Okay, this chapter should be good. I hope so anyway. You are all finally going to get somewhat of the layout of my convoluted mind. So, without further adieu, chapter four of Who You Are!
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Chapter four: Discovered
Naruto's eyes flew open instantly, breaking the conversation with his inner demon. His breathing was heavy; a film of sweat glistened across his skin, though he shivered as well underneath the salty liquid. He saw the girl Safaia trying to wake him, concern flashing through her eyes. Like any small child who had a bad dream, he reached up, clung to her robe, and buried his face in the fabric. A ragged sob passed through his tiny lips as he poured his fears out to the only one who would listen. "The-there was this r-really b-big fox… h-he wanted t-to k-kill me…" his grip tightened on the silk.
Safaia was at a loss. She wasn't sure how to comfort this little child, one who had not been warned beforehand that he was carrying perhaps the most powerful demon. She awkwardly patted his back, rubbing gently, trying to calm him down.
"Shh, Naruto-chan, shh…. That fox… he wasn't trying to kill you… no…." She felt the spike in chakra as Ryuu Taichou approached even faster. This was an important meeting for Naruto, and he couldn't spend it being all emotional. "Naruto-chan, I need you to be a big boy right now. You want to be a big boy right? Now, come one, stop crying. Ryuu Taichou will be here shortly," After a little while, the child's sobs subsided, leaving a dry heave behind. Eventually, he was calm enough to master himself and stopped that as well.
"Safaia-nee-san…" Safaia looked at Naruto in surprise. She had never been addressed as big sister before. "Who is Ryuu Taichou? Why can't you tell me what's going on?"
Safaia smiled kindly at the child. "He can explain it better than I can Naruto-chan. Don't worry, he'll be here very soon."
A few minutes passed, and a beating of wings was heard overhead. Soon, the portal to the sky was blocked by a winding emerald body of scales. Giant leathery wings folded slightly to allow passage. In less than ten seconds the enormous creature had landed, collapsed its wings along the length of its body, and put its belly to the ground to allow someone to dismount.
The beast was truly magnificent. Green scales flecked with tinges of gold encased his body throughout. A noble head graced his features. The dinner plate eyes were an icy blue. Crystallized horns topped his grand head.
The young boy that dismounted from his back was almost as awe-inspiring. His hair was the color of the dragon's eyes, ice blue, while his eyes matched his scales, emerald green. The opposite was almost comical. He was tall and lean, at least in his young teens. His spinal column was rigid, as though a steel pole had replaced the bone. He wore Chuunin type pants, with black ninja shoes. His top was a black piece of fabric, covering his chest, and looped around his lower back to connect seamlessly the other side. A strap crossed his chest, and the hilt of a sword crested above his shoulder. The exposed part of his back was invisible to Naruto.
"Safaia," His voice was deep, yet held a lithe quality. "Who is this? How did he get in here?" He almost commanded a response from her.
"Ishi, this is Naruto-chan. The Sandaime Taichou. He just arrived about an hour ago. Ookami-san and Kitsune-san found him in the woods."
The boy glared at Safaia. "I told you not to call me that Gin," He attempted to make fun of her by nicknaming her hair, silver. Safaia just laughed. She looked down at Naruto and explained.
"I call him Ishi because he's as unfeeling as stone sometimes. He calls me Gin, silver, because of my hair. His real name is Yamazaki Daitaro. His parents expected a lot out of him."
Naruto looked up at the taller boy in awe. To be named great first son, he must be important.
Daitaro looked down at the younger boy. He went down on one knee, reaching Naruto's eye level. He glanced quickly at his face, taking in his eyes, hair, and the whisker marks especially. A smirk lifted one corner of his mouth. "I guess you're right Gin. Has he talked to him yet?" He seemed to be slightly surprised when she nodded her head yes.
"He finished talking to him just a bit before you arrived. He acted like both of us. Completely scared like three year olds in a thunder storm," From her somewhat upbeat attitude before, she seemed strangely serious.
Daitaro stood, running a hand through his emerald locks. "I guess it's time to tell this the last time. Naruto-san, please sit over there. Kitsune-san, join your master. This is going to take a little while."
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After Naruto had settled himself on the floor, using the fox as a makeshift pillow, and the wolf had sat by Safaia, and the dragon joined Daitaro, were words uttered again. "Now Naruto, what I am about to tell you has been passed down from one Taichou group to the next. No one, and I mean no one may know the details of what I'm about to tell you. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Crystal Ishi-san," a vein twitched in Daitaro's temple, and if the atmosphere had been lighter, Safaia would have laughed.
"It started over three thousand years ago…" at that exact moment a stranger buzzing noise echoed through the chasm. Safaia and Daitaro rose quickly, there animals joining them. "Looks like this will have to wait for later. Naruto-san, stay here with Kitsune-san. We'll be back in a moment," In one graceful moment, Daitaro was on the dragon's back and Safaia was darting out of the entrance Naruto had come through earlier with the wolf. "Come on Ryuu, we're going to go see who's trying to break in here," A malevolent glint in his and his dragon's eyes, they rose through the opening they had entered through.
Naruto stood there, dumbfounded. One second, he was about to hear why he was there, and the next the others had run out in a frenzy. Now, he was left alone in the room with no one but a talking fox.
As if her could read the boy's fear filled thoughts, the fox nudged his shoulder, and comforted him by saying, "Don't worry Master. The others will be here soon. It is probably just someone who lost their way. Safaia-sama and Daitaro-sama have always been a bit overprotective of this land."
"Whatever you say Kitty-chan," nicknaming the fox in the way only an eight year old could.
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Three people dressed in ANBU outfits were poised like jungle cats on two trees. The tree was right outside a large rock cliff, seamless in every way.
"Taichou, we've been sitting here for hours. The boy isn't coming out. Let's head back to Konoha and tell Hokage-sama that the boy was taken. You saw the size of those animals; they probably ate him," A bandana was tied over his head, hiding his brown hair. An animalistic mask covered his face, preventing him from holding a senbon in his mouth. His voice held no emotion; not sadness, nor anger, nor happiness. He was simply stating a fact.
"Shut it Shiranui. You know what Hokage-sama said. We have to stay out here for three days before we're allowed to go back home, unless we're positive that he's dead," Another man, who had one blade perched on his back, spoke back harshly to one of his partners. His face was also covered by an animal based mask. His voice held a slight rasp, as if he was just recovering from a cold.
"Gekkou, Shiranui, shut it. Something's coming," The last man snapped at his subordinates. His gravity defying grey hair betrayed his age, and a slip of fabric snuck underneath his dog like mask. He was obviously younger than the two others, but he ranked higher than them by the way they were treating him. He carried no special weapons, no special attributes. At least, one that was visible.
They sat as silent and still as statues. The one called Shiranui was about to complain that no one and nothing was coming, when two things happened simultaneously.
The strongest gust of wind any of them had ever felt, and tree shook so much there was a fear of falling off. Eyes widened underneath masks at the vision they didn't think was possible.
On the ground, a girl with strange hair stood next to the massive wolf they had spotted that took Naruto before. The girl was sinking into a defensive position, while her companion looked ready to attack, its muzzle pulled back into a snarl.
Above head, a creature thought to only exist in mythology rose over the top of the cliff. Its body was gliding flat against the air, so the men in the tree could see the boy with odd features on its back. A nodachi was held tightly in his right hand. His face was that of a ninja who followed the rules; no emotions at all.
"Why are you here? This is a private area. No one may enter without permission," He stared all three of them down simultaneously. Shiranui bristled, Gekkou shuddered slightly, and the other man spoke.
"My name is Hatake. My team and I have a mission from our Hokage to retrieve a young boy that we believe, no, we know are holding hostage. So please, release your summons and just give him to us, and there will be no fight. We do not wish to harm you," Hatake tried to smooth the younger ninja.
Below, the snarling from the wolf increased, the girl sunk lower into her position as though she was about to pounce. The dragon's let out an indignant roar, and the boy's gaze darkened. "Foolish human. Do not think of us as simple summons," He spat the word out like it was poison. "We are much, much better than that. We are partners, we are bound by the soul, not by a simple contract that you sign using your blood. WE do not simply accept a new master because they sign some silly piece of paper that can be destroyed instantly," The wolf below barked in agreement with the flying behemoth.
"Also, do not think we will give Naruto-san over to the likes of you. He has a home here; he will become someone new. The next time anyone from Konohagakure will see him will be the next Chuunin exams are announced," The wolf mentioned, giving them a cue to leave. These men were ANBU ninja though, the elite of Konoha. They weren't going to leave because just some animal said that they should. They readied their respective weapons, preparing to fight if need be.
"Sorry kids, we have orders from Hokage-sama directly to bring back Naruto. We hope you, as fellow ninjas, that we cannot ignore orders," Their arms tensed, preparing to jump and attack.
Safaia smirked. "I have one question for you…" a rustle of leaves. "What makes you think you can beat us?"
Hatake, Gekkou, and Shiranui turned instantly. The girl who had been on the ground only seconds was now standing directly behind them, arms folded over her chest and acting completely nonchalant. Yes, they had seen others move at that speed many times before, but never someone who couldn't be over the age of twelve. Many people also couldn't pull it off to get there without at least one of them noticing first.
They now knew who they were up against. At least that they could not underestimate them. These children were ones how had been trained from birth to be ninjas, to live a certain way and to never stray from it. This fight might prove difficult if they weren't careful.
Hands tightened even more on weapons, and poses tensed. A flash of displaced light, and the battle began.
Gekkou had launched himself at the girl with the strangely striped hair. He attempted to strike her with his sword, but she danced away from his blade. She avoided slash, every jab. She was an experienced ballerina on the battlefield, and Gekkou felt like a child learning his first steps.
The others weren't having much luck. Hatake had taken the boy on the dragon, and it wasn't working so well. The beast was ten times more agile then he had originally believed. It somehow managed to weave through the intense foliage like a smaller version of the serpent it was. He attempted to get far enough away to perform a jutsu, but the dragon would always come to close ripping him half with its gigantic jaw. The boy himself had disappeared from the creature's back; but Hatake hardly had time to worry about that.
Shiranui was feeling plain embarrassed with his fight. He was being evenly matched by a wolf. An animal, a furry creature that's intelligence was only advanced when summoned, or however these animals came into existence. But this beast was playing with him. Dodging when he tried to stab him, evading every jutsu that he threw at him. The wolf didn't attack him in any shape or form, just prancing around the forest floor like a deer. "Fight back you damn animal!" Shiranui yelled out of anger.
The wolf let out a laugh-like bark. "Not until Safaia-sama says it's okay. Let's have fun until then okay?" Shiranui just growled at the creature.
Gekkou was starting to get annoyed. How was this child keeping up with someone of an ANBU level like himself and his team? He was never when to be overconfident, but he was confident in his abilities. And these damn kids were keeping the entire team occupied. "Ookami no Nami," a wolf made purely of water launched itself at Gekkou. He dodged it with spilt-second timing.
"Don't break your concentration, or you might die," The girl smiled wryly at him, making him even angrier.
This is freakin' ridiculous .Where the hell was the boy? "Tatsu no Kitai," a rush of dragon-shaped wind rushed towards him. "Concentrate ANBU. I don't want this to end so soon."
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The battle continued. For about one hour, blows were exchanged, lacerations were caused, and multiple curses ensued.
At the end of the hour, the three ANBU men had their backs to each other, while Safaia, Daitaro, and the wolf and dragon surrounded them. There was no way out.
Panting, and with a long gash running down his left arm, Daitaro addressed the silver haired man. "You all fight well. But we do not have time for this. We have to attend to Naruto now. Please tell the Hokage this: You will see Naruto at the Chuunin exams. You will see neither hide nor hair of him until then. Goodbye," and with that, the group disappeared.
A breeze blew through the tiny clearing they were gathered in. "We better tell Hokage-sama." And they left as well.
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Oh. My. God. I AM SO SORRY. I had such a huge writer's block. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. Ja ne!