Oni
A Naruto AU loosely based on Japanese history.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them but the versions that live in my head. Kishimoto-sensei is a genius in my mind.
- Chapter 1: The Road -
The smell of mountain fresh air was a nice change from the dusty streets of the city. Though the air was still dry, the more frequent rains kept the dust from floating in the wind for long. The trees were just starting to take on their fall colors as the late flowers were at the height of their bloom. It was very refreshing.
A lone traveler looked about at the beauty, enjoying the sunshine that helped make his trek easier. He was a young man, just reaching his prime, lean and strong with a smiling, friendly face. He had his hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, and donned a simple kimono of bright colors, showing just how young he was. The only marking to show he wasn't completely innocent was the dark scar that ran across his nose.
The young man huffed a little and stopped to set down his pack and sit on a rock to rest. Glancing up, he took in the view of the slow climb into the mountains the road took. If he had calculated it right, he should reach the small village out there by the end of the day. But he hadn't expected the road to twist so steeply. A short rest should give him the energy to tackle it quickly.
Bending over his pack he shuffled some things around and pulled out a small leaf wrapping of onigiri. Chewing slowly, he closed his eyes and relaxed, soaking up the sunshine.
"Having a nice walk, stranger?"
The young man snapped his eyes open to find three men standing not far from him. He wasn't sure how to take them. They could just be other travelers. But from the looks of the rusting armor and weapons, bandits seemed more the likely answer. "Yes, actually I am." He gave them a smile. It was always good to be polite to all just incase.
"We're sorry to ruin it for ya then." A fourth man called from directly behind him. The others snickered as they saw their pray freeze. It would be an easy catch today.
The young traveler shut his eyes and quickly rolled to get away trying to think of the few moves he knew in a fight. There was a loud yell as someone fell near him. Another scream came before he felt the courage to open his eyes and see someone had placed themselves in-between himself and the last two living bandits.
The bandits sized up the man standing calmly in front of them in a stance ready for anything; his sword shining with the fresh blood it had already taken. They ran.
It was a while before the swordsmen relaxed, wiping his blade and resheathing it as he turned. "Umino-sensei?"
The young traveler blinked at him and slowly rose. "Yes?"
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Sarutobi Asuma. I was sent out to be your escort for the rest of the way. A group of thieves have been reported hiding in these mountains. I am sorry for my lateness." The man gave him a short bow.
"Eh? No, it's ok! You saved my life, I thank you." He gave a lower bow of thanks. "I am Umino Iruka. You are related to the daimyo of the village of Leaf?"
"I am. He is my uncle." Asuma looked up at the sky. "We should be going. If we hurry we will make it by sunset. You will be staying at my house for the night, and the daimyo is expecting to speak with you for a short while."
Iruka nodded in understanding and quickly repacked his pack and settled it on his shoulders. "Lead on." He smiled.
They walked on in silence for a long while, Iruka constantly studying his escort and trying to figure him out. The man was larger then he, broad shoulders and a bearded set jaw. He wore a simple kamishimo of dark blues, his katana thrust through the belt on his left side. His eyes finally came to the brown, hard eyes and short-cropped hair. "You have such short hair, yet you are of a well known samurai family. Are you not one as well?" He wondered idly if their costumes were different from other villages.
"I lost that honor. Now I serve the village and my family as an excellent swordsman. And no, we don't have the costume of shaving the tops of our heads like others." Asuma could feel the eyes quickly looking away from his head.
"Oh, I'm sorry I pried." Iruka quickly apologized.
Asuma smirked already liking the young man. "That is alright. I am here to explain and teach you the things you need to know. Ask what questions you want. I will just refuse those I do not wish to answer. How is that?"
Iruka looked at him confused. "Are you sure?" He wasn't use to being aloud to have his curiosity actually satisfied.
Asuma gave a short bark of laughter. "You are amusing. I think the children will get along with you perfectly."
Iruka relaxed and watched the road. "I'm glad. I was a little worried how they would take having a new teacher come in from a different prefecture."
"I think it would be best for them to have someone who grew up elsewhere to teach them. It will open their minds."
"How many are there?"
"Nine currently. Two of them are younger then the rest. Sarutobi Konohamaru and Hyuuga Hanabi."
"Are they all from samurai families?" Iruka wasn't sure how he felt about teaching a class full of children use to very strict family ethics. He was more use to a mixed crowd, like his last job had consisted of back in Hirado, even though he was just an assistant.
"No. Haruno Sakura is the daughter of the village doctor. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji are all children from the higher families in the trade business." Asuma explained.
"Sounds like there's a good mix. That'll make things a little more interesting." Iruka was glad.
"I'll give you more details in the morning. Oh, Sensei. You need to know one thing before we get there. One of the children is from the Uchiha family. We had a tragedy recently and he is the last survivor." Asuma's voice became grave.
Iruka looked over at him in shock. "The last survivor? No living relatives?" He was surprised the news had not reached the city. Usually when a tragedy like that struck the news would find it's way around quickly.
"We do not think there are any others. He may be hard to deal with in the class. It is a sore subject."
"I understand. I will be careful." Iruka gave a small nod.
Silence again fell on the pair as they traveled the rest of the way to the small hidden village of Leaf.
It was well past nightfall when the two finally arrived at the small village. Most of the fires had been put out but for those just outside the gates to keep wild animals back. The guard gave them a short nod of acknowledgement from his post just inside the fence surrounding the small village.
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Inside it was very dark with no moonlight to help. Iruka tried to make out the slight outlines of the buildings nearby. Thankfully Asuma knew the place by heart, leading him to the daimyo's house at the highest point of the village. Inside there were lights from candles burning that helped Iruka to see the place. It didn't look too much larger then some of the buildings in the city. Wasn't that a little small for a daimyo? He glanced over at Asuma who was apparently waiting for something.
Iruka turned back when he heard footsteps. A short old man was making his way over to them, standing as tall and confident as Iruka would expect from any samurai no matter how old.
The old man stopped in front of them before giving a short bow. "It is good to see you were able to make it, Umino Iruka-sensei. Please come in." The daimyo turned and headed back in, confident they would fallow. Iruka hesitated a moment before making his way in and sitting down at the table provided, Asuma not far behind him.
He could feel the nervousness eating away at his stomach and was glad he hadn't had dinner before his introduction to the old daimyo. He sat silently waiting for the man to speak.
"I take it my directions were helpful?" The old man sitting across from him finally spoke. That was not the question Iruka had wanted him to ask first.
The directions he had received had been, for lack of words, horribly confusing at first. He had only made sense of them when he turned the map upside-down and was already part way into the trip. "They were, very useful once on the road sir." He replied trying to be as polite but also truthful as he could.
"Hm." The old man stroked his beard. "Good. I had my grandson draw that for you. Both for his practice and a chance for you to see what he can do." He smiled briefly.
"Konohamaru-kun?"
"Yes. I see Asuma has filled you in on the children's names."
"Most of them sir. He was going to give me a more complete list tomorrow."
The old daimyo nodded. "Good. I will give you that morning to settle in and learn about our village. It is small, but it has a lot of history. We are currently setting up the schoolhouse to be livable for you. It should be done in a few more days. Till then you may stay at Asuma-san's place and will have to teach the classes outdoors or at the old shrine."
"I thank you for all that you are doing for me, Sarutobi-sama. Especially with my age. Many would not take me seriously as a teacher." Iruka bowed to him truly grateful for such a once in a lifetime chance.
"Umino-sensei, you may call me Hokage. It is a youthful nickname the children have given me. I prefer it." The old man smiled again.
Iruka smiled back. "Yes, Hokage-sama." He liked that.
The Hokage shifted a little. "I guess that will be all for this night. If you have trouble or need anything, Asuma-san will see to it, or you may stop by here." He gave another brief smile. "Welcome to your knew home, Sensei."
Iruka gave another bow before standing. "I thank you again, Hokage-sama. I'm sure I'll enjoy it here."
Asuma also gave a short bow before leading Iruka to his place. Iruka fallowed silently taking everything in and thinking. It was going to take some time getting use to, but he would manage. He just hoped there really wasn't any reason for the fence and guard around the village other than for wild animals. Maybe it was those thieves. He quickly shook his head to get rid of the image of the two lying dead on the ground. He had a lot to get ready for and his mind needed to stay on task. No point in worrying about things he couldn't help when he had a long day ahead of him.
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Notes:
The story is only loosly based on history because I don't have to time to make sure I get every nit-picky detail right. that's why it's fiction. But if you see something seriously wrong, then inform me and I'll work the change in.
Daimyo - Basically a landowner of wealth.
Onigiri - In our turms, a Rice ball. They're very good by the way.
Kamishimo - The typical samurai cloths near the Edo period. It's a Katingu and Hakama worn over top a simple kimono.