The child pays for the sins of the father. Few cases are so direct, to transfer whatever faults from the parent to the son with blatant wording. But more often than not, the parent's mistakes impact the lives of their children. A father in debt is one with less time to devote to raising his child well, for example.
Itsu Sato was similarly to pay for his parents mistakes, though their mistakes are a bit less apparent than others. They were kind, loving, and even doting to their one child, whom they paid a great sum for extensive medical-nin treatment just for a chance at his conception.
The Satos were traveling merchants, though native to Konohagakure. They made a lovely living off of it, not the living of kings or lords, but the living of a well-off trader. It was through this trade they happened upon a relic of the First Tsuchikage. Ultimately, it was a relic of no importance, aside from the former owner.
But they made the mistakes of greed and pride. They understood that the bitter people of Konoha, them included, would love a way to flaunt the treasures of the founder of the nation they had warred against, and many would pay a great sum for the ownership of the bragging rights.
And so, they advertised. They spread the word, far and wide, that they had acquired a relic of Ishikawa, founder of Iwagakure. Konoha heard this, and many were interested. Few of the politicians made inquiry, as they wished to avoid stirring up tensions, but for much of the village, it was the big gossip of the week. It spread enough that Iwa heard of it.
Itsu Sato was eight years old, and sat at the table with his father and mother eating a quite delicious lunch when a strange glint shined through the air, and suddenly, there were two figures standing behind both his parent's seats.
Itsu flinched and fell back from the sudden appearance of the red-and-brown garbed men. The garb of the ninja of Iwa. He had just enough presence of mind to note that neither of his parents reacted to either figure or his own shock.
It became apparent why, when their bodies slowly slumped over, heads tumbling from their shoulders. Itsu found himself unable to flinch at that, the shock of his parent's bodies freezing him to the ground.
"Fetch the target. I'll handle the kid," the man behind his mother's corpse spoke to his partner.
His father's killer swiftly departed to their storage room, and the man left behind began to approach him.
"It's a shame I've got to deal with a kid, but orders are orders."
Itsu felt powerless, helpless, as the man drew a kunai, preparing to strike. He hated this. He wanted to live. He wanted to be able to stop whoever would harm him, or his family.
But, he couldn't. He was a victim.
And then Konoha ANBU came. A man in a monkey's mask swiftly engaged the invading Iwa-nin. Much of it was too fast for Itsu to comprehend, but it was clear that the ANBU member was a superior fighter, especially so when he landed a kick to the Iwa man's knee that sent the leg joint bending in the opposite way that a human leg is supposed to bend.
His cry of pain seemed muted to Itsu's still frozen mind, though he hadn't the time to focus on them, and the ANBU member swiftly knocked the man unconscious.
A few more ANBU showed up, backup forces called by the engaging members. The other Iwa-nin who had gone to search for his parent's treasure was similarly unconscious, dragged out by another ANBU.
The two captives were escorted away by the group, and the man who saved him instructed Itsu to follow. Itsu trailed behind him as they walked further into the village, numb to the world.
Konoha did not have very good public services. Sure, the medical-nin provided relatively inexpensive healthcare, but otherwise, you tended to be shit out of luck. Upon the death of his parents, Itsu received no counseling, no attempts to work through the trauma, and no comfort. He did receive a room in the orphanage, however.
There wasn't much of a hope to get adopted, unfortunately. Adoption was notoriously rare amongst Konoha, the long-held traditions of clans in the area put a certain value on blood relations being essential to truly be family, with only a few rare exceptions.
Moreover, he was not particularly notable. He was slim in build, with hair bordering between black and brown and generally typical features. His only notable features were his eyes, which appeared a simple brown from a distance, but upon closer inspection revealed a more complex hazel, and his just slightly sharper than usual facial features.
He was now technically the owner of his parent's home and wealth, but unless you're a clan head, no reasonable adult is going to allow a child to live on their own until at least their teen.
Itsu tossed and turned in his bed. It was now night, and despite his exhaustion, he tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep as the images of his recently departed family flashed in his head.
He had already cried his tears dry, punched his bed until his arms couldn't move anymore, and now he was just so, so tired. As he closed his eyes yet again, he noticed a sudden, strange stillness. The crickets chirps stilled, and the occasional bird song that he had managed to stay awake long enough to hear begin, all of it seem to vanish.
He curiously rose from his bed and looked out the window. Other than the silence, nothing seemed amiss. Then, from seemingly nowhere, a strange noise hummed out. It was droning, hollow, and seemed so large, yet so distant. Then, the noise that vaguely reminded him of his parent's mockery of ghost noises, the empty "Ooo" sound faded away.
He was beyond curious. The sleep deprivation that had hampered his mind seemed to have faded away with the sound the wildlife, and now he had something to take his mind off his parents. Choosing to investigate, he crept to the door of his room and slowly opened it. He stepped out into the seemingly normal hallway, closed the door behind him, and then froze as he turned.
The single strangest thing he had ever seen lay at the end of the hallway. Rather than continue on into a central room, the end of the hallway seemed to fade away into... nothing. It took a moment to gather the courage to walk the hallway. As he reached the end, the wood flore shifted almost seamlessly into stone. Grey, barren, and just shimmery enough to appear as if recently wetted by a wave.
The way directly out of the hallway indeed faded into nothing, a vast emptiness with occasional floating rocks, but there seemed to be a set of what could loosely be called stairs formed of the rock leading up to the left, to another floating mass of stone.
He had worked up more than enough courage at this point, and continued on the path, up the walkway. He heard a repeat of the droning noise to the left of the stairway and was greeted with the absurd sight of a grand blue creature floating in the nothingness, a great whale letting out a call, the same noise that had beckoned him from his room. Most would question how it was possible for a water-bound creature to survive in the great emptiness of this void, but Itsu was a child. A smart child, certainly, but ultimately all he could do is stare and think about how cool and strange the whale looked and sounded, and continue on.
The stairs led to something less comfortable. Upon the floating mass of stone lay a vivisection of the house he was eating lunch in earlier, plates still on the table, his seat empty, his parent's corpses laying just as they did in his memories.
He turned and retched, but it felt as if he had no stomach to vomit with.
"You've met with a terrible fate, Itsu Sato," sounded a strange, amused voice.
Itsu jumped and turned to the voice to see a man sitting on the edge of the table. He was dressed in a brown coat, grey trousers, and boots, with short brown hair, and facial features foreign in a way he'd never seen before, with pale skin and sharp features. And, most notable of all, his eyesockets seemed to be filled with the blackest of black, a visceral black hole from which no light could escape. The bodies of his parents seemingly vanished, replaced by the strange man on the table.
The uncanny valley is a real thing, and it was this man. Itsu froze under his penetrating stare and cold, cruel, and ever-so-amused smirk.
"Freezing up again, eh? I supposed it is to be expected, you are just a child. A child, lost in the world, who has lost all he has known, stranded on his own. As far as your town is aware, your loss is just another casualty in the cold war against Iwa. A helpless child, a statistic, who will not change anything in the broader world."
He dispersed into black ashes, and reformed immediately in front of him, "But, you don't wish to be helpless. And, I wish for a bit of entertainment. Perhaps, we can help each other."
Itsu breathed heavily for a moment, his father's teachings on getting a good deal and dealing with untrustworthy individuals flashing through his mind, before shakily asking, "Who are you? What do you want from me?"
His smile widened, "I am called the Outsider. My motives for you are neither benevolent nor malicious, would you hear me out?"
Itsu blinked, "What do benevolent and malicious mean?"
The Outsider seemed somehow even more amused, "Good and bad, respectively. I suppose this is my fault for choosing a child, but this is a curious world, and deserves curious methods. What I mean, is that I do this for any grand purpose, or to use you to my benefit any more than stated. I wish to assist you in making an impact in the world, simply because I am interested in the change it would have. My deal for you is that I offer power. I want nothing in return, other than to watch you with great interest. What say you?"
Itsu's brow furrowed, "What do I get?"
"You are familiar with bloodline traits, yes? What I offer is my mark, my blessing, as some have called it. Through it, you will gain what appears to most as a bloodline trait. Fortunately, there are recorded instances of such bloodlines popping up after traumatic incidences, such as your own."
Itsu shuddered a bit, but shook it off, "What would it do?"
"You will find out, if you accept."
It was far too tempting to not consider.
His father had said that untrustworthy individuals were dangerous to deal with, but was quite clear that it was not a reason to not deal with them. Rather, it was simply a reason to use caution in those deals, and not follow them into areas where potential ambushes and theft could occur. However, he was already in the strangest place he'd ever been in, and presumably at the mercy of this man, so his father's teachings seemed to be satisfied as beyond his control. It was simply too tempting to not accept.
"I'll do it," he resolutely stated.
"Excellent."
A burning sensation engulfed his hand, and more worryingly, seemed to spread to his very core. Itsu collapsed, clutching his hand and curling up into a ball as a black, concentric mark burned black into his hand.
The Outsider's voice crisply pierced the air as he recovered, "A bit more painful of an experience than for most, but I had to tie my mark to your chakra. I suspect you'll find that to be more convenient in the future. I assure you, you'd rather not have my influence discovered by others for quite some time. Fortunately for you, most will find their eyes simply glossing over my mark.
"You can do two things with my power as it is now. You may disperse through the void and reform where you wish, and activate your eyes to see the world through a different perspective than most. One last piece of advice, seek whalebone. Until then, Itsu Sato."
When Itsu opened his eyes, he was back in his room, the midday sun glaring through the window, and his hand still branded.
Itsu applied to the Konoha ninja academy soon after. Chakra was a technique used by few outside the military forces, and so it was the clear direction to go. Moreover, he found himself with a burning hatred towards Iwa, and what better way to fight them than to join those who he saw brutally takedown his parent's murders?
The academy had few requirements. To be loyal, to be healthy, and to be of strong will. He more than satisfied the requirement of loyalty as a Konoha native, and the will to boldly apply to the academy the day after the death of his parents impressed the academy assessment team. Ultimately, they were uncertain as to the health of his mind, having recently experienced quite a traumatic event.
Itsu was told to wait a week, after which a medical-nin assessment would determine his faculties. It was a good thing too, as this week was spent largely in mourning. It was not a proper, or even a truly complete mourning, but at the end of the week he was a far more stable person, though perhaps one with a bit of unhealthy hatred. But, what good ninja didn't have a bit of that?
He did more than just mourn, however. As the son of a traveling merchant, he was more well-learned than your average child. He had less in-depth knowledge compared to clan heirs, but he was somewhat more worldly. The grand conclusion drawn from this worldliness was the conclusion that ninja used chakra.
He certainly did not. In fact, few outside the military of the nations knew how to use even the most basic exercise of chakra. But, his secret little deal with The Outsider made it clear that the way to use the things he got from the unnecessarily offputting man was chakra use, and it was through these powers that he would become someone with some stake in the world.
Something else he picked up on these family trips were stories. Stories of great warriors, skilled ninja, and great sages. One aspect often found in these stories was meditation, and it seemed as good of a place to start as any.
It certainly didn't give him access to his chakra. But, meditation was good. He had a rough start at first, but he eventually got a handle on something resembling meditation. It was good to clear his mind, focus on his body, and lose himself for a while. It helped a lot whenever he got a little too shivery at the thought of his parents, to simply relax and recover for a moment.
It was a nice and enjoyable hobby, and one spent a great deal of his time enjoying. He didn't have much else to do, after all, and then the end of the week came.
The mental checkup went very well. It started off lightly, questioning small things like his appetite and day-to-day routine. The examiner seemed a little surprised with how calm Itsu seemed to be, but was more intrigued by his hobby of meditation than anything else.
Eventually, the topic of his parents was broached. It took a few shaky, deep breaths, but he suppressed the vivid image of their bodies in less than five seconds and began a response.
"I miss them. But I have to keep going. I need to become a ninja. For them. For me."
The examiner's eyebrows rose a fraction, before settling. "I understand," the man said, just slightly quieter than before. "I felt the same when I lost my sister. That's why I joined the medical ninja."
The examiner forced the interview to continue as usual, but it seemed that, if just for a moment, Itsu found another kindred soul who had lost someone dear to them. Someone who understood why he would want to become a ninja.
He received the acceptance note to the academy just a day later.
Got the bug to write again. Going for something a little more on the serious side, but ultimately I look for humor in dark times, so I don't think this will be entirely divorced from comedy, especially considering the world it's in. Good chance there's a few grammar errors, didn't run this by anyone as I felt like uploading this chapter on somewhat of a whim. ADHD gets you like that sometime.
I'm working on a bit of backlog, and this likely won't be too consistent now since I've still got school and all that, and I've never been the quickest writer. Still, I felt like the combo of Dishonored powers in Naruto was just too good to not coexist, and jumped headlong through it. The early chapters will be pretty short, as it's hard to write long chapters when you're trying to get through the rather boring academy process while maintaining some sense of reasonable development of character, relationship, and powers.
In regards to my older fic, A Scuttling Mob, I don't know if I'll return to it. I did enjoy writing it, but at the time of writing it a lot of really difficult shit came up in my life and writing that story was my main form of escapism. It's really hard to return to it without bringing back thoughts of that time, and while my life and situation have calmed down significantly, and I'm medicated and all that now, some wounds are still open or healing, if you know what I mean. I don't think it's necessarily dead, per se, but I don't think there will be much of a consistent or any serious plans for an update for it.