A/N: Hey, yeah, I know that my author name is ZhouMak, and my OC is named that, too, but my name is based on his, this isn't a selfinsert. Besides, if I tried to live in Naruto world, they would kill me out of spite.
Disclaimer: Yeah, all this, not mine. Except for Zhou Mak. He is totally mine. OK? Good.
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NARUTO: CHAINS
CHAPTER TWO: STRENGTHENING BONDS
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Zhou Mak arrived at the address written on the paper the Hokage had given him. I need to find a house for the person that lives here, as well as myself, in order for the Hokage to allow me to work for Konoha. He looked up at the house and grimaced, This place...I've seen tidier houses of ill repute. Well, no turning back now. Mak opened the door, and looked for the owner of the apartment complex.
An old, raspy voice came from behind Mak, "Ri' 'ere, Mister. Whatta ya need?" It was a man, probably in his late fifties, his hands were buried to the wrist in his pockets, he looked up at Zhou Mak, awaiting a response.
"I was sent here to this address." Mak held out the piece of paper. The old man ripped it from his hand. Then he started to snicker, then snigger, then outright cackle. Mak could feel the perverted joy seep from the cackling figure before him. It unnerved him, that a person could find such blatantly evil pleasure from the paper. Mak was now having misgivings about this assignment, if the person he was sent to guard could inspire reactions like that, Mak had best be careful.
Once the creepy, old man finished his disturbing laughter, he said, "Third floor, I'd suggest taking the fire escape, he always keeps his east window open. Kami bless ya, sir. You take care of 'em, and I'll git ya what'ivir place here ya want." When the old man finished, he walked away, giggling a little. Mak was alone with his thoughts, Take the fire escape? What did that old guy mean? Mak walked up the stairs, and knocked on the proper door, awaiting a response from inside. Nothing.
Mak tried the door, and found it unlocked. He opened it and announced, "Hey, the Hokage told me to help you find a new place to live!" There was no reply. Mak walked in, the hairs on his neck bristling, if this guy needed to be watched and protected, then why would the door be unlocked? Anyone could come in and ambush him, or set a trap.
As soon as that line of thought passed through his mind, Mak found himself under assault from a hail of kunai. Mak raised his arm in reflex, feeling the kunai embed into his coat, but none of the shovel-knives reached the skin through what was hiding in his sleeves.
A figure emerged from one of the closed off rooms, blazing bright, like a sunrise. Oh, hell, thought Mak, I have to watch him? As Naruto jumped out from his hiding spot, he shouted, "HA! You thought you could sneak up on the great Uzimaki Naruto! You…" He stopped in mid-yell, amazed at just who it was Naruto caught in his trap. The child pointed his finger at the older man before him, just before yelling, "It's you!!"
Mak ripped the kunai from his sleeve, "Yeah, it is me. Like I said earlier, I was sent by the Hokage to get you a new place to live. Now, however, I am not sure if I still want to accept this mission."
"Well good, then. Tell Old Man Hokage that I don't want you to either!" shouted Naruto, who hoped that the man before him would run off.
Mak replied, in a voice that was as calm as Naruto's was frantic, "Well, the matter is settled then, is it not?"
Naruto turned around, crossed his arms, nodded his head, and grunted. "Okay," said Mak, "I am staying until you get a new place to live." Naruto wheeled around and gasped, his mouth open.
"But, but, but…you just said you were going to leave!"
"I said no such thing. I said that the matter was settled. Besides, if I do not do this, then I cannot accept missions here, which is something I desperately desire to do. Now, get yourself packed up, we have to go house-searching."
Naruto was not known for his dazzling intellect, he was really more cunning, and was able to come up with jokes and comebacks pretty quickly, so when he got the idea for his next prank, Naruto ran with it. While Mak's back was turned, Naruto muttered "Henge," under his breath, and said, aloud so Mak could hear it, "Shouldn't we at least have gotten a ring or something first?"
Mak turned around, and would have expected an angel riding a pink elephant before he expected what was there. Instead of the bratty punk that Mak had seen earlier, it was instead a young woman, around sixteen, maybe older, who was covered only by wisps of smoke. Mak paused what he was doing, wiped his eyes, and deadpanned, "You know that nightfall is on the way. You should put some clothes on before you catch your death of cold. Did you see a little, noisy, annoying punk run off somewhere?"
The more that Mak spoke, the more that the vision of loveliness before him showed anger. Once Mak finished speaking, there was a pop and before Mak again, was Naruto, who was shouting up a storm, "What's wrong with you?!"
"Excuse me?" Mak was unsure of what Naruto meant, "What do you mean? You were the one trying to look like that and you ask what was wrong with me?"
"Yeah, what's wrong with you? Nobody can see that and still be awake!"
"Nobody, so that works on females, too?" inquired Mak, who smiled as soon as he saw Naruto's face flush.
"NO! Just guys and perverts!" yelled back an embarrassed Naruto.
"Well, then. Since I am a guy, I guess that means I am not a pervert. Do not forget that. From the way the Hokage phrased the mission, it sounds like I will be watching you for quite awhile, so I suggest that we get to know each other. But only after we find ourselves a place to stay." Mak looked into Naruto's eyes, trying to guage whether or not his lesson sunk in.
Naruto nodded his head and said, "Alright. Besides, if you can resist this technique, then there's gotta be a lot you can teach me! Dattebayo!!"
"Hey, Naruto, I asked the old guy downstairs about you and…" Mak noticed that with every word he said, that Naruto's face fell a little more. Mak decided that the less said on the subject, the better, and decided to make a mental note of it. But for now, Mak needed to divert Naruto's attention away from the mean landlord downstairs. "And he said that he'd help me find a place, so I'm going to find him and see what I can do for us." When Mak looked at Naruto next, his smile dropped off his face so fast that it looked like it had never been there. "When I get back, I expect you to have all the stuff packed up, and most of this crap cleaned up. If we are going to be moving out tonight, then this place needs to look like new. And if that is not done when I return, then you have to run twenty laps around the city."
Naruto's face was still wearing it's odd smile when Zhou Mak closed the door. Truth be told, that grin kinda scared the older man. Who smiles like that when they have such a big job to do? Weird kid. Mak found who he was looking for. The old man had three other guys behind him, but the old man spoke first.
"Is it done? Is he gone?" The old man leaned forward as he spoke, eager for the answer. The goons behind him just kept leering. It was unsettling.
"He'll be gone before too long. I've just got to go collect him." From the way they acted, Mak figured that the gang didn't exactly expect to see Naruto ever emerge from his room, but Mak needed information, so he played their game. "Oh, do any of you guys know where I can find a place for about 120,000 ryou?"
The group before him looked incredulous. Finally, one of the other fellows spoke, this man had a squeaky voice, the kind that whistled every time he made an 's' sound. "You could buy a whole house with that kinda money, but you don't gotta. We own most alla the apartments in town. If you really did get ridda the kid, we'll let you stay wherever ya want, no charge."
Okay, I've gotta play this really carefully, one wrong word, and it is going to be really difficult to get what I need. "Thanks for the offer, but I need a house, I plan on raising a family soon, do you know where I can get one at that price?"
Another of the degenerates responded, this one was also older, but instead of scrawny, he was fat, his voice was a deep baritone, "Well, there are a few places near the shinobi district. If you hurry to the Hokage Tower, I'm sure you'll be able to find one for about that price."
Mak was about ready to thank the men and go back to Naruto, when the little punk saved him the trouble, "Hey, Zhou! I got it all done! Bet you didn't expect that! Dattebayo!" When I get to him, I'll kill him, thought Mak as the faces of them men before him darkened.
The old man that owned the apartment complex that Naruto lived in was the only one that tried to say something that wasn't a string of curses, "Ya said ya wier almos' finished wit 'em. Wha' happened?"
The one guy that had remained silent up to this point shouted out, in a strong, deep, bass, "What does it look like, ya twit? This one's supposed to keep the Demon brat safe, so I guess we'll just hafta go through 'im."
If they had given Mak a pause to talk, then this whole mess might have been averted, but instead, Bass tried to jump him. Mak stood with his feet square on at the man, his hands clasped around each other. As the man tried to get him, Mak did two things. He ducked under Bass's body, and rocketed up his shoulder into Bass's solarplexis. Bass let out a gurgle as he dropped to the floor and tried to catch his breath.
The old man that ran the complex had run off, but Weasel and Fat stayed around. Fat charged Mak and tried for a haymaker, at the same time that Weasel ran around behind him and tried to stab Mak in the kidney. Mak turned slightly to grab and twist up Weasel's wrist, which caused him to drop the knife, but that little victory wound up with him taking the full force of the haymaker to the side of his face.
Fat thought that his hit meant that Mak would willingly take more, so he tried to wade into Mak to find strong resistance. Mak caught Fat's fist, then blocked the second strike with his arm. Fat screamed as his fist connected with what felt like a brick wall. Mak took the time Fat wasted violently exhaling, and drilled Fat in the chin. Fat fell to the floor with a sickening 'thud.'
Weasel had re-obtained his knife by this point, and was looking for a place to stick it. Mak turned about and thrust his fist out to him even thought Weasel was a good five feet away.
Naruto walked down the stairs, we wanted to see what was keeping Uncle Zhou (as the orange eyesore decided to call him). Naruto saw Bass breathing heavy, and Mak standing behind Weasel, who fell on the floor at the same time that Naruto's foot did. Naruto noticed that there was a sizeable distance between Mak and the person that just fell, so Naruto was a little impressed. Naruto started across the floor to congratulate Mak when the landlord erupted from behind a closed door.
"Yaaaaaah!! Today you die, Demon brat!" screamed the old man as he flew through the air, a fire axe aimed at Naruto's noggin. Mak moved quickly, he jumped in front of Naruto, slid on his knees, and held up his arms in front of the blade.
The old man screamed an unintelligible string of babble. Not only did his surprise attempt on Naruto's life fail, but he didn't even cause any damage to the person kneeling before him.
Praise be to the Kami. I can't believe that I got here in time. Now to finish this. Mak stood up, ripping the axe away from the landlord while he did so.
The landlord was screaming, "No wonder you try to save him! One demon has come to save another! We're doomed! First the brat, and now he's called in family! Run! Run! Ru—" The landlord never got to finish what he said, because Mak punched him in the throat. While the landlord lay on the floor, gasping and gagging, Mak grabbed Naruto from the neck of his shirt and hauled him upstairs.
"What the hell were you doing? I gave you a job to do, and instead you run down as soon as you are sure that my back is turned."
Naruto interrupted, "Hey! I got it done, so I came to see what was keeping you. How was I supposed to know you were in the middle of a brawl? By the way, you did really good. Can you teach me how to block an axe with my arms like that?"
Mak was nearly at Naruto's door. "First thing, I know better than to believe that you got that done, second, you are supposed to say 'you did really well' not good, and third," Mak stopped, thought for a second, "that is a secret." He then threw open the door to Naruto's apartment. Mak then dropped Naruto on his ass. "If you were fast enough to get your entire apartment clean this fast, then how could you not get out of the way of that idiot with the axe?"
Naruto looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand while he replied, "Well, I'm not actually that fast."
Mak followed up with, "Then how did you do it?"
Naruto gave the back of Mak's head a big, goofy grin and responded, in the same way Mak said it, "That is a secret." Mak grunted and walked in. True to his word, the entire apartment was clean, and all of Naruto's meager belongings were in a few boxes by the door.
"Alright then, Naruto. We are going to the Hokage Tower to get our new house, then we are moving this stuff there. Lock your door, and meet me on the roof." Mak left. Naruto picked himself off of the ground, did as he was asked, then trudged up to the roof.
"Well, as fast as your apartment was taken care of, I expected you to be tailing me."
Naruto responded, "I told you that I wasn't that fast."
Mak continued on like he never heard Naruto open his mouth, "So, instead you're going to prove how fast you can be. We are heading to the Hokage Tower, and if you are not in front of me the entire way then you still have all those laps to run. After you move in all your stuff at the new house."
Naruto gaped. He was so caught off guard he almost missed Mak's next few words. "Since I know I'm faster, I'll give you a five second head start. Starting…now."
Naruto jumped up and ran, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, no longer paying any attention to Mak. Mak, the person that challenged him to this insane task, was standing on the rooftop behind him, just watching. Okay, so that's the way to the Tower. I should thank him for showing me, but I think I will just keep him sweating a little longer. Besides, the longer he thinks that I am beyond him; the longer I can keep his respect. After making sure that Naruto wasn't going to notice him following, Mak started off after him.
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Once Mak and Naruto arrived at the Hokage Tower (Naruto was much happier after he found out that Mak arrived second), they went inside and found the Sandaime bent over a large stack of papers.
It was the last stack to do for the day, then Hokage Sarutobi would be able to go home and rest. The absolute last thing on his mind was—. "Old Man Hokage!! I gotta talk to you!! Dattebayo!!"
Sarutobi took the four second break from when he heard that yell to when Naruto would actually show up, to bang his head into his desk a few times. But when Naruto opened his door, Sarutobi was all smiles.
Mak followed Naruto into the office of the man who held the highest rank in the village. He was a little scared, especially after having to beat up the few villagers that he had to. Mak was hoping to just go in and tell the Hokage that they got everything ready for Naruto to move in, but he needed to come here to get the place. Naruto broke those hopes wide open.
"Hokage, you should have seen it, just after I finished getting all my stuff packed up, I went downstairs, and Uncle Zhou was kicking butt left and right. He knocked a guy out from ten feet and didn't use any jutsus! Then he blocked an axe with his bare arms! He's really, really, really cool! So is he going to live with me? Huh?" By this point, Naruto was holding himself above the Hokage's desk.
Sarutobi spoke up, "Naruto, before I make that decision, I need to talk with Mak privately. I happen to have a paper right here for a house, priced at about 120,000 ryou. So, Naruto, how about you start moving in while I have my discussion with Mak, okay?"
Naruto didn't need to be told twice. He got the address from the Hokage and ran out of the room as fast as he possibly could. When the door closed, the Hokage's eyes became cold, the smile dripped off his face, and the warmth that was in the room dissipated. "So, Naruto tells me that you beat up a few men. According to my reports, those men owned some of the larger apartment complexes in Konoha. They filed complaints as soon as they could talk." The Hokage shuffled around his papers while he spoke, giving an air of not really caring about him.
"They attacked me when they found out that I was not sent to kill Naruto. When Naruto came down the stairs, his landlord lunged at him with the axe, and I stopped it, then punched him in the throat."
"How eloquent. But that's not my point in keeping you here. I need to know if you are Chainer. Tell me, show me, or allow me to find out. Pick your poison." Sarutobi looked Zhou Mak dead in the eye. It scared Mak, I can't believe how much his mood changed. Naruto is here, and he is all smiles, but when it is just me, his teeth are fangs, and his eyes are tunnels. I have to keep on my toes.
"Well, I can say I was Chainer, but I don't think that will suffice, so I'll show you." Mak walked over to the desk, and raised his arms so that his sleeves dangle. With a quick shrug of his shoulders, several metal weights fell on the Hokage's desk. The weights were attached to chains that disappeared into Mak's sleeves. Mak stepped back, still keeping the weights on the desk while the chains kept feeding from the coat. When Mak got to the door, he pulled the chains. They tore through the air, making a dull whistle, as the metal links rushed back into place.
The Hokage smiled, rather than calming him, Mak was terrified. "So, that was an effective display of your talents, but I would still like to go through my test. Please sit down."
Mak obeyed, not wanting to find out what the Hokage would do if he didn't. Sarutobi nodded his head, and Mak felt ropes wrap around him. Mak shouted, "Hokage, what are you doing?" The Hokage just kept his dark smile and nodded to whoever it was that tied Mak up.
"Well, Mak, I'm just testing to see if you really are Chainer. I know that his ability to manipulate chains in that manner can be taught, and I know that a person's chakra coils can be hidden, but I know one thing of his that cannot be copied."
Mak would likely have just volunteered to demonstrate the property to which the Hokage referred, but he was too busy being scared out of his mind to protest. Sarutobi nodded again, and this time a person entered the room. He was dressed in flowing robes with long dark hair, "Hokage, you requested my services? Please make this brief; I have clan matters to attend to."
Mak took a second to breathe deeply, Mak then realized that the man conversing with the Hokage was Hyuuga Hiashi, the leader of the Hyuuga clan. Mak wasn't sure exactly why Hyuuga Hiashi was here, but he was determined to find out, "Hokage, if you are going to check my chakra coils, then why call the head of the most prestigious clan in Konoha to tell you something that any medic nin can check out?"
The Hokage kept smiling his dark, malicious grin and replied, "Hiashi, in the chest please. On my mark. And Mak, I'm asking Hiashi to check because an internal genjutsu can only be broken by two methods: the person holding it breaks it, or the person holding it dies. I know the real Chainer can't form genjutsu, so I must assume that if you die, we'll find out. Consider this an initiation, of sorts. Now, Hiashi!"
Mak watched as the tall, robed man turned around, his eyes were pupil-less, like the rumors, and the veins around them bulged with chakra. Mak could see the world move in slow motion. Mak saw the glow of chakra around Hiashi's hand, he could see it glow a light blue. Mak tried desperately to remember the bits and pieces of his life that mattered most. His ascension to the rank of High General, his marriage, the birth of his daughter, all the happy points of his life ran together.
The movie reel of joy in Mak's head didn't even last until Hiashi started moving his arm. Then the bad moments played, the death, the betrayal, killing his own student, watching his wife die, finding out the conspiracy against him. That series of clips wasn't over by the time Hiashi slammed his open hand against Mak's chest just over his heart. Mak saw only blackness.
Then he returned to the world. He heard the Hokage ask, "Hiashi, did you notice anything odd when you hit him?"
"Yes, I did Hokage. I saw the chakra around my hand just fine, but when I hit him and released it, it went to the skin, then no further. It was like it was absorbed into nothing."
At this point, Mak felt like adding his two cents, "It dissolved, actually. Chakra cannot exist inside my body, but enough about that. Hokage, what the hell were you thinking? If I had died, Iwa would have come knocking on Konoha's doorstep and run rickshaw over it. Did you not offer me amnesty upon completion of my mission regarding Naruto?"
The Hokage smiled, but it was not the smile of a hungry predator, it was the smile that he gave to Naruto. "Hiashi, thank you. That is all I will require for this evening. I trust I do not need to tell you to keep this a secret?" Hiashi nodded as he headed out the door. "Alright, one question at a time. First of all, I was thinking that even if you could show me that you were Chainer, I had to test it myself, under my terms. Any demonstration you could perform could have been set up to help prove it, but not actually show results. When the Yondaime prepared for an Iwa invasion, he made note about your unique interaction with chakra.
"He mentioned that anyone who planned to cut you with chakra, or force it to enter your body would be useless, and that the best person to try and force a fight with was Maito Gai, because he would not be using chakra to harm you. He mentioned that the Hyuuga would be worthless. So I decided to try it out, and I am pleased to say that it worked.
"Secondly, yes I did offer your citizenship at Konoha for completing this mission, which you did, but I made your offer of work as a non-nin dependant on whether or not you were Chainer, which you were. So no harm done. I'd suggest you get to Naruto and try to get to know him better."
Mak got up out of the chair, thanking Sarutobi, who had been undoing the restraints while he had been talking. "I guess that you want me to take care of the boy, make sure that he survives whatever the hell it is the villagers do to him. Speaking of which, why do the villagers do that? The landlord called him a Demon brat. What is going on with that boy?"
The Hokage looked at Mak, his eyes tired and showing his age, "That is something that only Naruto can answer. Give him time, and don't listen to anyone else's story about it, his is the only one that matters. If you come tomorrow, I'll be sure that you don't get any missions for a year. Get to know him, Mak. I'll expect you in a few days for your second official assignment."
Mak looked confused, "My second? I thought that finding Naruto a new house was unofficial?"
The Hokage looked back, smiling again, but it wasn't the kind, grandfatherly smile, nor was it the smile of a shark catching it's prey, it was the grin of a fox that pulled off a rather nice trick. "Of course it was. Your first official mission is a long undercover mission in Konoha. You are to, for all intents and purposes, be Naruto's father."
Mak looked at the Hokae, his jaw hanging. Mak tried to respond, but only got out a stream of "But, but, but."
"Oh, you're right. He calls you Uncle. We'll use that. Nice catch, Mak. That's what'll make you a great non-nin," said the Hokage as he retreated to his desk to finish up his paperwork. Mak still stood there, stiff as a statue, "You are dismissed, Mak. Remember, if you come here tomorrow, then you won't be working for a year. Good night. My secretary has the address where you will stay with Naruto."
Mak walked out of the office, passed by the Hokage's assistant, and started walking the streets of Konoha, looking for the house that he and his new nephew shared. Mak rubbed his eyes and muttered, "I do not believe this. I have to help him find a new house, I have to save his life, I have to pretend to be his uncle. Lucky for him that I think he is an alright kid. A little messed up, but that can be trained out."
Mak walked off into the night, turned up the street marked on the page, and walked to his new house. It wasn't really all that big, but it was well-maintained. The white paint and light blue trim looked very nice, and there was apparently either a second floor, or attic.
Mak opened the door, and greeted Naruto, who was sitting in a chair in the living room, reading a scroll. The house was furnished, so Mak bade Naruto good night, and walked into a few rooms before he found one with a bed.
Mak took off his coat and hung it off the hook on the back of the door, put his boots under the bed, took off his jeans and folded them. We are definately going to have to go shopping tomorrow, because I need new clothes, and Naruto will not be wearing anymore orange. I will make sure of that. I think I will fill him in on the new 'arrangements' tomorrow. For now, I need some sleep, today was very…interesting. "Hey, Naruto, do not stay up too late, alright?" Without waiting for a reply, Mak got down to sleep, and rested in a bed for the first time in a month. He was out, and nothing was going to wake him up.
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A/N: Okay, that's chapter two. Naruto's new 'uncle' has finished moving in, and now he's going to be meeting the resident ninja of Konoha. I have no idea where this story is moving next, I'm pretty much letting the characters write it for me, so if weird stuff happens, don't hate me.
Next time: New clothes for Naruto? Meeting the Jonin-senseis for all the kids? A social coming-out party? What is this, the Antebellum South?
Remember:If you liked the story, let me know, if you didn't, let me know, if you are indifferent, let me know. I'd love to hear what my readers think. Remember, the audience is always right!!