Yay! Chapter three of Who You Are. This is where the OC characters start to come out, and we discover a little something that no one knows about the demon race. :D. Hehehe, can't wait to write this. Anyway, my ranting is done. Onto the story, now!! Hahaha, exclamation points… Sorry a lot of sugar. And now the story!
Chapter 3: Explanation
"Well Ookami-san? What is it?" She noticed that the wolf was standing, while usually he would show respect by seating himself. But then she noticed the oddity present on his back. "Who is that?"
"Master, it's him. The Sandaime Taichou. We followed his scent, and after seeing his face, we discovered who he is. He has the markings of the Kyuubi, Master. Look at his face," This time, when the wolf lowered himself to let the boy off, the small one tumbled and left his back. The wolf rolled his shoulder slightly, happy to have the weight gone.
The woman got up, finally revealing her height. She stood slightly above the height of a young girl, making her about five-six, possibly five-seven. She walked lithely to the animals and the young boy, making almost no sound bounce off of the cavern walls. When she reached the trio, her eyes grew wide, seeing the young boy. Her eyes were larger than the paws of the wolf beside her, and they were focused on his whisker marks. She closed her eyes, leaned her head back, and a blissful smile graced her lips.
"Finally."
-(.),(.)-
Naruto realized something. He wasn't cold anymore. The biting autumn air had disappeared, and was replaced by something large, warm, and fuzzy. He pulled on it, and discovered it was attached to something. His hand groped around, not wanting to open his eyes. He found that two bodies were lying next to him, one on his left and one on his right. Both were extremely furry and soft. The one on his right seemed to be only a little bit smaller than him; the one on his left was even larger than that one. He decided that it was finally time to open his eyes.
He was greeted with a face full of shockingly copper fur. He rotated his head and was greeted with grey fur. He faced his cranium upward to see open sky, surrounded by jagged rock. His eyes flashed with confusion; hadn't he fallen asleep alone and in a hollow tree? Naruto decided it was time to get some answers.
He sat up, and heard shaking of fur. He turned his spine and saw a wolf and fox rise onto their paws and giving a slight shake of the head to clear the sleep. Both of them looked at him, and bared the grin only an animal can take on.
Then, the fox walked over to him, and knelt down into the position most people referred to as a "play position". However, the aura of the kneel was different. The fox's eyes were closed, and reverence leaked from his being. "Master," the fox uttered the simple word, and Naruto's eyes grew in more confusion.
"Wha…? Why are you calling me master? More importantly, why are you talking?" He heard a slight laugh from behind. He whipped around, only to have to tilt his head back to examine the girl who stood a few feet above him.
He saw kind and gentle features, ones the held mischief like his one. He saw curiosity mixing into the concoction of emotions swirling through her eyes. He also saw pain, loneliness, and hurt mixing in as well. But like his eyes, it was hidden from the rest of the world unless they had the same eyes.
"Hello, Kitsune Taichou. It's about time you joined us. Ryu Taichou and I have been waiting months for you to arrive," The girl spoke with an air of child about her, like she refused to grow up and realize her age. But, at the same time, her voice resonated with being forced to grow up too fast.
Now Naruto was even more confused. Why did this girl refer to him as Taichou? That means leader right? Naruto was no leader. At least, that's how things at school went. Whenever they broke up to do teamwork exercises, Naruto would always be placed in the lower ranks, meaning he had to follow orders, not give them. And why was Kitsune before it? Sure he really liked foxes, and Ayame nee-chan would tease him about looking like a fox with his whisker marks and his smile. But this girl wouldn't know about that right? Naruto had never even seen this female before.
"Um… why did you call me that?" The girl's face faulted. Obviously, she was not expecting this answer.
"I see…" the girl frowned, turned around, and headed back to her previous seat. "So you were not told of your heritage. Well, I guess we have to wait for Ryuu Taichou to arrive. He'll be able to explain this better than I can," She sat back down in her meditative position. "Would you like to join me? I promise I won't bite," The girl smiled gently, looking at Naruto.
Tentatively, the young boy rose from his position, and went to join the girl. Once he sat down, he tried to ask the girl, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?"
The girl smiled with her eyes closed. "My name is Kisaki Safaia, Ookami Taichou. It is nice to meet you Naruto."
-(.),(.)-
Safaia breathing had calmed, and her eyes were closed. Her body radiated a calmed aura. And inside her mind, she was walking.
She walked through tunnels, underground looking den tunnels. The floor was uneven, but she kept her balance very easily. After walking for another minute or so, she arrived at her destination.
She arrived in a large room, nothing garnishing the walls or the floors. The only thing present in the entire space was a large grey wolf, slumbering in the center of the room. The wolf held a likeness to the one in the real world, but it held three major differences.
One, this creature was enormous. They space was a large cavern and the wolf barely fit inside the space. Another difference besides that of a normal wolf, a slight shimmer clung to the wolf, making it look almost mystical. The third, and most major difference was instead of the normal single tail if the wolf, this massive creature possessed ten.
Safaia knelt into a position of submission, and said with her tone quiet but her voice loud, "Jubi no Ookami-san."
The wolf raised its gigantic head to look at the girl. It looked her straight in the eye, for though Safaia kneeled down on one knee, her head was up and dignified.
"Safaia-san," The wolf's face became gentle, as though seeing a long lost friend. "I had thought you might have forgotten me in this place," The wolf lowered its magnificent head to Safaia's eye level. "I was getting lonely," The wolf's lips curled slightly, as though it was smiling.
Safaia smiled as well. "As if I could forget you Ookami-san," She rose from her position and walked over to the large creature. She sat between its head and its neck, scratching a small portion of fur on the beast.
"We have found him Ookami-san. The Kitsune Taichou," the wolf turned its head to look at the girl, curiosity in its eyes. The girl sighed though, while the wolf was expecting something more along the lines of happiness. "He doesn't know it yet though. No one seems to have told him what he contains. Of course, no one knows the true meaning behind it, except the actual demon itself. I have to wait for Ryuu Taichou to arrive. I am so bad at explaining things like this to people. He has a way with making this all sound so much more solid than I can. I make it sound like a fantasy that he will soon wake up from," The wolf laid its head down on its paws that were the size of full grown dolphins.
"Looks like things are going to become interesting around here. The Three Taichous have finally gathered, and now it is time for you to all face your destiny."
Safaia laughed. "Stop being so serious Ookami-san. We still have years to train and then some. The Kitsune Taichou is still growing, and we don't even know what this 'destiny' you and the dragon speak of. So we have plenty of time."
The wolf laughed, or at least tried to. With a mouth not designed for it, the sound came out more like a bark. "Yes, yes, I know. But I suggest you leave now. I sense the dragon. The Ryuu Taichou is approaching fast."
The girl let out another sigh. She enjoyed spending time with her captive, but since it required intense meditation, she didn't get to very often.
"All right then," Safaia stood up, brushing the dirt off of her kimono. "I'll take my leave then my lady," Safaia bowed, almost mockingly, to the wolf. It still held respect, but the girl was obviously playing the figure.
"Go," The wolf bid her, "I'm getting tired of your games," The tone was playful, but at the same time, it was a command that she could not refuse.
Safaia turned to leave, then look at the wolf. "You should change the scenery in here a little bit. And underground tunnel is so boring," The young girl than ran to avoid being hit by diamond hard claws. "See ya!" The girl wavered from existence, leaving nothing but one very exasperated wolf.
-(.),(.)-
Safaia returned to her normal state of mind and opened her eyes. She looked around and saw Naruto asleep beside her. Apparently, he needed to learn how to properly meditate. She smiled at him. He had so much innocence, for what he had had to deal with for the past few years of his life. He had yet to learn what he was, or why he was that. And as soon as Ryuu Taichou arrived, he would learn, and his life would be changed forever.
Safaia shook the young boy, determined to wake him up before Ryuu Taichou arrived. "Naruto, wake up. Someone will be here soon, and you need to meet him," She turned him so that his front side was facing her. Once he was turned, she noticed that his eyes were moving rapidly underneath his eyelids, like he was having a nightmare. He whimpered slightly, as though he was in fear. Safaia seemed to know what was going on very well. He's finally meeting Him…. The Kyuubi.
-(.),(.)-
Naruto had indeed entered his own mindscape, seeing the dark sewer like tunnels that buried deep into his consciousness. He wandered aimlessly, worrying that he would never escape this horrible place. He followed the trail he was on, some invisible force dragging him, pulling him towards the source.
Suddenly, what had seemed like hours to him, the boy saw a faint reddish glow at the end of the tunnel. He felt a pull towards the light, but at the same time, fear to approach. His curiosity winning out, he cautiously walked to the light.
When he reached the corner, before he turned the corner he steeled himself for anything that could be around that bend. No preparation could help him for what was there though.
Looming in front of him was a fox of epic proportions, out-sizing every building Naruto had ever seen in his life. Nine tails swished behind him evilly, as though he was a house cat watching a fly, waiting for the insect to creep closer and then meet the larger animal's paw. A pair of crimson, blood red eyes shown like beacons through the dim lighting of the cavern. In front of this great beast, tall sturdy bars of steel were in front, keeping the animal caged. A simple piece o paper with the kanji figures of "Seal" were glued to the metal doors.
"So, my jailor has finally decided to grace me with his presence. Strange, I always imagined you slightly taller," The fox's lips pulled back in the air of a smirk, but gesture looked as if he was baring his teeth at Naruto. "What are you doing here kit? You have no reason to be here. Leave me to be in peace."
Naruto felt a flare of defiance awaken inside him. Why should he have to listen to this giant furball?
"I'm 'cause I'm sleeping you giant kitten," Stressing the end syllable, playing on the fox's words, coming up with the best insult an eight year old could come up with. "Why are you here anyway furball? This is my mind."
The fox laughed. He lowered his head behind the bars of his cage to Naruto's eye level. "Come here kit."
Naruto was unsure, but decided to approach the cage. As soon as Naruto was close enough, the stuck out a giant paw, swiping at the boy. Only by reflex did he escape the enormous paw.
Once again, the fox laughed deeply, while Naruto sent a death glare his way. "Oi, furball," It was the fox's turn to send a death glare, "What's your name?" The fox leered at him.
"You want to know my name kit? But you already do. I've seen it in your memories. Think back to your history classes in school. A god sized fox that attacked on the date of your birth. Think, kit, think. Even you can do that," He watched the boy screw up his face in the attempt to remember. Suddenly, his eyes open with realization and his mouth dropped in fear. "No…"
The fox smiled once more, "Yes boy. I can see my name in your eyes. I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Demon Lord."
(.),(.)
Okay, this chapter took forever. I got a little sidetracked and stuff. One thing I notice lot about fanfiction is that when people write the Kyuubi, his speak is always bold and in caps. I decided that since he will change (Yay dynamic characters!) That it was pointless. Also, you know what? I do what I want. X3. See you next time!