Outcast with a Home
By: Sly Omi
Disclaimer: As pertaining to all chapters herein: I, Omi, do solemnly swear that I do not, have not, and will not ever own any claim to copyrights of Naruto, either in manga or anime form, or any merchandise thereof. I am writing this for fun, not with the intention to make money.
Raiting: PG, and unlikely to go up
Pairing(s): SasuNaru
Warning(s): You are reading this of your own free will. Ifyaoi or shounen-aioffends your sensibilites, turn ye back now. Failure to comply with this might result in your tender sensibilities being mortally offended, incurring mental trauma on your behalf. However, failure to comply with this also means that it's your own fault should that happen - I am morally obligated to do nothing about it other than laugh at you for not reading the warnings. Oh, and Sasuke plays the flute.
Note(s): Anything in italicsbetween colon marks (i.e.: ":blahblah:") is the Kyuubi talking to Naruto.
The room was dimly lit and the curtains drawn over the windows, casting shadows over all that were present – a fitting touch to the somber mood permeating it. On a dais at the end of the room sat Tsunade, Hokage leader of the Tengu colony of Fire Country.(1) Beside her, on a lower platform sat Shizune, her personal messenger, with her crow mask firmly in place. The beady eye-slits stared unforgivingly at the two boys before them. Below Shizune stood Izumo and Koutetsu, Tsunade's personal guards (whom Naruto often referred to as her personal slaves), their faces grim and their masks pushed aside.
Angry voices wafted up from the street below. Tsunade sighed and thought about all the places she could be that weren't her office, and all the things she could be doing that didn't involve angry colonists and Naruto. She could be bothering Jiraiya, for instance, or skipping work to drink sake. Instead she was presiding over the trial, of sorts, of her favorite subject. The unconscious figure lying on the floor didn't stir. A young guardian stood at attention by the sleeping boy's side.
"What happened, Lee?" Tsunade asked softly, her voice carrying easily in the large room.
"There was a great confrontation, Tsunade-sama," replied Rock Lee.(2) "One of the colonists ... he had had a bad day, or so I was told – too many Samurai trampling through his favorite woods without care for them. He ... provoked Naruto-kun. Insulted his Sires, and said that they should have killed him when he was still a hatchling, among other things."
Tsunade hissed softly and tensed. Shizune crooned to her, calmly. The Hokage settled back into her chair, her eyes narrowed dangerously, "What else?"
"Naruto-kun tried to ignore him – quite valiantly, I think – but the man hit him. The ..." he stumbled, not wanting to say the word everyone was thinking, "It ... nearly broke the seal. Naruto-kun has been a bit more high-strung this week than normal. It's nearly his birthday, you know."
"I know."
"He was stressed from trying not to let the taunts get to him – Shikamaru told me this. Naruto-kun couldn't handle it. It was a perfect opportunity. Naruto-kun worked himself into this exhaustion trying to keep himself and It under control."
"I see," Tsunade said quietly. She studied her nails, and the wall behind Rock Lee's head as if they held the answers. Of course they didn't. "The seal is weakening then. It must be put back together; this can't happen again."
"What is to be done?" Lee asked, almost hesitantly.
The angry shouting continued from outside, calling for the banishment of the demon from their otherwise peaceful home. Tsunade chewed on her bottom lip, a nervous habit that she would show to very few people, as she thought about what would become of her favorite guardian Tengu.
"He can't stay here now. The colonists will be more hostile than they are after the incident," said Izumo somberly.
"Tsunade-sama!" Lee cried, ready to jump over mountains for Naruto's defense.
The Hokage held up a hand swiftly. "He is right, Lee. But I will not simply cast Naruto into the middle of nowhere – Kyuubi-vessel or not. I will find a way to help him, to make the seal stronger so this will no longer be a danger."
"He can't stay here, Tsunade-sama," Koutetsu repeated.
"I believe that was just agreed upon," the blonde Tengu said testily.
"Wh ... where will he go, Tsunade-sama?" Lee asked tentatively.
Tsunade looked out the window through a divide in the curtains. To where Konohagakure was situated in Fire Country, some forty kilometers away from their colony. "He will stay at Konoha. It is his favorite place in the Human Realm, anyway. He will be safe there, and the people are friendly for the most part – they certainly won't provoke the Kyuubi."(3)
"But if he should attempt to come back ..." Koutetsu interjected. "Or if he should tell a human how to find us ..."
Tsunade's eyes were pained, "His memory of here will be erased." Lee gasped but she ignored it, pressing on, "Perhaps 'modified' is better. He will know Konoha's familiarity, but he won't know why. He will know his name, but not where he comes from. He will not remember the Kyuubi, not until I've found a solution and he can come back."
Shizune stood and intoned, "Our leader has spoken. Her word is final."
Rock Lee was silent. Tsunade came down from the dais and stood before them for a moment, letting the picture ingrain itself into her mind. Naruto looked so very peaceful, never mind that he was on a horrendously hard wooden floor. She smiled sadly and knelt before him, placing her hands on his head. Her eyes closed as she set to work on his mind, taking away his memories of his home and leaving a void in their place. She only hoped there would be a chance for him to get them back.(4)
If not ... she thought, perhaps he can be happy in Konoha ... at least for a little while.
When she was finished, Tsunade stood slowly and closed her eyes. She could hardly believe that this was happening. Naruto had always been her main source of entertainment. Noone in the colony was as good as he at keeping people on their toes. His pranks on the arrogant and annoying humans who tramped through their lands without a care were infamous ... The Hokage smirked sadly. She would miss those and the reports that followed. Life was about to get very, very ordinary.
Poor Shikamaru and Chouji. They were such a good team. "Koutetsu," the blonde ordered sharply, "Get Ibiki and Anko in here."
The karasu Tengu placed his mask on solemnly and bowed, already knowing exactly what he was to tell them. Anko and Ibiki were the only two guards Tsunade would entrust with Naruto's safe transport to Konoha. He left the room with a semi-dramatic flare.
The Hokage rolled her eyes, "Izumo. I leave it to you to report back to Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. They will be working as a pair from now on."
The other didn't bother with his mask as he simply disappeared from the room. Lee stared down at the younger Tengu's form. Certainly, Naruto had caused more than a few of the colonists' grief – including himself – but to not see him everyday ... There was rarely change in the colony of immortals. The absence of Naruto would take a lot of getting used to.
"You can go now, Lee," Tsunade said gently, but firmly.
The guardian saluted and disappeared. The Hokage took her seat again wearily. Ibiki, Anko, and Koutetsu appeared in his place shortly afterwards. Koutetsu returned to his place at the foot of the dais, awaiting any further orders, and knowing fully well that he and Izumo would be doing nearly twice the paperwork for Tsunade while she brooded over losing her favorite Tengu. Both Anko and Ibiki properly serious and resolute for their task.
"You were briefed?" Tsunade asked, though there was an underlying statement to it. Formalities, really, the asking and replying. Something that was done because it was always done, and occasionally prevented annoying mis-communications – a single useful purpose.
"Yes," the guards replied simultaneously.
"Good. Take him, then. Quickly. He can't wake until he's by Konohagakure and you are gone. Jiraiya will recognize him once he's been picked up."
The big Tengu knelt and picked up the unconscious form. He cradled the child's body close to his chest. The shorter one readied her kunai and then they were gone.(5) Tsunade stared at the empty floor blankly, unsure of what to do with herself.
"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked. The karasu Tengu had stood and removed her mask while Tsunade hadn't been paying attention, it seemed. Now she was looking at her leader with a concerned face. Tsunade forced herself to smile. There was just too much wrong with this situation. The Kyuubi nearly broke free. Naruto was gone.
"Life is about to get very boring, Shizune," the Hokage murmured, her voice tired. Even so, her grin held a glint of mischievousness. "Funny, though. Konoha was so used to his presence as a Tengu – I wonder how they'll survive with him as a citizen."
Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko were silent as they flew. In Ibiki's arms was the still-unconscious form of Uzumaki Naruto; the legendary Kyuubi Tengu. She watched the blonde head thoughtfully out of the corner of her eye for a moment, dodging a stray tree branch absently. It was odd to think that such an innocent-looking person held such a dangerous creature. Even after many Human centuries, she still wasn't quite used to it.
"He will be better off in Konoha than back home, Anko," Ibiki said. "Especially now."
Anko started just a little, "Aa. I know. But still ... he's always been there. Everywhere at once. It's weird to think of him not being there at all."
"Indeed. He's always been an interesting kid, if not the brightest star in the sky."(6) The guard couldn't help but smirk, remembering various punishments that Naruto and his friends had devised for the arrogant samurai and braggarts they didn't like.
They always had produced the most effective results with persistently annoying humans, and their plots were always good for a laugh. Shikamaru, Chouji, and Naruto had made a very good team in that way. Naruto, like Chouji, wasn't a genius like Shikamaru – who knew and remembered just about everything and could think of 100 different ways to attack the same problem in a matter of minutes. Though, Anko amended, if pranks and planning them were taken into account when calculating intelligence, Naruto's genius would have rivaled Shikamaru's. Even so, he was a hard worker and had a way of brightening a room just by being in it. He refused to let anything get him down; his sunny disposition and smile were practically legendary.
"We're nearing the walls of Konoha," Ibiki noted.
"Aa."
They were silent for the final bit of their flight, which was fairly short. Soon they had landed in front of the imposing walls – imposing for humans, but even more-so for Tengu, who were generally shorter than humans by a head. Ibiki placed Naruto on the ground off the main path, taking care that he could still easily be seen.
"We're not taking him inside?" Anko asked quietly.
"No. We're to leave him outside of the gates. Tsunade-sama asserts that Jiraiya will recognize him instantly, but it will be suspicious if there is suddenly a blonde wandering around. He must be found by someone of the village."
"How long before someone comes, though? What if he wakes up before he is found and wanders off?"
Ibiki shrugged slightly, "Tsunade-sama has ordered such. It is likely she knows something that we don't."
"It's also likely that she was too lazy to set up a situation on her own," Anko muttered.
The bigger Tengu smirked, but said nothing. Instead he took to the air once more. "It's not for us to say. Tsunade-sama has her ways. Uzumaki Naruto is, I dare say, her favorite of all us. She had a hard enough time imposing banishment on him – she won't let harm come to him while it's in her power. Come. We can't be here when he wakes up."
"What happens if he wakes up alone?" Anko murmured to herself. But she followed Ibiki and took off, casting one last glance at the boy sprawled on the ground before turning and following her elder back to their colony.
It was cold. That was the first thing he registered. It was cold and dark. The dark he could mostly account for because his eyes were still closed, but the cold was out of place. It shouldn't be cold, not inside his house. No, not just his house – his whole home was warm throughout the seasons. Wasn't it?
I couldn't have sworn I was always warm. ... I am still home ... aren't I?
Naruto forced his eyes open and blinked, trying to get his bearings straight. The world slowly came into focus around him, and he found that he was staring at the slowly darkening sky through a canopy of trees.
What the – !
He sat up as quickly as humanly possible without getting whiplash. He leaned against the tree behind him. More trees and more grass and more plants in front of him. More to the left. Less to the right. The young blonde stood slowly, incase he'd been hit and knocked out by something. The sleeve of his white robes snagged on a low branch as he did so. The blonde frowned and lifted his hands so he could see the draping sleeves of his robes, and looked down to see the rest of the robes themselves.
What the hell are these? What boy wears women's robes?
Something tingled at the back of his mind, like he should know the answer to that question without having to ask it. And worse: standing only affirmed that he had been sleeping – he felt absolutely nothing out of the ordinary in any part of his body. He frowned, chewing on that mentally. What did it mean? Well, no matter right now. He was in the woods. He was in the woods at night. He had been sleeping outside.
What the hell am I doing here? Where is here? Did I get lost! Why am I alone here! The boy wondered frantically, twisting his head around madly in an effort to see everything around him.
:Okay, calm. We're going to look around and determine where we are and what we're doing. I'm sure we're just turned around.:(7)
Naruto sighed and took a few deep, calming breaths after that. Not that he knew what the second voice was or where it came from – he was just so used to it that he'd long ago stopped questioning it. Now he felt relieved knowing it was still there, because it had always been there. Too bad that he could only ever hear it in moments of extreme panic, which didn't happen to him very often. The voice's advice was sound and welcome, and now it presented a perfect starting point for him.
:Okay. Let's see what we can see here.:
He started to take a good look around, trying to determine what was unique about the area that would serve as a landmark. Quite suddenly he stopped looking at anything, staring instead at the road not two feet from where he stood. He followed the path of the road left, and his vision stopped abruptly at the foot a two huge doors. Naruto gulped. Slowly, he lifted his head until he was looking at the top of the wall in which the doors were situated. He cringed and made a small noise of anxiety – he couldn't even tell if there were people up there it was so high. Nothing about it was familiar. Nothing about it said 'home' or comfort. It was a strange wall and a strange gate in a strange place that he'd never been to before. And he certainly hadn't come here on his own.
Naruto started to back away from the wall, off the road, back in the direction from which he had come. He turned forwards, the last part of his rational mind thinking, before he managed to run into a tree or something, and crashed through the forest.
He was alone. He'd been left and abandoned. He didn't know where he was – he didn't know how to get home from there! He had to get away. Right now.
:Maybe doing that would have been better done on the road leading away from the wall, yes? :
For once Naruto was so panicked that he hardly even heard the voice. Instinct took over and led him father and father into the forest surrounding the walls, to the point where he thought he'd been going in a straight line, but thought he recognized the tree to his left. That thought stopped the blonde boy dead in his tracks. He didn't know how long he'd been walking, or where. That was not a good sign. It was dark – early night – and colder than before. That was an even worse sign. Naruto knew he could have been going in circles, he could be miles away from the gates, he could be even more lost than he had been to begin with. Rationality crashed over him like a tsunami. He almost kicked himself.
Now what do I do?
:Should have asked yourself that before you went stomping off, shouldn't you? :
Shut up, Naruto growled mentally.
Something snapped some branches to his right and the blonde jumped, spinning in the air so that he was facing that direction. His whole body tensed and slowly he started backing away – coming back to front with a tree, which he nearly froze against. The noises came closer to him and sounded like they were coming from all sides. The blonde looked left and right, trying to determine where whatever was making the noise was going to appear from. Suddenly a huge paw swiped down, narrowly missing his left side, and an angry roar blared in his ear. Naruto had walked straight into a bear's territory, and there were children.
Fuck, Naruto thought, turning to run just as the paw came down again and sharp claws clipped his shoulder. He cried out in pain. Then he fled.
Notes:
(1) There is no such thing as a "Hokage" Tengu. This should be a given. Tsunade is the Hokage because she is the leader of the Tengu and I wanted to have more parallels between the anime and the fic.
(2) Suffixes. Stay. I know, I know, they have approximate equivalents in English, and dammit, I'm writing in English so how come I'm not using those? Simple. I don't wanna. Seriously. For one thing, suffixes denote speech patterns and politeness. Someone being insolent could refer to "Neji-sama" as "Neji-san" – "-sama" and "-san" meaning the same "Lord" or "sir", but "-san" being purposefully less polite. Likewise, "Sensei" means teacher. There's no way I'm writing "Teacher Kakashi", and the closest approximation is "master" – which does not imply the same thing from English to Japanese and vice-versa. Wakatte'ru ka?
(3) Before it becomes a huge problem, the names of countries (i.e.: Fire Country) will be in English. Reason being I don't remember the names in Japanese. Villages, however (i.e.: Konoha, Suna, etc.) will be in Japanese. Reason being I am not writing Hidden Village of Leaf or Leaf Village every time I want to write the name of a village.
(4) As a rule, there is nothing saying that Tengu have healing powers. There is nothing saying that they don't, either, and while I'm sure that the general consensus is that Tengu don't have healing powers – this is Tsunade we're talking about. She has her powers from the show; it's just not chakra. Technically Tsunade's giving Naruto selective amnesia, and amnesia is considered a 'health' problem.
(5) Don't give me that look – you all know what kunai are. They're those knives that the ninja's use when they're not using shuriken (otherwise known as "ninja stars").
(6) An absolute horrendous take off on the phrase "brightest crayon in the box" – because they didn't have crayons then, and I needed an analogy.
(7) Say it with me folks: Kyu-u-bi. Very good! No, Naruto is not insane – he does not have multiple personalities nor does he hear little aliens from Mars. The Kyuubi, being a part of him, can occasionally talk to him, or at him as the case were, in moments of heightened emotion. Naruto only sees it as moments of panic because it's only been in moments of panic that he's heard the Kyuubi before.