Okay bear with me here, this chapter is largely reminiscing, and explaining past events and, stuff... Chapter three will be when we catch up with the movie. AUGH! I forgot the disclaimer in the first chapter!
holy crow, my inbox was filled with story alerts and favorites and only two reviews, but ehh, it was only the first chapter. Thanks so much for those two reviews by the way :D
Now however, there are two chapters. So... there's no excuse not to review if you favorite this fic.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own either of the universes I'm fiddling around with in this fic. No profit is being made from this fic. I don't own Naruto, I don't own Chronicles of Riddick.
Recap: He woke up very slowly, practically had to drag his eyes open and even then they barely functioned. His limbs twitched and ached to move but he was trapped, confined in a box. His hands were bound in front of him in chains that he did not have the energy nor presence of mind to try and slip from, his body was pressed back into semi-comfortable cushioning. Naruto's stomach felt like it was eating itself and he really wanted a breath of fresh air not to mention a couple hundred bowls of ramen. The mere thought of ramen had Naruto's mouth filling with saliva and his stomach jolting in a wince worthy spike of pain in protest.
He lay in the box and swallowed his spit and tried to keep his mind off of ramen. Slowly taking stock of himself and trying to recall the last thing that he'd done, he blinked a few times and managed to ascertain that he was in a glass front box. Peering out at the dark interior of where ever he was, Naruto warily noticed two other glass encased humans. They were sleeping. Naruto's eye twitched and his face scrunched up in annoyance.
What the hell is going on?
Two years later
One long fingered hand taps a claw against stained wood. Naruto studies the food in front of him absently, pushing it around his plate with this fork. A far cry from ramen, but he wouldn't complain, that was hazardous to his health.
It's a warm day in New mecca, most days here are warm. The wide open window dining room is graced with the occasional breeze that flutters the gauzy curtains and wall hangings around the room. It is a comfortable setting.
A gold fox ear twitches as a willowy presence brushes past, wafting a warm scent of vanilla and spices to his senses. A beautiful mocha skinned woman, Laijjun, sets another bowl of crisp green lettuce and sliced tomatoes down on the wood weave table in front of the only other male. She gracefully sits down on her wicker chair and picks up her fork, large brown eyes calmly assess the other two at the table while she prepares her salad on her plate.
The silence in the room is made all the more clear by the soft clink of silverware on glass.
Laijjun drops her fork with a frown and claps her hands down on the table.
"Eat! I did not prepare this food for the two of you to sit there and stare at it. EAT!" Laijjun finally snaps, her brown eyes light with fierceness, her voice usually soft and firm sharpens in her demand.
Naruto guiltily ducks his head and slowly brings the leafy food to his lips.
A soft sigh and the tables other occupant does the same.
"She will be fine. I'm sure." the low voice draws Naruto's eyes to the source.
A holy man, dressed in garb appropriate to his faith, with brown skin, deep black eyes and a beard Naruto occasionally has the urge to tug covers the man's chin. The robes the man wears today are dark as his mood.
His name is Abu al-Walid, but to his wife and Naruto he is Imam, And to bright eyed jack, but she's been gone for a year. Without a word, until now.
Naruto turns anger darkening blue eyes back down on his plate.
"Yeah." he mumbles and stuffs his mouth with greens.
The last time an important friend left his home, Naruto ended up with a bloody hole in his chest and a disappointed team mate. At least last time he had the means to go after them, this time however...
A wailing cry pulls him from his thoughts, his ears flatten into wild blond spikes and he winces as Laijjun hops from her seat to tend to the infant crying in the bassinet by the window.
"Oh, Ziza, Ziza, it is okay child. Hush hush, you will be fed as well." Laijjun cradles the creamy chocolate skinned babe and croons to it. Imam raises from his seat but at a sharp reprimanding glance from his wife he sits back down to finish his meal. Naruto smirks and continues to eat.
The day passes slowly, sky darkens to night and Laijjun sends Naruto out for a few last minute groceries before the stalls close.
He's dressed in loose beige pants and a sleeveless shirt that drapes his lithe figure like an overlarge coat. At the doorway he slides comfortable leather clogs on and securely tugs his bright orange hat over his ears before slipping out into the street.
He is of the opinion that fashion is for girls, and men of the temple.
Despite this, Laijjun will occasionally demand him to dress in more form fitting clothes, like when they are out to an event or at temple worship. The attention he receives for this is flattering, but doesn't really register to a shinobi who had always relied on functional clothes rather than what was fashionable.
"Na-kun!" Naruto pauses in the street and turns to the curly haired boy flinging himself from an open door.
"Tano." Naruto grins. The boy almost falls over the large slippers on his feet and slaps up the walkway to come to a stop by Naruto.
"Are you goin-to market? Can'ai come?" Tano looks up at Naruto's face with large gray hope filled eyes in an impish face. Naruto bites his lower lip to keep the wide grin from his face and answers very seriously.
"It's a stealth mission Tano. If you come you have to be quiet. We can't alert the enemy where we are, okay."
Tano's eyes widen impossibly and he nods and covers his lips with his small dirty hand. Naruto abruptly turns and bites his lips between his teeth to keep from laughing out loud.
They walk down the darkening street inhaling cooling air, Tano's hand clasped tightly in Naruto's. Tano glances around every now and then and then peeps conspiratorially up at Naruto.
When Naruto stops to examine some produce, Tano's wide eyes examine all the dark corners and 'suspicious' looking people. He glances up at Naruto who winks down at him while paying for his groceries.
On the walk home Tano debriefs Naruto on all the odd things the people did, from Miss toul, his teacher, walking by ("I didn't know teachers were allowed out of school!") to the crazy old man with a sign that Tano couldn't read because it was covered in ash from all the cigarettes the crazy old man smoked everyday. He also had a bad habit of yelling at a cat that no one else could see.
Naruto listens with absorbed interest til he has to drop Tano off at his home. They part with a sloppy kiss on the cheek from Tano which Naruto graciously receives and a ruffle of Tano's messy brown curls while they call out a farewell. Tano's mother meets him at the door as Naruto walks off and he can hear her scolding him for walking around looking like a dirty street urchin.
He walks up familiar front steps and sighs as he leans against the front door of Imam's house. His eyes are on the sky as he turns the door's handle.
When he first came to live with Imam and Jack, there was no Laijjun. Just the three of them acclimating to new surroundings, recovering from their separate pasts.
Naruto had escaped from a horrible place, full of white rooms, white hallways, white lights. Men wrapped up in white formless suits stood over him as he helplessly thrashed, strapped to a bed while pain ran through his entire body from the various experiments done to him. They knew every move he made, it took him months to fight through the fog of whatever drugs they gave him, his body could normally run through a normal dosage and cleanse it from his system in minutes, and the white figures figured that out all to soon. Naruto was on his last legs, his body was giving out on him when the drugs stopped being administered. He didn't know why, all he knew was he was fully awake for the first time since Kyuubi had forced him to sleep. And he was done with sleeping. He hijacked a shuttle and crashed it on the planet the Alliance ship had orbited, Helion Prime. A stroke of luck, because he had no idea what he was doing.
Imam was wary of the boy at first. This caution was not unfounded, for there were days when Naruto was positively feral to everyone and would lock himself away to deal with his new instincts and abilities. Eventually Imam grew to the belief that Naruto was as lost as Jack, unguided and confused. So Imams heart softened and he accepted the boy for what he was.
Naruto's odd appearance seemed to draw Jack to him, especially his sharp blue eyes. It took Naruto a month to realize that Jack was in fact a girl. And by then, both Imam and Jack were warmed to their odd fox eared companion.
At the time, space travel and airships were all very foreign and quite frankly, overwhelming for Naruto. But Jack was encouraging, she played an oddly comforting role of pseudo big sister for Naruto. She was insistent on him showing her how to fight when she found out what he was, they sparred quite often.
Naruto was fidgety, careful always to pull his punches and always aware of his sharp claws. The nails on his hand no longer bent or could be bitten off. They were hard and little flecks would chip off while he was working in the yard. He took to filing them down, even though it felt wrong. It was like he was clipping his ears off or blocking his sensitive nose.
There were times they knew instinctively that if Naruto wanted to hurt them he could, easily. They saw it in the way his eyes would flash with intent to harm the moment he woke up from a nightmare, or the unconscious wary grace he moved with. They saw in him, a familiarity, a sense of caution they could compare to the feeling they'd got around their infamous savior, Riddick.
They told him of the convict, a wanted man, who saved them from a terrible planet made of dust and death. They told him how three suns scorched the earth for months then abandoned them to the monsters in the dark.
Eventually, Naruto told them about his home, his team mates, his sensei. He tried to tell them about training for three years with ero-sennin, but the words stuck in his throat, a lost terrified look paled his face and he'd abruptly turned and left the room.
One night Naruto had woken from a nightmare and let loose a tail of scared vicious chakra that burnt the bed and blankets into dust and the furniture near him crumbled into ashes. The demonic chakra Naruto exuded was far more potent than his human chakra. He was kneeling in horror in the remains of his room when Jack burst through the door. Her hair had grown in dark brown ringlets around her small face, her body was still boyish, not quite filled out in the curves of a woman that Sakura-chan had at her age. Naruto blinked up at Jack in her night clothes, staring wide eyed around the damaged room. The only though in his head was, what if she had been in there when he'd woken up? His hands curled in fists, his chin lowered and blond strands had covered his eyes as he grit his teeth. He had a lot of training to do.
The nightmares didn't stop for a while, but he gradually managed to calm his chakra by expelling a large amount of it every day. He'd deliver packages all around New mecca, he'd volunteer doing yard work, he cleaned houses, washed shuttles, loaded cargo, all the while using chakra to work harder and faster. He came to realize that his old jutsu were inoperable. Despite having a mass amount of chakra he could event create one shadow clone. So he worked it out in the same way he would use his chakra to walk across water or walk up a wall. In this way he stayed lean and bodily fit, and Kyuubi hadn't been lying when he'd said Naruto wouldn't grow. He and Jack were at the same height when she disappeared. Naruto is muscled in the lean way a dancer is. His body looked to be in his late teens, early twenties. His blue eyes bright and open in a face that displayed his emotions freely. People learned to trust him and call out to him on the street as he walks by. It's a nice experience for him. Of course, he is never seen without a hat. The tumultuous blond hair falling around his face seems a shame to cover up to most people.
Laijjun and Imam met at the temple of islam. Naturally. Things slowly escalated from there and the acquaintance grew into a relationship which grew into a marriage. Naruto felt like he was just along for the ride. However, Laijjun loves Naruto and accepts him as part of the family.
Naruto blinks away his thoughts and lets himself into the house.
Laijjun meets him in the entry room, she smiles and ruffles his ears around when he pulls off the hat.
"Imam wants to speak with you." She says, taking the basket of food from him.
"Mmm." Naruto hums in acknowledgment and paces up the stairs. He opens double doors into Imam's study/Ziza's room.
"Naruto, my friend, back from your errand?" Imam speaks in his warmly accented voice from his seat next to the bassinet. His eyes are soft on the child within. Naruto nods and a quirky grin lifts the corner of his lips.
"Yeah." He slides onto his preferred window seat and leans against the open window's frame.
Imam studies him covertly as he shuffles papers around on his desk. To Imam's eyes, Naruto resembles a lithe feline stretched out to enjoy the fading sunlight.
The ears atop his golden head are perked in Imam's direction while slanted blue eyes lazily follow the people on the street below. If Naruto had a tail, Imam wouldn't be surprised if it were slowly wagging back and forth.
"I have old friends, in the alliance. They were the ones who tracked down Jack at my request." Imam says. And Naruto's ears twitch as his eyes narrow and his lips pull into a line.
"Keh." he growls in his throat. Imam shakes his head and walks around his desk with a letter in his hand. He offers it to Naruto.
"Can't read your language Imam. Remember?"
"You had no problem speaking our language when we first met. How is it that you cannot read this?" Imam frowns slightly.
Naruto rubs his ears gently, it has a calming affect on him, never feels the same as when Imam or Laijjun scratches at his ears though. He never told either Imam or Jack about Kyuubi, and kyuubi is the only explanation he could offer such a query. He sighs slightly frustrated.
"I just, could. I don't know why I can't read the language though." Imam's frown doesn't leave his face but he nods and doesn't dwell on the matter.
"It says that Jack was involved with some mercenaries, that something went wrong and she was blamed. They sent her to a prison on a planet called crematoria." Naruto's ears droop low as a growl rumbles in his chest. He jerks from his seat and paces the room.
"She was blamed, so it might not have been her fault? What can we do Imam?" Naruto turns angry desperate eyes to Imam who only shakes his head sadly.
"I do not know my friend. It does not say the extent of her crimes, or how long she was sentenced for." Naruto growls again. The sound sets Imam's hair on end but he raises steady hands in a calming gesture.
"Perhaps more information will be provided later on-" He begins but Naruto cuts him off.
"What about this 'Riddick' you guys talked about, he can help, yeah? He's known for escaping prisons and stuff so he can bust her out of there, hell he could take me there and I'll get her out!"
"Riddick, is not the answer. And the planet itself is not safe, the prison is underground because the surface of the planet is so hot no one can survive. And the entrances location is only given to the mercenaries transporting prisoners. Naruto, there is very little we can do."
Naruto grit his teeth and slumps back in his window seat. His fingers curl into his fists and his palms are sliced open on his claws. They heal within moments as Naruto examines them bitterly.
"She's just a kid." he mumbles. Imam exhales lowly and nods.
Naruto suddenly perks up, his ears twitch on his head as his eyes widen. Imam has a wary-bad feeling.
"Hey! Hey! I can be a merc! Yeah! you said that the location is only given to mercs right? Well if I catch a wanted criminal and transport them to crematoria or where-ever then I can rescue Jack!"
Imam gulps, wary-bad feeling transforming into horrified amusement.
"Naruto, that is not a profession that would suit you very well at all, I think. And that is also a terrible idea."
Naruto licks his lips, eyes distant, completely ignoring Imam.
"I don't know how to pilot a ship, but I can recruit someone else to do that for me, yeah, I'm a good fighter, pretty decent at stealth... so I can catch the criminal and my partner can fly the ship. And I'll need to figure out the layout of the prison just in case we need to escape in a hurry..."
"Naruto!" Imam barks. Naruto blinks and looks at Imam curiously.
"Yes?"
"Think about what you're saying! If you succeed in this endeavor, then not only jack, but you too will have a bounty on your head and people after you. Is that the kind of life you want?"
Naruto's ears droop at Imam and his blue eyes soften as he looks down.
"People, who don't look out for their friends, are worse than trash." He mutters. When he meets Imam's gaze his own eyes are firm and shine with mischief.
"Heh, fine. Me and jack will be wanted men. But we won't be like all those other losers, We'll be the good guys. Come what may I've got Jacks back and she'll have mine. We'll come visit you sometime after I spring her okay? Of course we'll be in disguise so you won't recognize us at first, but we'll come up with a password or a phrase or something so you'll know it's us."
Imam stares at Naruto in silence for a moment.
"Child, you are speaking madness, come lie down and rest for a while. I'll call a doctor." Imam mutters the last part under his breath while leading Naruto out of the study to his room. Naruto pauses in the doorway and shakes his head, flopping his ears around.
"Don't bother Imam. I've gotten my fair share of people thinking I'm nuts, you wouldn't be the first. Just trust me okay? I'm gonna make this work."
Imam's expression is a mixture of worry and incredulity. Naruto chuckles at the sight and flounces into his room.
Two and a half years later
"Damned security inspections! Look at that! Fucker's trying to rip that paneling off damnit! I told them to be careful in there! Fucking mecca's security is full of dumb ass little shits who don't know how to treat a shuttle!" The man's voice echoes around the docking bay, he makes his anger known shamelessly. A short barrel chested broad man, His name is Kale Maloney and he's been a merc ship's pilot for a year and a half now. The man's blond hair is buzzed close to his skull, his face is broad, a ragged scar runs over his chin and lower lip. He's not the smiling type, he'd rather bitch and complain than compliment a guy. He's not the sort who'd take to piloting around a bunch of foul mouthed low life mercenary grunts, but the kid he's partnered with isn't like any other merc he's ever met.
"WATCH IT YOU LITTLE SHIT!"Kale grunts and slams his large fist against the docking bay wall when another of New mecca's security officers drop a piece of his shuttle's machinery.
And then, speak of the devil, his odd little partner saunters into the spaceport garage, a shit eating grin plastered across his tan face, looking like he doesn't have a care in the world.
"You see the shit I'm going through for you kid? EH? Do you see it?" Kale thunders at him. The kid cocks his head and laughs.
"Eh kale, don't worry about it. Look at this! I've got us an exclusive contract, and it's no vague half assed- 'target was last seen in this location' where we have to do all the work, no no I've got the target's current location and a list of his hiding spots, okay? Are you hearing this! an easy run! And the convict we're after is a big name too. Not big enough to warrant a trip to crematoria..." he breaks off with a frustrated growl and kicks the wall. Kale places his hands on his hips and waits for the kid to get it together.
"The pays good though." he mutters after a while. Kale snorts.
"I don't get your fixation on that hell-hole of a planet. If we ever caught a convict that would earn us a trip to that shit hole slam I'd be sweating bullets the whole trip there, 'kay. We've been doing fine with the convicts we do hand over. You've made quite a name for yourself kid."
And he had. Despite working amidst ever growing paranoia and the rumors floating around about some world conquering army wiping out planets, there wasn't a spaceport in helion prime where their shuttle wasn't recognized as the only decent Merc manned ship in the galaxy.
At first glance, Kale's partner looks like an innocent. Sunny blond hair and jubilant blue eyes, despite the pupils being shaped funny and how those eyes can turn menacing in an instant, you'd look at this kid and pin him as one of the first people to go down in a fight. His hair falls to his chin and frames a narrow well shaped face from under a blindingly orange beanie he's never without. He likes braiding feathers into his hair and having them dangle around his face when he's walking out in the open. A trim lithe body not even half as wide as Kale's. His shoulders are too broad and his waist to small for anyone to mistake him for a girl though. His face is open and freely displays emotions in a way that's dangerous for a merc.
Naruto Uzumaki, one of those instances where the adage 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' rings utterly and completely true. The kid's dangerous. Underneath the carefree naive exterior there's a feral predator lying in wait. When they'd first met, Kale had watched him take down a giant of a man in a bar fight, the giant was something of a meathead to be perfectly honest, but that didn't extract from the efficiency and ease the kid managed to drop the perk. It was damned near uncanny. Like watching a dance involving fists and a swift unending flow of movements.
When the kid told him what he was aiming to be, a merc, Kale had stared at him for a full minute waiting for a punch line.
However he swiftly figured out that Naruto is a being that when he says something, he sticks to it. Naruto recruited him easily, well, actually, Kale is a softie, all bark and almost no bite. He could imagine this kid going out and getting torn to shreds trying out the life of a mercenary. So he initially signed on as the pilot to steer the kid away from jobs that looked like a con or over his head, but Naruto had a nose for trouble and he followed it tenaciously. And surprisingly, they made pretty good money on the bounties they turned over. The kid was good, like he was trained for this kind of work. Kale couldn't figure it out so he let it rest and followed the kids lead.
And here they were, back where they started. They've accumulated quite the amount of money from all the successful jobs. Naruto has relatives or something in New mecca and likes to stop by and drop off half of his paycut with them.
Kale looks over the bounty sheet and scratches at his stubble absently.
"Looks legit, when are we leaving?"
Naruto bounces on his heels while watching the security officers key something into the ship dock's computer.
Kale frowns and slaps the back of Naruto's head.
"Hey! You listening?"
Naruto stumbles forward a bit and grins back at kale.
"Yeah, what?"
Kale rubs his eyes exasperated and switches priorities.
"What were you looking at?" he asks, meaty fingers still pressed to his face.
Naruto chews the inside of his lip and nods towards New mecca's security.
"They're... getting pretty antsy... I know this port should have recognized our ship, but they're searching it so thoroughly. I took a walk around after picking up the bounty sheet and peeked in on the other docks. They're getting the same treatment kale..."
Kale's hand drops and he sighs as he stares at the security.
"Yeah I know."
Naruto turns to him and lowers his voice.
"Maybe, we should take a break... til things settle down. I think this run should be our last for a while..." In Naruto's head he reasoned, if there really is an army of world conquering mofo's out there, Jack will be safe enough where she is until he can figure out a way to save her. He doesn't like leaving Imam and Ziza and Laijjun alone.
Kale studies Naruto's face for a moment before nodding slowly.
"Yeah, sounds like a smart thing to do... maybe I'm rubbing off on you kid."
Naruto chuckles and punches kale's shoulder gently.
"So, as I asked earlier, when are we leaving?" Kale asks.
Naruto fishes around in the large pockets of his dark brown overcoat.
"Dunno. Soon?" he pulls a crochet fox with nine tails from his pocket and runs a pointed claw along it lovingly.
"I told Ziza, my niece, about some of the old folk tales people told me where I'm from. There's this one she really loves, about a Nine tailed demon fox. She made this for me. Heh, her mom helped, but she did most of it, she's only four Kale, and she made this." Kale almost smiled down at the shabby looking piece of cloth shaped like a fox.
"You sound like a proud father. You really aren't cut out for this job kid."
"Shaddup you. Just wait til you have kids, then you'll see."
"She's not your daughter, she's your niece."
They go back and forth like this while walking out of the docking bay into the streets of New Mecca. They part ways at a leery looking food establishment. Just the smells coming out of there make Naruto slightly nauseous. Oblivious to them, Kale mockingly salutes Naruto and saunters inside. Naruto grimaces at Kale's back then turns and heads for home, eager for Laijjun's home made dinner.
TBC
Wow, it's a lot easier writing this fic than writing my other ones... probably because the plot is more or less already set out for me to mess around with... ^_^