. Even then, it wasn't like he wasn't a match for, if not superior to, any Naria when he was being serious like he had shown in the pranking spree that had earned him the title of The Prankster King of Yomi-no-Kuni, from the whole village. Which left such a lasting impact he was also known to send ANBU, many of whom were hardened assassins, into mental breakdowns with nothing more than a mischievous smirk after said spree and the subsequent two-week-long chase that followed after. And given that the kimono given was very expensive in appearance as well as material, to the point of it bordering on extravagant, and that it also had all the necessities to be considered formal. Well, even he knew a certain level of behavior would be expected of him from one that had more than shown to have the means to demand it.
Approaching the end of the thicket, Naruto had to shield his eyes as the moonlight suddenly flared in intensity before dying out entirely. Blinking a few times as he lowed his arms, our blonde was stunned to see he had seeped out of a forest and into a void of moonlight with a single large building that radiated moonlight even more than that of the void surrounding it.
The building was large, very large, but simple in design. From what he could see, it was square with a triangular-shaped roof. The roof was larger than the base that it sat upon and had cylindrical pillars lining its edge to support it. Nearing the building, Naruto saw the pillars etched with what looked to be numerous hunters, all of them young girls no older than sixteen by his guess, on various stages of a hunt. Some even stood victorious over the strangest creatures he had ever seen. Yet, the thing all the pillars had in common, in his line of sight that is, was the center had a chain of large etchings of the moon.
Quickly moving beyond the pillars, Naruto found the wall before lost its illuminated glow and became as black as a starless night with the only glow coming from numerous small white dots with silver lines connecting select ones. Blatantly depicting constellations he had never seen before. Reaching the pale, double doors to the building, Naruto placed his hands against them only to slightly shift one over its surface. Taken aback by its granulated feel, almost like that of a beach or perhaps the surface of the moon given the various crater designs on the door, even being able to feel a slight rise along the edges of them despite still somehow feeling smooth to the touch.
Pumping a large amount of chakra throughout his body to brace for the strain that would come from attempting to open such large doors, he nearly fell flat on his face when the doors seemingly reacted to his chakra. Glowing with the same moonlight he had seen all night before slowly swinging open all on their own. What greeted him was a floor that looked just like that of a forest floor which had been untouched by any living being. The walls were painted in the image of a forest of such realism that as he moved forward and looked to the side, it was as though he was moving through a real forest yet not all at the same time. Like someone had built their home in a forest but left the flora while constructing walls of glass around it. But when he looked forward again, there was a clear hallway once more. Stopping to run his fingers along the floor, he found it was the same as the doors he just passed through in that the leaves, twigs, grass, and dirt all felt real yet flawlessly smooth all at the same time. Taking a deep intake of breath, Naruto found that it not only smelt like a forest but if he stopped to listen, he could hear the chatter of various animals and even some insects despite the interior being bathed with moonlight, and the ceiling looking having like a flawless night sky with a full moon with the same realistic appearance as that of the walls looking like that of a real forest.
Decorating the walls, and helping to cut through the illusion of realism they had, were numerous picture frames that had full-body portraits of girls who were as plain as day hunters. All of whom, once more, could be no older than sixteen by his guess. They had various yet routine outfits as if they were wearing a single uniform that had been changed to fit with the passing of the eras, and though most didn't, some had a tiara that was identical to the others who had it. Though there was never more than one of each girl, as there were smaller portraits of the girl in the more updated outfit as it changed, that surrounded the central portrait of the girl, making it clear that the largest one was that of the girl when she joined… whatever group it is that she joined. But, even as the uniform changed it retained the same color scheme, that being predominantly sliver. With the various shades as the only difference among the corresponding uniforms. Yet, as the uniform became increasingly similar, but remaining different, to a mix of the standard Jonin and ANBU uniforms, other colors were added in but only two that he had seen so far. Which were pure white and black.
Hearing the sound of running water from a creek or calm river, Naruto almost brought his attention before him when he caught sight of something impossible. It was a portrait of himself, though much larger than the others, its frame alone running the entire height of the wall and with a near equal with. He also wasn't in the uniform the girls were in, no each portrait in the frame was him whenever he made a change to his wardrobe. Yet, the center portrait was him not only as a baby but just as buck-ass naked as he found himself in the tent. Oh, and he had fox ears that most certainly didn't have now but also weren't fake given he had no human ears; then there was the fact that he had nine, NINE, fox tails growing from what he guessed was his tailbone if not a bit higher. He wasn't sure given that baby him was being cradled in the arms of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen who was looking down at baby him with a small smile with a look of adoring love in her eyes.
The woman looked to be roughly twenty, Five foot four inches if not a smidge taller, with light silver eyes that would have looked like non-activated Byakugans, as they also seemed to be missing their pupil, if not for their silver coloring seeming to glow with the light of the moon. Finally, she had auburn hair that looked brown with a red hue and in a braid that hung over her right shoulder while reaching to just before her elbow. Making it look like it was tickling his baby feet given his head was being cradled in the crook of her left elbow. She was wearing a wreath of tightly woven, silver, Laurel leaves running right across her hairline with a gap that was roughly a third of the with of her forehead right in the front center of the wreath. How he knew the type of leaves when he had never seen them before baffled him, almost as much as her garb. As she was wearing what looked like a pure white sack with a hole cut for her legs and the top cut in such a way that it narrowed into strips held together by a silver brooch each to form the holes for her arms and head. It also left much of her sizeable cleavage exposed given the front hung in a way that front was decorated by a few wide, U-shaped, overlaying, wrinkles. There was also a, maybe four-inch, light silver strap running around her abdomen just above her hips, while the length of the… dress… only reached mid-thigh. Finally, she had on a pair of silver sandals that seemed to be nothing more than a foot-shaped flap of leather with a pair of long leather strips webbed over her foot before wrapping their way halfway up her shins in such a way that they made three segmented x's.
All in all, Naruto honestly doubted the woman was even human with how unearthly the beauty of her appearance was. And given the way the strap around her abdomen helped to show the curves of her thin but athletic build, going from what he could see of the woman's arms and legs, even a blind man would find it impossible that she was human. How could anyone do so? As she had an appearance that the most beautiful kunoichi would commit mass genocide against their loved ones and village just to have their appearance become a fraction closer to hers. Yet, completely disregarding her beauty, Naruto felt a strange connection and drawing to her.
Forcing himself to tear his focus from the woman and back to himself, to see what else was different about baby him in the portrait given all the others were like looking at a younger version of how he had always been. The first thing, after once more accepting he was being depicted with fox tails and ears, he found was that his hair was different. Yes, it was still blonde, predominantly so, and just as spikily untamed as it had always been regardless of what he tried, but it was no longer only blonde. Instead, it was a mix of highlights, two different shades of a dark, dull red, one of which looked to be made of dense red chakra rather than hair, given the slight crimson glow those strands had. Then, the final color was an auburn identical to the woman holding him. Naruto also noticed that the hair, or fur covering his ears and tails, was the same mix. Scouring his baby self for any other differences, the only other one he could see was his eyes. They were no longer just the dark blue he was used to, instead, the irises had both the dark blue he had always known and the same light silver as the woman holding him, with the two colors somehow painted to look like they were moving in tandem with each other. Giving the iris the look like ocean waters reflecting moonlight. The effect was only made that much greater by how the iris seemed to faintly glow with the same moonlight that the silver in the woman's eyes did albeit a bit dimmer. In Turn, making the iris stand out from his strangely crimson sclera and violet pupil.
Turning from the details for a specific area of the portrait to looking at it as a whole, Naruto could tell that despite its picturesque quality of it, it was not a picture. Rather, it was a painting so detailed, with such fine and light strokes that it simply looked like one. Honestly, the amount of clarity in it alone despite being a painting was astounding. There was also the fact that it was done so well that it looked as though the woman was truly standing there holding a real baby version of himself. That was reaching for the woman's face with a bright smile, no doubt to depict him incoherently babbling, or more likely giggling at the moment.
"This way… come to me…," Naruto heard, not a second after finishing his observations of the portrait, a woman's voice calling him that he could only find her tone to be ethereal. With a surging tsunami of feelings, that he could only describe as being connate, of safety and belonging that spread a type of warmth through him that he had never felt before.
Turning to look back down the hallway, the blonde started walking once more. Not even bothering to look around him anymore and solely focused on meeting the one calling him with such a voice, and more than likely, the one responsible for his current situation and dress.
"That's it… you're almost to me… just a little further," the melodious voice, that inexplicably drew him, of the woman sounded though out the hallway so clearly she may as well be right before him if not speaking directly to his mind.
Seeing a sliver of moonlight came into his sight that reached from floor to ceiling, as he absent-mindedly noted the slight bend the hallway now had, while he watched it grow wider the closer he got until it consumed his sight. Once he reached the wall of light, he went to place his hand against it, only for it to grow in brightness just as light emanating from beyond the thicket had done when he reached the edge of the said thicket. Only to find himself in a void of Moonlight with the very building he now stood in before him when he stepped beyond the thicket. Though this time Naruto made no attempt to shield his eyes with his hand, but rather simply bent them around his back with one hand in a fist and the other clasping his wrist while he waited for the light to dim.
"It's ok now… you can open your eyes… I will not harm you," Naruto heard the woman speak, gently prompting him when he hesitated for a moment.
After all, regardless of how enchanting her voice was to him or how he couldn't fight his longing to hear her more, this woman had, meaning to or not, gone to great lengths to display her power to him and what her position demanded of him with the attire provided for him.
"I did not give you those clothes to intimidate you, but so you might be dressed befitting your status, and my displays of power were to make accepting what I am easier for you," the woman spoke, seemingly reading his thoughts.
"That's because I did,"
Snapping his eyes open at the woman's admission, Naruto was stunned to find the very woman in the portrait holding "baby him", down to the last detail. Yet, as his eyes took in her form, his surroundings faded from his mind and all he could see was her. The portrait simply didn't do her justice, how could anyone, anything, be this stunning? And for it to be a woman to do so, with no visible makeup, how was that even possible? Didn't women obsess over that stuff to bring out or magnify their beauty even more?
'What, in the name of the kami, is she?'
"I am a kami silly, just not one you're familiar with, and thank you for the flattery. Few have ever said such things about me with such purity, let alone thought them with such honesty. So it makes me happy that my son is among both numbers." The woman stated, violently ripping Naruto from his revere of her, shattering the connate feelings of safety, and belonging, as well as replacing the unrecognized warmth flowing through him with a freezing blizzard ridding arctic winds.
In turn, causing Naruto's attention span to finally take notice of his surroundings, as he found that he could still see, within his peripheral vision, the corners of where the hallway met the room, that he was now looking into. The floor was now a lush carpet of real grass and spread its way into the start of the hallway before transitioning into the fake, but realistic-to-touch forest floor. There was even a real river cutting through the circular room, provided he was seeing the bend in the "walls" right. Their construction did make seeing their shape to be rather hard to accurately discern given he was still unsure if he was really in a building with how extreme of an effect the "walls" had. Other than that, there were two large logs, from very old fallen trees judging by their sure size, just a bit away from the narrow dirt bank of the river. Leaning against one of the two parallel logs, was the woman from the portrait with he legs together and tucked beside her. Hardly a position to start a fight from, a note that Naruto tucked away should he have miss heard her as if he hadn't, it meant she was either that confident in her skill, that powerful, or simply that foolish. Finally, she had the head, of the largest and most magnificent hind he had ever seen, laying in her lap while she slowly stroked the top of its head. It had golden antlers, silver and white dappled hide, with bronze hooves.
Internally growling at his abnormally easily distracted mind, especially for him during matters of importance to him, that in and of themselves were potentially life-altering revelations that could never be undone. Naruto, yet again, internally growled in frustration with himself, before forcing his mind back on track.
"What did you just say," the blonde hissed in barely restrained rage, before unclenching his fist and giving it and his nails a glance to see his bloody but healed palm, as well as his extended and finely pointed nails that were also covered in blood, his blood that had a near orange color to it now.
At least now he wasn't weaponless should a fight break out between the two. As kami or not, if he hadn't miss heard her, then a fight would happen, and he would force her hand to kill him less she end up getting killed herself. After all, she was a kami, meaning there wasn't a single reason to leave him in that hell he had been forced to endure for the last thirteen, very nearly fourteen now, years.
Gulping as subtly as she could at her son's thoughts and mindset, to not give anything away thing. While she also used her divine powers to scramble his instinctive read on her emotions just to further that end. Given that the truth of the matter was that the auburn-haired woman's nervousness skyrocketed faster than her father could be blinded by his paranoia. After all, she already knew he'd be pissed, by hades, he had every right and then some to be far, far more than pissed at her after all he had been through because of her, and that was at the very least. Which, he very much was, judging by his thoughts and manic gleam in his eyes at the sight of his new, two-and-a-half-inch, blatantly thick claws.
These facts were the very reason she had made sure not to give him anything that could even remotely be used as a weapon, and a slight reason for his kimono's modifications beyond making it more comfortable for him. As it also removed his ability to simply shed a layer to use his obi for his kimono as a means to strangle her and still maintain his dignity with the under kimono still tied closed. Sure, he could still do so, but he would have to reveal himself to implement such a strategy, not that it would seem to matter now that he had claws. Though even without them, he was still far beyond what she had anticipated, and something as trivial as dignity would be the last thing on his mind if he went to kill mode.
Thus, her next words HAD to be right if she were to avoid losing her only child and gaining horrid scars. Scars which she would refuse to let her brother heal as a penance for not only what her son had suffered because of her but as well as for having to take his life, even if it would be done so as painlessly as she could. He was her child after all and above anyone else, didn't deserve to suffer further. They would also serve as a self-imposed reminder to never again doubt her instincts as that was the very thing that brought this entire situation to where it now was, even after the Fates had already taught her that lesson once before in her long life.
Almost as though they had foreseen her having him, the horrid mistake she would make on the day he was born, what that mistake would do to her precious child, and had shown her a disguised kindness in trying to teach her a lesson to keep it from happening in the first place. Yet, she, in all her stupidity did not truly heed the painful lesson they had been kind enough to give her to spare her child. With her child being the one to bear the consequences of failure to learn. A mistake, and insult to the Fates, that she had been diligent in ensuring she would never make again, less they make one she cared for bear the price that should be her's to pay yet again.
"I did not leave you by choice," the woman said, both stripping her son of any doubt he had of her earlier admission and gambling everything she had that the way she worded her response would be enough to give her son pause enough to let her explain.
After all, if she had to take her son's life, most of all in self-defense from his oh-so-justified wrath and hate it might as well be the righteous wages handed down to her from Chaos itself. Though that didn't mean it wouldn't destroy her, quite the opposite in fact, as her only memorable interaction with her beloved child he would recall would be a fight to the death ending in her killing him. Also leaving her to bear not only the burden of knowing his anger for her went so far beyond words that he would WILLFULLY try and kill her with his, quite literal bare hands, that she would never get to shower him in the love she so desperately wished to. A desperation born from witnessing the fallout of her horrid mistake. Nor would she see him grow old and happy with the large family he yearned to build for just about as long as he could form and retain memories, but more than all of that, she would be unable to escape the memory that SHE was the one to have to end her perfect baby boy. Whom she adored above all else, all because she had failed to learn the lesson the fates had given her once before. And that, THAT she would not recover from, she would whittle away until she entered the realm of the faded. Though it wouldn't stop there, ho no, not at all, she would only continue to whittle away until she ceased to exist altogether, and not even Chaos would be able to stop it once she had done the deed which would start her whittling.
"EXPLAIN," came Naruto's one-word response, which was filled with such power the godly built structure dangerously shook as cracks formed in the walls, ruining the realistic effect of being in a forest, and was so deep even the deff would say it was so demonic sounding it had to have come from the primordial Tartarus himself.
Not that she currently cared in the slightest, as she had to restrain herself from jumping up and doing a victory dance from the pure elation and relief she felt. She had been given something from the Fates that though she felt she did not deserve it, she would not spurn it. As she now had A CHANCE, one she was sure to use to its fullest and would be sure to give Tyche, and the Fates, an amazing gift later for working so hard to grant her such luck, no matter the outcome of the impending talk with her son. Especially when considering how stubborn her son could normally be, let alone when it was being fueled by such strong emotion. Now, if only Tyche and the Fates could make her luck hold out enough that she could get her son, at the very least, to not force her hand. Even being disowned by him would be more preferred than her hand being forced. Yes, it would hurt to Tartarus and back but he would be alive and that meant he might one day be able to carve out a happy life for himself. Which was what she wanted most for him, to be happy, followed so closely by being safe it was nipping at the heels of her desire for him to be happy.
"I am not your only mother, specifically, I'm your Godmother, and I don't just mean a conjoined title and role in your life that your mortal parents, two of my closest friends, gave me. Even if that's how it started, that's not how it ended up playing out. No, when I say 'I'm your Godmother' I mean it in a very literal sence," the woman stated, hoping this would be enough to finish setting to hook, so to speak, to ensure she could fully explain their situation and how they got to the very moment the now were in.
"Uh, what, how is it even possible that I what three parents?" Naruto questioned, so dumbfounded he even lost focus on his boiling wrath as his mind struggled to find reason in the information presented.
Lifting her free hand to chest level, Naruto's proclaimed Godmother gave a slight swipe with her hand through the flick of her wrist and a puls of her power. Though seeming to have done nothing at first, yet, in the next instant the patch of grass directly across from her, and in line with the middle of the other log, the grass began to lay down while weaving together. Once it was done, the flat section of plant glowed and when that glow died down, in the place of the patch of grass were now five small, orange with black perimeter, tatami mats. The central one ran horizontally to the woman with the other four placed in such a way that one seemingly cased the next around the central one. Though it didn't end there, a glowing ball raised out of the middle of the central tatami mat, only for it to crack and fall apart. Revealing a crimson Zaisu, dark silver zabuton, a free-standing kyōsoku on the right side that had a crimson base and dark silver cushion on top, that, just like the zabuton, had orange lines making swirl patterns.
"Please, Watashi no musuko, make yourself comfortable. There's much to tell and you no doubt will have many questions, many will be answered if you listen and those that aren't I will answer after." The auburn goddess said as she gestured to the newly made chair with her free hand as one would hold out their hand in a gesture for one to join them.
Taken aback by the comfort she was giving him while she, a goddess, sat on the cold, hard, ground, and her insistence to claim him as her own in the fashion of his culture when she already made a statement proving that it wasn't her's, made Naruto hesitated to take the offered seat. Yet her pleasant smile, gaze filled with unbridled love, and extended hand never faltered for a second. There was also the sure affection and slight possessiveness in her tone as she addressed him as, "my son", which also made him wary.
Just how many times had a bitter civilian or spiteful shinobi of the village used that same tone with him after wiggling into his guard, all to make him drop it further around them? Doing nothing but making their real goal of stabbing him in the back, sometimes literally, that much easier. How many hospital stays had he gone through, after those attacks? How many countless times did a member of the medical staff break their sworn oaths while making him fake promises of safety and good intentions regarding his wellbeing, just to try finishing him off while he was down? Before he finally learned to not let words with such tones sway him, and hold to that resolve.
All the while, as countless horrid memories unwantedly surfaced in his mind and made him war with himself to the point of completely losing awareness of his surrounding, the goddess, proclaiming to be one of his mothers, patiently waited for him to come to himself once more before making his choice. Yet, as seconds turned to minutes, and minutes built to half an hour, the goddess had enough. Slowly standing, with her hind moving to let her do so more easily, and gently approaching her child. The goddess crouched down upon reaching him to be on his level, before gently and slowly pulling him in for a hug. With one arm snaked around his shoulder so her hand could be placed on the back of his head, and the other snaking around his other arm to ride along the middle of his low back. Secure in her hold on him, she tightened her hold to a noticeable level for him as she flooded the room with the aura of her true presence, knowing it would naturally soothe him regardless of the wrath he felt for her.
AN: And that's it, sorry not sorry about the cliffhanger, not a bad one in my opinion but hopefully frustrating enough to drive you to leave a REVIEW. I also hope I left enough hints to show just Who Naruto's Godmother is, as I wanted to say it without saying it. Oh, I would keep the color of Naruto's blood in mind, it's rather important for events that play out and for shifting into Phase 2 of this story. Finally, I am going to have a pole up on my profile, I want to know if I should do a harem or not, I already have the pairing decided but the results of the pole will determine how I go about a future plot point that I have planned. The pole will be open for a good amount of time, but regardless of the results, Naruto will be with the girl I've already planned for, as I have yet to find a story that puts the two together romantically speaking when they would make a very good pairing in my opinion.
That's it for now, please remember to REVIEWand put in your pole votes.
