Alright, this is the…well, slightly better version of chapter one. I decided to redo this.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Yu Yu Hakusho.
Meetings of Importance
By: Akki no Tama
Prologue
A blond, blue eyed boy ran as fast as he could, trying to escape whatever it was that was pursuing him. He didn't know what it was, possibly because of his short life. Five years wasn't that long.
The boy vaguely noticed his clothes being ripped bit by bit by the tree branches as he raced through the forest. The only thing that entered his thoughts were, 'Run! Run! RUN!' Nothing else mattered but for how long and how fast his little legs could carry him away from that-that thing.
That thing was BIG! At least for a five year old child. It had five eyes-BLACK eyes-and it had three jelly like legs and-and-and a bunch of other things the boy couldn't remember. The boy had only glanced at it as he neared the edge of the forest. One glance was enough to tell him to start running. Naruto had a very strong suspicion that the monster though he would be a good snack.
'Oh please! Don't eat me, don't eat me, don't eat me! I'm not plump! I'm really skinny for my age! Eat that fat guy in my class, Chougee or something!' Naruto finally thought besides running. 'Someone save me!'
But he knew no one would. Everyone hated him, at least the people he knew. The kids at school, always picking on him, throwing object and insults his way, sometimes pushing him in the mud. One time, during art projects time, another kid flung green paint in his eyes. Everyone just laughed when the blond boy began to cry. Then there were the grown-ups. They were even worse. At least the kids actually did something, the adults would just glare at him with those cold, icy, hate filled eyes that would make him want to crawl in a hole and die.
The monster that was chasing him roared in rage. They had only been running for a minute but it seemed like it was getting closer.
'I don't want to die!' Naruto thought in panic.
Slam!
There was a sudden eerie silence as the creature landed on top of the five year old. It hissed at him and opened its mouth wide, showing rows upon rows of sharp, deadly teeth. Teeth that could tear a child's skin in a flash. The child, apparently, was going to be Naruto.
The blonde boy looked at it in pure fear and horror, scared for his very life. He took in a shaky breath against the painfully heavy weight on his small body and shut his eyes tight, bracing himself to feel his head being ripped off. There was a roar as the creature was about to rip the child's head off, rip HIS head OFF!
Then, the horrible rib cracking weight was gone. He hesitantly opened his eyes to see an angel. Or-at least someone that sort of looked like an angel. The sun was behind his head and he stood proudly, defiantly in front of the horrible monster that nearly killed the blond. Naruto squinted against the sun to take a better look at the man that saved his life.
The man-or teenager, really-looked to be sixteen or so. He had messy, raven hair that wasn't short but wasn't long. The man had chocolate brown eyes that seemed like he knew everything or could see through you if you tried to lie. But upon closer inspection, it looked like he was just bored or lazy. That didn't matter, this is in the eyes of a kid that just had his life saved!
Anyway, the man wore these loose, pitch black pants that had many pockets in them. He also had a long chain going from one pocket to another. His shoes didn't look like anything the blond ever saw, it actually covered the whole foot, can you imagine? He also wore this dark green jacket that had a hood and no zippers or buttons. The sleeves only reached to his elbows but there was another shirt underneath, it was light green. There was a spiked collar around his neck and it looked like a decorative tag hung from it. It was also green with something written on it.
Naruto then realized that he didn't look like an angel. What kind of angel wore that? He looked like some sort of punk. But then again, his knowledge of angels weren't very strong, only hearing about them from bits and pieces of gossip or other.
The monster-whom Naruto had forgotten upon site of the new comer-roared and hissed at the man. It looked like it was going to try and attack but then its eyes (all three of them-wait, wasn't it five just a moment ago?) widened when it got a closer look at his face. It made an awkward, clumsy sort of bow and tried to back away. Keyword, tried.
The new comer didn't let it go far before he held out his hand and pointed out his index finger, like a gun. There was an odd blue light that shot out and engulfed the monster. Naruto had closed his eyes and when he opened them again, the monster was gone.
The teenager kneeled down next to him and smiled gently, kindly. It was odd, seeing someone giving that look to him of all people. Naruto smiled shyly back.
"Hey, you ok?" the teenager asked the blond. His voice was just a tad bit rough. It had a deep, soothing quality to it.
"Um…yeah…I think."
"You're bleeding…" his savior said. Naruto was about to cringe until he realized the teenager wasn't mocking him.
"Oh…" Naruto didn't feel any pain until the stranger pointed it out to him. He placed his hand over one of the wounds and winced when it stung.
"Here, I'll get you home, ok?" He held out his hand in front of the blond, waiting for the boy to take it.
The boy stared at it, as if he didn't understand. Seeing this, the teenager slowly took his hand and helped lift him up. The boy stared at him like he was surprised the other would willingly touch him.
"Um…mister…what's your name?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
"Urameshi Yusuke. What's yours?" He led the younger boy through the forest and began to walk on a path the other would be able to follow. Once he tried to pull his hand away but Naruto didn't look like he wanted to let go, happy for human contact. The older one didn't press it or try it again.
"Uzumaki…Naruto…" As soon as he said it, he waited for his savior to pull away in disgust or anger. It didn't come.
"What were you doing here, out in the forest by yourself?" Yusuke asked, completely ignoring the boy's body language.
"I…I went to train but…that monster attacked me."
"Oh, it's nothing but a low class demon. Usually, one of your chuunin could take it down easy."
"D-demon?"
Yusuke shrugged carelessly. He lifted a branch that was in Naruto's way. "Yeah, maybe an E-superior or D-inferior. At most, probably D-middle. Um…maybe I should stop talking…you look pale…"
"S-sorry."
"What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything wrong."
'Whatever's wrong in the world is your fault, you freak! Monsters like you have to live on our charity, you're lucky we're so nice!' someone spat towards a blond boy.
'Monster!'
'Demon!'
'Idiot!'
'Dobe!'
"Naruto!"
"Huh?" Naruto looked up to the person who called him. Yusuke looked at him with worried eyes.
"What's wrong?" the teen asked.
"N-nothing!"
"Uh-huh, sure. You're one strange kid." Yusuke yawned and didn't bother to cover his mouth. "Hey, do you know what day it is?"
"Huh? No."
"Oh well. It feels like days since I've had some sleep." Yusuke looked bored, or tired, and led Naruto through a clearing. "Hey, shouldn't you be worried about what your parents think? You know, your clothes and all. Plus, me bringing you home isn't exactly going to help either." The teen glanced at him.
"I don't have parents." Naruto tried to say it without his voice breaking.
"Oh…" There was silence until Yusuke asked, "What about the orphanage?"
"I don't live there. I live by myself." There was a halt as soon as he finished.
"They let a KID live by HIMSELF? What kind of humans are those people?" Yusuke raged, mostly to himself.
Naruto stood quietly and had his head bowed. Yusuke immediately calmed down as he caught the look and explained, "No, I'm not blaming you." He sighed. "Why do they do that…I thought they were better than demons, leaving a child to defend for himself…" He started walking again, tugging Naruto's arm to signal him to continue walking.
"Do you know a lot about demons?" Naruto asked. He wasn't comfortable with the subject they were on.
"I…guess you could say that."
"Am I one?"
Yusuke stopped again, this time to stare at his companion. "Why would you think that?"
Naruto looked at the ground as he spoke. "All the villagers call me a monster…"
Yusuke didn't say anything. It looked at he was examining the boy before him. He eyes glowed a faint red before settling down again. It looked like he just figured something out. "Don't worry, you're not a demon. They're just idiots." Yusuke waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, not all demons are bad."
"Huh?" Naruto gave him a confused look.
"I'm a demon. Well, half, actually."
There was an awkward pause as Naruto stared dumbly at him. "You're…a demon?"
"Yeah, do you have a problem?" Yusuke rolled his eyes.
Naruto thought about it before he tightened his grip on the teen's. "No."
Yusuke blinked in surprise but smiled at him. Naruto felt like he just passed some sort of test. The teen nodded and continued to walk. After a few moments, Yusuke asked, "Do you like your village?"
"…The people are really mean."
"But do you like your village?"
"No…"
"…You wanna stay with me? Or, at least with my mom? She's human, but since I kind of have this job that makes me really busy, she's lonely by herself at home…so…if you want to stay over for a bit, or stay permanently…either way is fine…or not stay at all is ok too…"
"Per-ma-nent-ly?" Naruto asked, struggling with the word.
"Um…How can I explain that in five years old talk? It means a really, really, really, really, really, really long time. Like, almost forever."
"R-really?"
"Sure, why not. Not like it would hurt or-oof!"
Naruto tackled the raven haired teen and hugged his knees, the highest he could reach. Yusuke gave an awkward smile as he placed a hand on top of the little boy's head. "Um…you're welcome. Hey, are there any people you want to tell?"
"…The Hokage."
"The who?"
"The leader of the village."
"Whatever."
Yusuke began to walk, leading them again. After a while, he reached the edge of the forest. Yusuke saw some buildings in the distance and headed for them.
"Yusuke-'nii-san…" Naruto tested. After no objection to the name, he continued. "Are you really strong?"
"Well, being one of the three demons lords, yeah, I'd say strong."
"Huh?"
Yusuke sighed. "Yeah, I'm really strong."
"What will you do if the Hokage says no when we ask?"
"Who said we were asking?" Yusuke grinned at him. Naruto grinned back.
Naruto decided he liked his new older brother. He was strong, nice, and had a good sense of humor. He didn't act like a half demon, either, even if the boy never actually talked to a demon before. But people would think they were mean and ugly and big. Not that it mattered. Maybe Yusuke was the exception.
Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the Hokage's secretary's desk. Naruto was too short to see over it, even with tipee toes. He placed the hand that wasn't occupied on top of the desk to try and use it as a leverage. Didn't work. He was still about three inches too short.
Yusuke was calmly talking to the lady.
"Hey, miss, can I talk to the Hokage?" Yusuke asked, trying to be polite.
"I'm sorry, but Hokage-sama is busy with someone at the moment. If it is something…that boy did, you will just have to wait," the lady said, looking disdainfully at the blond.
"You know, you're kind of cute," Yusuke said, going at a different approach. "Maybe if I can finish this up fast, we could go get dinner?"
Naruto gave Yusuke a disbelieving look. Some of the Anbu standing guard just shook their heads in amusement. They were watching, finding it interesting.
"No thanks. I don't date guys five years younger than me."
Yusuke gave a sheepish laugh. "You mean you're not in your teens? I could have almost sworn that you were. You look so young!" Some of the Anbu were laughing out right at this.
"Sir, if you want to talk to the Hokage so badly, you can arrange an appointment with him," the secretary stated blandly.
"See, I kind of need to do it now. I'm really busy-"
"So is Hokage-sama."
"-and I have to leave pretty soon. Can I please talk to him now?" Yusuke gave her a winning smile, or at least, what sort of looked like a winning smile.
"I can't do that. You'll need an appointment."
Yusuke took in a deep breath before asking, "When's the soonest time possible?"
"Next month."
"Listen here, you-" Yusuke's sentence was cut off by another's.
"Actually, they can talk to me now."
Yusuke turned, along with Naruto.
"Alright, Hokage-sama," the secretary said respectfully.
"That's your leader? He looks really old." Yusuke looked the man up and down, almost as if out of habit or to empathize his point.
"Mind your manners!" the secretary screeched at the teen.
The Hokage laughed lightly. "Ah, children these days."
"Don't call me a child, old man!" Yusuke said loudly, annoyed. "Come on, let's talk." Yusuke rudely opened the doors to the Hokage's office and dragged a helpless Naruto along.
The Hokage shook his head, an amused smile on his face. He followed the raven haired boy into the room. He closed the door and took a seat in front of them. "What did Naruto do now?"
"I didn't do anything!" Naruto automatically yelled. This was one of those few times it was true.
"I'm taking him with me." Yusuke looked straight into the old man's eyes.
The Third stopped smiling and frowned instead. "I know you are not of this village so I do not think that is a good idea."
"I'm glad I'm not of this village, from what I've seen. You people disgust me." The half demon almost spat the words out.
Sandaime winced at the words but said, "No, I do not think it wise. You don't understand-"
"I understand perfectly. I know what he has and why the villagers hate him."
Naruto looked at him in surprise at that. He didn't know why they hated him, why would his new brother know? He only knew him for a couple of hours! Or was it only one hour? Little kids weren't supposed to know the value of time!
"How…do you know?"
"For a time, it was one of the biggest gossip topics. It was unheard of, a Kyubi being defeated by one human. They made up these wild rumors how it was defeated. You're just lucky they didn't come here to see how strong the people of this village were if one human could defeat such a strong demon."
"Who are they?" the Hokage asked, paling at every word. "How did they know? There was a law that prohibited anyone from telling another."
"If one of the strongest humans alive was defeated in battle, everyone human alive would know, right? Why wouldn't it apply to demons too?"
There was a pause. It felt like the air was suddenly thicker. "I'm not sure if I understand this correctly…"
"You don't need to. Let's go, Naruto."
Yusuke got up and gently pushed the younger boy towards the door.
"I can't let you leave, how do I know-"
"That I won't hurt him?" Yusuke stopped walking and placed his hands over the blonde's shoulders. "Even if I meant him harm, it couldn't be much worse then what they are doing to him, right? Slowly eating away his sanity, the pain of loneliness nipping at the edges of his heart. Then, practicing with a kunai, the accidental slice of flesh doesn't look so bad. That red, delicious blood slowing dripping down his wrist. The pain numbing his thoughts. All he wants was to not feel those eyes on his back, as if they would strike at any moment to-"
Naruto felt one of his brother's hands lift up and do something he couldn't see.
In the middle of Yusuke's talking, the Third had adopted a grave expression. Now he just looked tired.
"Do you understand?" Yusuke asked as he replaced his hand over Naruto's shoulder. "This kid is human and he deserves better than the life of a demon's. I know how they live, and this place is no better for him. At least they don't cover theirs up with false kindness."
"If you are what I think you are, why would you wish to help?" the Third asked, wanting to be absolutely sure Naruto would be in safe hands. He knew he would not be able to stop the demon before him.
"I'm only half." Yusuke shrugged. "Besides, don't you think it would be better for him to experience something semi-normal for once?"
"Do you live with…them?"
"No…well, sort of. I kind of switch from place to place, but he can stay with someone I know and trust, someone who is a human. She'll take good care of him." Yusuke gave him his cocky grin.
"Yusuke-nii-san, are we leaving yet?" Naruto asked, craning his neck to look at the teen.
"Yeah. It's about time, too." Yusuke yawn. "I still need to get some sleep." He turned towards the door.
"Wait!" The Hokage offered something to Yusuke-which he took-and explained, "When he is old enough, he should understand what happened…and…why. Can you train him? Some people might be after him and even you might not be able to protect him all the time…"
"Like I would leave him defenseless. He has to learn to do some things on his own, anyway. That all, old man?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
"Ok."
Yusuke opened the door and gave Naruto a little push to get him moving. Before he left, Yusuke said over his shoulder, "Don't worry 'bout it, ya old geezer. My name's not Urameshi Yusuke for nothing."
The Hokage didn't know how to react to that. Five minutes later, after they were long gone (Yusuke had opened a portal where no prying eyes could go) the Third accidentally yelled out, "THE Urameshi Yusuke?"
End Prologue
Ok…that's the new version. Not much of a difference, really.
