Two years later.
"The wolf… go… to the river…"
"Almost my dear but actually it's…"
"Wait. He can't just 'go' to the river. Not right now. It doesn't make sense since he is now at the… no! It's 'the wolf went to the river!' He's not here anymore!"
"Yes… yes that's it my pup… "
I looked at my mother, Tsume, who was teaching me to read. I never learned Japanese (or the language they used, if it was different I would have no way to tell…) but having the brain elasticity of a child took care of that in record time. If I could say so myself.
I looked at my mother expectantly, hoping for praise. And she did. But there was… something in her eyes that bothered me.
"Now look at this. Can you read this sentence?"
"The… cat… kitten…? is fat? And… smelly…? "
"Yes my love… yes… you read it right again… "
I saw her eyes again. There was pride in his eyes. Pride and tiredness… and wariness. The tattoo on her cheeks were distorted with the fake smile she was sporting. Did she failed another mission?
My mother, Tsume, was the protector of the Inuzuka. Other clans in the rest of Konoha think of it as 'clan leader' but for us it means much more. The protector must be the strongest. The Unyielding. The Fierce.
Each member of the clan must have her approval. Those who fail are simply discarded.
Which means that they help the daily operation of the clan by staying all day behind a desk. I shuddered at the thought. Already did plenty of that in my past life. Was I disappointing her?
"That's it for today, Shinji. You did good. As… As always… I must leave, I'm sorry. The clan expects me."
She got up off the chair she was resting on and took her leave, leaving me wondering about what just happened. Reading exercises were boring and easy but I needed them. I need to be able to read if I want to understand what the fuck I am doing in the Naruto-verse.
Because, yeah, I'm in the Naruto-verse. I saw the village. I recognized the mountain with the Hokage faces carved in (seriously, what kind of idiot carve a fucking mountain with four 15 meters of 'these–are-the–guys-that–went–wild-on–your-collective–sorry–asses', build a village on the plains below it and call it "hidden in the leaves"?)
Yeah. Definitely Naruto logic.
And yeah, I said 'four faces'. The fourth one was brand new compared to the rest. I didn't ask any questions but it was obvious that I came here before the Kyuubi attack.
Maybe I should do something about that? I've read a ton of time-travelling and self-insert stories where the new guy tries to alter destiny.
50% of the time it fails every time.
But do I give a fuck about protecting the timeline?
...
Nah. Kishimoto's timeline was shit anyway.
When my mother left, I looked at the young wolf sleeping on my lap.
This was my Imprint. One of the most protected secrets of my clan.
Which means everyone and their mother knows about it, because apparently secrets are boring and always leaks so why care about keeping the knowledge of our techniques hidden?
My clan is a bunch of idiots.
"You finished?" The young wolf was resting in my arms and yawned while looking at me. "Reading is boring! And useless! You can't get things by reading about them! You get up, you go outside and you get them! Come on! Can we go?"
My friend looked expectantly at me, his tail whipping the air. When I was chosen by him he was so small I could have held him in my once adult hands. Two years later he could still fit but it would be far less comfortable.
The white ball of fur was hoping I would agree and let him chase butterflies again. I think he has a vendetta against them. And shadows. Whenever I move, the moment he spots my shadow against a wall he just… lunges at it. Smashing his delicate nose against it and slowly… sliding to the ground like a wet sponge.
And after ten minutes of agony after he's fucking doing it again.
This is the Imprint that chose me.
…
I should just say 'fuck this shit' and try if I can hop to another verse that makes sense.
Or maybe I should simply keep him away from the Nara clan… yeah, better plan.
"Hey. Do you know what's happening outside? Like… Can you listen to what they say or something? "
"Of course I can! But why? It won't help us get things, right? Can we go get things? I've seen a pretty shiny red thing outside and I'm pretty sure it insulted me so I have to pee on it!"
"That's… That's a fire hydrant… you dumb sack of… wait. Focus on the first part. Can you… tell me what they are saying outside? I really wanna know…"
"Easy! I'll show it to you!"
My wolf perked up and steadied his grip on my legs. Was he trying to jump at the door and open it so that I could see the people outside?
Because that's the kind of stupid plan he usually think of.
"NO NO NO DAMMIT DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE !"
But then something happened. My wolf suddenly turned his head up toward me, looked me in the eyes and…
And…
And I wasn't 'me' anymore. I was… I was… I don't know. I was… everywhere? My senses were telling me so many things. I sensed the flowers on my nightstand. The freshly cleaned sheets by a subpar detergent of the bed beside us. The birds, singing outside. The people walking around. Chatting, walking, each step loud as a cannon on my… ears? I was everywhere.
I 'saw' the people speaking behind the door, in hushed tones.
"So.,my Fierce, how is he… did he…" That was the voice of my father. He sounded… scared.
"I tried everything. I laid grammatical traps. I smelled him to detect hesitation, doubt… Kuromaru was right outside to detect anything weird… But there's nothing. My love, this is…. This is bad…. "
I almost expected them to turn their face and look at me. Everything felt so real. I was looking at them, like I was standing beside them. And they ignored me because I wasn't here. My wolf was just listening, smelling and… sharing everything with me.
"But why is it bad, my Fierce? Our son is strong and smart! All clan kids also learn to read when they are two years old!"
"The Nara do so. The Hyuuga do so. The Yamanaka do so. But the Akimishi learn to cook before learning to read. The Uchiha learn to control their emotions before learning to read. And the Inuzuka learn to bond with their imprint before learning to read."
A man honing a mask spoke calmly to my father. I smelled… Something like iron on him. Is he armed?
… No. It's blood I sense all over him.
"But why is this a problem! He's too young to understand that, a spy would know about this! His training will come soon! Tradition means nothing against a child's curiosity! "
I sensed something in my father's voice. He was desperate. Like he just understood something and refused the conclusion his mind just made.
"He's an alpha. Maybe they do that? Sometime?" His voice had a point of despair that I couldn't ignore.
Defend the sire
It had been a while since I felt this instinct again. Two year, to be precise. Two calm and worry-less years. But this ends now.
I got up from my chair, lifting my Imprint in my arms, ready myself to bolt to the door. I didn't care if suddenly barging into an adult conversation will get me in a fuckton of problems. No one fuck with my father !
"According to the documents you provided, the last Alpha finished this step one year after being born and learned to read at two. Your child still isn't completely bonded, right? Did he even name his wolf? Please understand that we merely find this deviation from standard protocol… Curious."
I felt my father gasp and sensed the gaze of my companion. I've already decided a name for him, the very moment I heard his voice, to be precise. But I never found the courage to say it out loud… Well, let's just say I'm not ready. And he's okay with it, thank you very much.
But apparently that's a problem.
You. Don't. Fuck. With. My. Father
But the moment I stood up to reach the door something stopped me. I felt a tug in my stomach. Not a painful one. Suddenly I felt… calm. And realized I was just about to do something boneheaded 10 seconds ago.
Looking down at my arms, I saw my friend looking at me, with a mischievous smile.
"Don't worry, the keeper is here. He'll make sure they won't stop us from getting all the things! "
Looking into his eyes, I lost my feeling of 'self' again and was back to the conversation that was happening outside. And then I felt it.
Powerful, so… So powerful. And fast. And genuine. And yellow. And fast. And he wasn't there a second before… And so fucking fast… And that haircut should be criminal... Who…?
"Don't worry Inuzuka-sama. I looked at your clan history. You… Only recorded a kid like this in your clan once, right? "
"Yes… Yes indeed… My clan knows he's an alpha but… Our records mention some others before but without any detail… We only started doing so when… when… "
I was puzzled. I wasn't physically present but I could 'see' the expression of everyone. I recognized my father, standing back to the door with his body low and canine displayed for all to see. I saw my mother, the Fierce, looking lost, like her brain was running at full speed but failing to find something that could disarm the situation.
I 'saw' two people that I didn't know standing in front of my father. white robe and masks that I recognized from ANBU. One with a dog mask and one with a cat mask. The cat one was probably a woman.
And I recognized the yellow Flash. In his youthful glory. But both hands in the air in a gesture of conciliation.
"Please, just calm down. I know you are on edge but this is uncalled for." Namikaze Minato was talking to the two ANBU in the room.
"The last alpha of the Inuzuka clan was a long time ago and wasn't documented in the Konoha archive, since it was considered a clan secret. We should be trying to understand him. It may be a normal occurrence for all we know"
I was just listening through 'wolf-fm' but I still felt the power of his words.
Don't fuck with the keeper
Yeah, no shit, instinct. I would never have guessed just by looking at Him.
"Lord Hokage." The man with the dog mask (wait, how can I 'hear' the form of his mask?) began to speak while slowly kneeling in front of the yellow flash. "Appearances of geniuses are common in times of war. Appearance of geniuses is good news in times of peace. That is known. But the Inuzuka never produced geniuses in time of peace. This was documented decades ago when they opened their clan records to the village. The council merely wants to meet him and evaluate his potential."
"DON'T FUCK WITH ME! I KNOW THAT IF YOU DO THAT I'LL NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN!" As she screamed, mom slowly, deliberately assumed a fighting stance.
This broke the camel's back. No one angers my mother. NO ONE FUCK WITH MY PROTECTOR! Wait what?
What was that thought? The Protector?
My wolf closed his eyes and I was back to my chamber. I still felt the anger of my fierce mother behind the door. I've already seen my mother angry with my father. Because sometimes he went somewhere without telling anyone, or when he went into a S rank mission three month ago without telling her. Or when he invited the Yamanaka clan leader to drink a beer after a mission and my mother was drying her underwear in the living room…
Yeah, no. I did my best to forget the last part. But still she was less angry than she is now.
"I hope Danzo has a really good excuse because if you do a single step toward this door, I will kill you. Then I will use what little is left of you to find who you are, track down everyone you once held dear and you KNOW I will find them. And I will make their life a living hell. And no one will suspect me because YOU. KNOW. I. AM THAT. GOOD! "
I only heard her voice. I couldn't see the reaction of the two face masked Shinobi, (beside the fact that with a mask there's nothing to see) but my wolf was chuckling. Like he just heard a good joke.
But for me that was too much. I was born in a clan of boneheaded bruisers. And learning to read at the same age that every kid in my old world does is apparently a big deal. And I couldn't do a thing about it.
…Wait, can't I?
"Hey. Shake a leg. We're moving."
"What?" My friend ears moved up. "We're going to get things? We're finally going to get things?"
"Yes we are, but we must do it discreetly." My wolf was interested but wary.
"Nah. Discretion is for kittens. I have a better plan."
"Wait what? NONONONONOOOO DON'T YOU FUCKING…."
My plea fell on deaf ears as my oblivious wolf just jumped from my arms. In a flash he was at the door, not even reacting to the waves of killing intent that radiated from it and jumped to the handle.
In a loud 'clack' the door opened, surprising everyone in the corridor.
"Hello! Can we go? I really really want to go outside and Shinji wants too. Can we go get things? Please keeper-dono?"
"My my? What a well behaved young pup!"
The yellow flash began to smile. Completely unaffected by the fact that my wolf spoke… In common language! He never did that before! The fact that Imprints can communicate with their friends is well known but for a young one to learn how to speak..? By himself without anyone noticing it? And using proper suffixes to boot?
Excuse me, dear reader but what the fuck?
"Of course you can, young wolf. I was just telling those gentlemen in white that we will hold this conversation in my office. You two are free to go"
"You have my thanks, keeper-dono. Now if you excuse us, your conversation was not exciting after all and Shinji agreed…"
My head felt on my desk in a loud thud. Attracting the attention of everyone in the room. We were THAT CLOSE to make it out without a problem and he just HAD to blurt it out…
"You were… listening? How? " The second ANBU in a cat mask began to speak in a curious but somehow relieved voice. And also definitely a woman.
My mother was eyeing me, perfectly aware about the 'how' but apparently not expecting it .
"I TOLD you that we should keep a low profile because adults are angry but NOOOOOO! Do you even listen to anything I say you damn fleabag ?"
"Why should I when there's so many things to get?"
"WHEN APPARENTLY NO ONE NOTICED WE CAN TALK TO EACH OTHER AND THAT'S APPARENTLY A BIG FUCKING THING?! READ THE FUCKING ROOM!"
"But we've been talking to each other since we met, right ? They can't hear us but who cares about them, right?"
That stopped me. I realized I couldn't tell the difference between my ninken 'talking' to me with our imprint and my ninken 'talking to me' via his voice.
And we were now having this argument in pure Inuzuka mind reading.
And they saw the whole getting angry, shouting silently to the fluffy idiot while being completely ignored by the other party then coming to realize it.
"Hmmm… Sorry ? We were discussing something private. Can we know what's going on ? Because according to him?" I sent a stink eye in the direction of my wolf, who was stretching like nothing was going on, except a future fetch quest. "He's bored and wants to go get all the things and I'm tired of listening to his complaints. Can I go ?"
The Hokage smile was blinding.
"So THAT'S why you are already learning how to read! You already know your clan's techniques but no one noticed." The Hokage was elated. Then he turned to the two ANBU (or maybe ROOT, given the fact that Danzo sent them but I'll keep that to me)
"Please tell the council that everything is under control. The young Shinji is actually progressing like a normal Inuzuka, except faster than we thought because it wasn't properly monitored on our end. Tell them he has my approval."
Nodding their heads, the two masked ninja dissipated in a cloud of smoke.
All attention was on me again.
Namikaze Minato was positively beaming with amusement. Surely because he just told the council to kindly get bent. With the least amount of 'kindly' possible.
My father, Inuzuka Tori, as I learned in time, was in a broken state again, mumbling something about clan technique and pride and you get the gist of it.
My mother was… well she was tired. Really tired. But I could see a light smile, knowing that I was safe.
"See? I told you sneaking around was for kittens! Now we can go get all the things!"
I unconsciously understood that my friend switched from thoughts sharing to simply barking, which I also understood.
Except that switching to barking surrounded by Inuzuka pretty much spilled the beans about the fact we HAD a plan beforehand.
Ninken bonds with a human during the ritual. But the Imprint is only considered complete when he is given a name.
The fourth was beaming with amusement. My mother looked as proud as the time I took my first steps. My father was… Well… My father.
Well. It was as good a time as any.
No. It was the perfect moment, you sack of fleas.
"God dammit Moon-Moon…. "