I was born in sunlight, and dragged into darkness. A child, pure before becoming cursed.
I watched the first woman I came to love wither away in front of me. I closed my eyes to the truth, in order to avoid the pain that came with it.
And as my father and I moved away from our old lives to new ones, he indulged himself. He took part in the sort of debauchery that only those with money, only those called nobility could drink in.
He dragged me into the darkness with him.
At a tender age, I watched bodies writhe and women fulfill the lustful desires of men. Dancing on poles. Sitting half-naked in the laps of wrinkled robber barons. Drinking. Doing drugs. Grinding against each other and kissing violently.
I have no idea what all of this did to me, if anything. But I know that I didn't, or rather couldn't, shove it away like everything else.
I am away from all of that now. Away from that world and everything it could do to me. I am with my wealthy father and his wealthier new wife. I am a child, meant to be seen and never heard.
I am eleven years old.
"My name is Lilith Caroline Kobayashi."
an alternative Naruto story.
It's currently morning where I am. The place I live is about a hundred kilometres from the nearest shinobi village, called the Hidden Leaf. I have never been there, and have no plans to go.
I am in the backyard of my home, a lavish estate. A place that only generational wealth could afford and maintain, with a small army of housekeepers. There are those who tend to the grass and plants, those who maintain the rooms, and those who serve us directly. We are the elite of the world. It has to be shown to any visitors in full.
The grass is freshly cut, and because of that I can see a small snake slithering on its belly. I recognize it...a garden snake, as per my textbooks. Harmless, as I can recall. Its tongue flicks outwards to taste the air, helping it to navigate. I sit and watch, as my parents have ordered. They always hate it when I get myself dirty, and have taken to dressing me in outrageous and frilly dresses to stifle my adventurous spirit. To my stepmother's chagrin, the results have been mixed at best. But I try to do as they ask, by donning their outfits daily and posing as the perfect child whenever guests arrive. I do not speak.
I especially do not smile.
Today...there is a refreshing wind, and it makes me want to move. I do so. I watch the snake as it slides along the grass, flicking its tongue out at regular intervals. I tilt my head, curious as to what it might want. My parents are not very fond of snakes, as I found out one day when overhearing adult conversation.
Are you...hungry, little snake?
There are grubs in the flower bed nearby, but the barrier will be hard to pass over for this friend. I want to be of service. The consequences can be dealt with later. I step down from my chair and leave the patio to help the small snake. As soon as I pick it up, it starts to squirm in my hands. That only makes sense...I am a giant interloper in comparison.
"You seem hungry, Mister Snake," I say gently. It stops moving...could it be that he heard me and understood? That seems foolish...but it's a nice thought to have. Perhaps in a different world. I carry him over to the flower bed properly, and let him loose. He eats.
I think that he is quite happy with his situation now. It seems to be so.
I watch him as he slithers around and eats, crouching down with curiosity. He starts to look like he is full; I am not sure what brought that thought to mind, but it feels right. His tongue flicks out at me a few times and I pick him up, bringing him over the barrier and back to where I found him. I set him down.
But...he slithers up my arm before I can properly react. Very interesting, this one. He reaches my shoulder. And he flicks his tongue out, hitting my cheek. Once, twice.
I feel...warmth. I don't understand why that is, but this feels like affection. Like a thank you.
I do the only thing that makes sense. I turn my head, and give my new friend a gentle peck on the snout. He flicks his tongue a few more times at me before going back the way he came, down from my arm and towards the ground. He goes quickly through the grass, to the edge of the garden, and out towards the forest a while away.
"Good luck, Mister Snake."
The words come without thinking...but they are genuine, from my heart. A strange, yet welcome happiness.
I allow myself a small smile, and retreat to my seat. My clothing is dirtied by now...but that can be taken care of in time, as it always was. There are pleasant thoughts in my head, and the warmth of the sun is soothing.
I close my eyes, and sleep.
I dream. I dream of a woman with scarlet hair, long and full and beautiful. I feel like I know who this person is...she has to be my mother from so long ago. From a more joyous time.
She turns before I can call to her. She smiles. Just as she always has.
I wonder...if she is proud of what I've become. If she's proud of me.
"...time to wake up, Miss Lilith."
It's morning. The next morning, now. My eyes open, and I see a...well-furnished bosom above my head. I know this profile at a glance.
"Thank you, Luna."
A maid with a soft, pretty face. Lovely chestnut brown eyes, and long brown hair. My personal maid, Lunamaria Daidouji. Everyone calls her Luna. She smiles and steps back, taking her chest with her. I stare for a moment, trying to recall through this morning haze what made her so bothersome to my stepmother at times.
"I-Is something the matter, Miss Lilith?" she asks nervously.
"No."
"I see..." She sighs. Luna is still young, not terribly far from my age as it is. But old enough to work, and she works well. She is my minder, the one who helps me stay unseen and unheard at the pleasure of my parents. She wears the typical black and white maid outfit, one that fits neatly around her curves. I wonder if this is her path in life. I also wonder if she put on a bit of weight lately.
There are always questions on my mind.
"Breakfast is ready, and the Mistress is downstairs. Will you need help with your bath?" Luna asks.
"I want to do it myself today," I say gently.
"Understood. Then I shall be off." Luna bows, her long hair moving and swaying behind her.
"..."
It's said that milk is a good beverage for growing girls. I will have to drink more of it to reach that level, it seems.
My bath is followed by getting into yet another terrible and ridiculous dress picked out by my stepmother. This one has polka dots, and an oversized bow at my back. But it would please her.
"It took you long enough to get down here. You've learned the local language well enough as a foreigner, but everything else...is coming in slowly..."
My stepmother. Emi Kobayashi, daughter of the Kobayashi Rice empire. She is above average height, strikingly beautiful with slender limbs. Her chest however, is not as large as Luna's. She has black hair that is meticulously cared for, in a hime cut. And she is clad in silk. She loves to wear silk as often as she can, whether lounging in the house or outside with others. And this set, like so many others, is thin. Thin enough that she can flaunt her body, intimidating women and drawing the eyes of any man who glances at her form.
She also doesn't like it when I smile. Nobody does, but she is bothered by it more than anyone.
"Go ahead and eat. I have things to report to you."
I nod and go to my designated seat in the sub-dining room. There are no curly fries today. It's disappointing, but...everything else looks to be good. My stepmother smokes from one of the long sticks she always carries around and breathes out a cloud of smoke into the air. She sits in one of the ornate chairs around the distractingly shiny table.
"Your father and I have had a discussion."
Father. I haven't seen his face in weeks.
"We believe that you would be well served learning more discipline, as well as technique and female etiquette. Girls should not play in flower beds, or with...ugh. Snakes."
The last word comes with some disgust. I blink at it and continue chewing on the pancakes in front of me.
"Therefore," she continues, "we have enrolled you in the Hidden Leaf's Shinobi Academy. You will become a disciplined and reliable woman there, then you will return home and apply your lessons."
Shinobi...ninja? Those are assassins, aren't they?
"Your father and I have both agreed to this experiment, so there's no charming your way out of this. Well, as if you could. You will be sent off in two months' time, so you might as well start on the basis of technique or something before it's refined later. I will look into a proper trainer at some point," she says as she blows out another cloud of smoke.
It almost seems too casual. But I have no idea what to expect anyways.
What a strange feeling.
Breakfast ends. A butler takes my things away, and I leave to where I will not be a bother to any adults. I continue to think on what exactly being a shinobi will mean. What it will mean for me, and for my future. I leave through the front door of the mansion, intending to get some air.
The guards who I rarely see are escorting someone up the long path, as the gates close in the distance. A woman in a white kimono that is patterned with green vines and leaves. She has a full, outrageous figure much like Luna. Like a...a pin up model, that I remembered seeing. Her hair is long and straight...and it is also green, a colour that I find unusual.
And yet, I feel drawn to her. My mind brings me to Mister Snake in the garden from yesterday. She comes closer, and I see that her eyes are golden and sharp, taking everything in around her. But she has yet to notice me as I stand on the front steps.
I should head back inside. She seems very important, and it wouldn't do to upset my stepmother.
But...she is already planning to send me off to board in a shinobi village.
Better judgement leaves me. I will my legs to take me down the front steps.
I advance.
"This is a time like no other."
The woman with green hair raises her hand, making everyone around her come to a stop. With a flick of her wrist, she produces a fan and holds it in front of her face.
An amused smile hides behind it as she looks up ahead.
A child in a hideous dress, white with red dots and an oversized bow flopping at her back. She is small, precious, and cute.
And she had beautiful scarlet hair. Long and wavy, paired with striking amber eyes.
She moved towards the woman and her entourage. Nervous. Unsure.
But determined, all the same.
"So...you're the one after all."
"I wonder what sort of child you truly are...Lilith Kobayashi."
Scarlet Justice
Opening Notes:
Welcome to the story. This is a project I've gone through before, before life happened and things got stalled. So I'm re-imagining it from the ground up as a story. You've probably noticed the perspective here: you are following Lilith Kobayashi, a young girl in the Naruto world who is born into money, and soon will be getting her first taste of shinobi life in the Hidden Leaf. A colourful cast of characters, old and new, will be here to entertain you. The premise isn't exactly novel, and you will see the alternate timeline twists coming from our protagonist's interactions with the canon world as it is in part 1 of what we know as Naruto's story. But hopefully you readers will enjoy what happens and how it happens. Even if it isn't exactly, uh, high art. There's some content that people may not like and I might as well be upfront with it now.
big gay and big gay accessories: a handy template for future arguments that I may or may not use: "[insert character] is gay, shut up, deal with it". This doesn't mean everyone is going to get a flip in orientation suddenly but there will be plenty of subtext and supertext when it comes to same-sex relationships. If it's too much for you, then unfortunately I'm not going to turn it down any. I guess if it makes anyone feel better we'd probably be dealing more with the L-word, some of y'all like that. But I will handle things appropriately as they arrive for you to read and not just fetishize it.
let's talk about sex, bby: there are going to be talks about sexual things and sexuality and all of that fun stuff. Several of the characters in the story, yes even the younger ones, will speak on these things. This isn't to open the light to orgies or underaged sex scenes or sexual activity. The tone has been set, and my promise to you is to handle these things responsibly. I will try not to get too far into the weeds on this.
murder death kill (MDK): people are going to think OW THE EDGE when we get to certain sections and they probably wouldn't be wrong to think so in most cases. There will be violence and blood-spilling and not very nice things, so I will label these chapters as needed. This isn't because I'm going for a gritty portrayal of nardo: hurricane chronicles or some shit, it's for story reasons, like people being pretty fucked up and impulsive among other things.
not my canon: there will be ripple effects and changes here and there to the canon characters you love and hate. Not as serious as the above stuff, but it's a point of contention with enough people in the fandom. I won't...flanderize or whatever the hell the word is, any characters. But I might give you an extended look at different sides of them, and have them change as relationships are established and moved forward.
the power of god and anime: we're gonna have fights and they're gonna be metal as fuck my dudes. Drink your vitamins and strap in.
it's the same mouth I kiss my mother with: the fanfic will contain coarse language and suggestive themes. People will say bad and naughty words and some of these people might also be underaged. It happens.
That's all for now. Be well and enjoy the story as it unfolds!