Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the other characters off the show. If I did the English dub voice actor for Naruto would be fired to be replaced by the Japanese(who now knows english) voice actor. Also Sakura would be dead.
Copyrights: Uhm... Subaki. No stealing her. She's mine, my own, my preccioouusssss. o.o Uh, Wow! Yes, that was weird. Ok then.
Also, if any of you were wondering what she looks like heres a picture of her and Naruto i drew before this story was posted. Just remove the spaces http://www .deviantart. com/deviation/43595383/
The first thing Naruto noticed was that electrifying bolts of pain were shot through his body when he moved. He also realized, upon opening his eyes and quickly snapping them back shut, that light hurt. There was a soft chuckle from somewhere near by, and he quickly opened his eyes again in alertness but squinted against the horrible brightness.
"You shouldn't open your eyes yet; you've been wounded badly. It will hurt, you should go back to sleep." Said a nearby woman's voice filled with amusement.
Ignoring the advice, Naruto tried to open his half closed eyes further in an attempt to see the woman who was speaking so fondly of him. God, he was tired.
"Please, you are not yet ready to wake. Go back to sleep, you will awaken when you are ready to." The voice had suddenly turned serious, and Naruto flinched, as an unexpected cool hand was gently placed upon his forehead.
"Sleep now. All will be explained."
Time meant nothing to him. All around him was darkness interrupted briefly by the quick flashes of consciousness he gained. Every time he woke the woman was there, though he was never truly lucid enough to process anything. Everything was a blur. He remembered asking, "Who are you?" "Where am I?" and "Where's Sasuke?" though they were nothing more than murmurs of a fevered sleep. The times he did remember, though, a smile on a face he could never see and the words "Rest. The answers will come." was all he ever got in response before he, yet again, lapsed out of consciousness.
Then suddenly, one day he awoke without pain. Ok, that's a lie; he woke with pain, but little enough that he could shift around without flinching. As he slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the underside of an enormous willow tree. He closed his eyes again, his body was so heavy, and his eyelids were so hard to keep open. They seemed to have a mind of their own and ignored his brain's message to remain open. So instead of opening his eyes, he used his other senses. He listened, smelled, and touched. The air was, for lack of a better word, clean. In Konoha there always something foul in the air, whether it was burnt food, or the blood of some shinobi being rushed to the hospital, there was always something going on. But all he smelt was… grass, and the trees around him. In fact, he wasn't sure he ever thought the air in Konoha was soiled until now. Naruto frowned over this strange new information. He curled his fingers over what he assumed to be grass beneath him. It was long, not long as in wheat long, but longer then short grass usually is. As the willow branches rustled together and the wind blew gently over the ground on which he lay, the sound of muffled footsteps could be heard, and he quickly feigned sleep.
The footsteps grew louder as the person grew closer. Naruto unconsciously gripped the grass still curled in his hand.
'I'm in no condition to defend myself if they mean harm, and my weapon pouch doesn't seem to be anywhere near me.' he though to himself. 'Darn, why am I so weak?'
Suddenly the grass beside him shifted as someone's knee bumped gently into his side. 'Well, they're either kneeling down to slit my throat, or they're sitting there watching me… kinda freaky. But I gotta say I'm kind of hoping for the freaky one.'
Naruto lay there for what felt like five years, until he finally peaked one eye open and glanced in the direction of the person either there to kill him or stalk him. What he saw left him in awe, before him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had stunning moon coloured hair that shone brightly enough to put the stars to shame. It was gathered lying in the dirt behind her, as though she didn't care that it would get muddy. Her skin was the palest of creams, flawless in every way, not a visible scar or residue of markings or remains from faded wounds. She wore a simple white dress that seemed to hit her slightly above her knees, though it was loose fitting it still flattered the contours of her body without being too revealing. Her eyes: one could get lost in them. They seemed to be a mixture of jade and emerald with small specks of something else. Something mysterious and yet revealed at the same time. Naruto frowned as he realized he couldn't tell how old she was. She looked to be in her early 20s but she held a certain sense of agelessness about her. Something that said she was far older than she looked.
"I told you so." She said, still smiling. It was odd, her smile, it reminded him of how some of the village mothers smiled at their children sometimes, a smile of fondness. An all-knowing sort of smile, the kind where your lips are pressed shut so your teeth don't show, that comforts you in some ways and slaps you into paying attention at the same time.
"Wha??" Naruto replied, quite intelligently, I might add.
She gave an amused chuckle. "I told you that you would wake when you were better." He frowned at her, then began to look around him, and suddenly realized many of the leaves on the trees had started changing. Actually, to his horror most trees had all their leaves changed.
"How long have I been asleep?" he murmured, somewhat dazed, It was summer wasn't it?
The woman, again smiled, and replied calmly, "You have been sleeping nearly two months, I found you wounded by a waterfall and took it upon myself to make sure you didn't die." Suddenly, Naruto was wide-awake. Had she said two months? He frowned at her smile, and explanation.
"Who are you? Where am I? Where did Sasuke go?" Naruto demanded.
She didn't even blink at his rudeness. "I am Subaki, you are currently in a valley between, what you would recognize as, the boundaries of the land of Fire and Grass. I do not know of this… Sasuke that you speak of - you were alone when I found you."
"Why would you care what happened to me?" He asked guardedly. Her smile never faltered.
"You were wounded, and unable to defend yourself. I did what I felt was needed to be done," came the woman's, Subaki's, reply.
Naruto had suddenly heard enough of this woman's half-truth explanations. He pushed himself off the ground with his hands, in some sort of vain attempt to escape this confusingly honest woman. Unfortunately for him, the moment he stood, his legs, like his eyelids, decided to rebel against him. Subaki grabbed him as he fell and put him back down in the least awkward position she could.
"Please, you are not yet well, you need more rest. Your body is still weak."
"I don't care! I have to go find Sasuke before that snake-bastard gets him." Naruto forced himself into a sitting position as Subaki frowned at his stubbornness. Really, it surprised him, it was the first thing he had seen her do other than smile.
"Please, you have been sleeping for so long, and you are in no condition to fight, at least sit with me and eat." The woman was smiling again as she patted the ground beside her. Naruto paused, as he felt his stomach respond to the mention of food.
"Please," The woman smiled again, as she looked across at him. "I'm sure one meal's delay will not cost your search for your friend too dearly. Besides, I have just returned from the village market and it has been some time since I had a guest for a meal."
Naruto could feel his determination sliding. In his head a little scale was bobbing up and down, Sasuke, food, Sasuke, food. His stomach added in its own opinion of the decision. He looked again at the woman sitting across from him. 'What was up with her? I mean really, she's so… weird. And polite, really she must be as polite as Hinata-chan. Though, food does sound good, and I really wouldn't mind sitting a bit. God, I'm tired.'
Naruto finally nodded, and Subaki broke out in a full out grin. "Wonderful!" she said happily, "Now, what is your name?" Naruto had to blink at her for a few moments before realizing he had never told her what his name was. She had cared for him for two months and didn't even know his name?
"Uzumaki, Uzumaki Naruto." He said giving her a foxy grin. His smile only seemed to make her happier.
"So then Uzumaki Naruto, tell me about yourself." Her eyes crinkled a bit as her smile grew larger.
Against what any shinobi would call better judgment, he did. He told her of his lonely childhood, growing up without parents, his constant strive for acknowledgment, and his dream of being Hokage. He told her about Iruka, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi. Though strangely enough, after he started he couldn't seem to stop, and began telling her about how the villagers hated him, beaten him, called him monster, and against everything in him screaming at him to stop, he told her about Kyubbi. The moment he said it his world seemed to freeze. He had just told, a complete stranger, the first person who had never called him moron, or dead last, or criticized him in any way, that he housed a demon. 'Wow,' commented his brain, which moments ago had been wisely telling him to shut up. 'Well done, genius.'
Of course, as soon as he said it Subaki stopped smiling and stared at him. Shoving his hand behind his head and laughing was about the only escape route he knew, so obviously he took it. "Ah, ha ha ha! See that, you fell for it. Ha… ha ha ha…" She was still staring at him quite seriously, obviously not buying it, so Naruto just stopped and stared back her.
"So that's it." She murmured quietly, still staring intently at him. He had started to fidget.
"That's what?" He asked, starting to adapt Hinata's finger twiddling, attempting to make him look naïve, and innocent.
"What I sensed in you when I found you." A slow smile grew on her face, not that face comforting-pay attention-smile as before, but a sort of I suddenly understand, knowing smile, as Naruto gave her his best 'Buh?' face he had. Sitting up a bit straighter in her kneeling position Subaki stared him straight in the face and said, quite confidently, "I am an Inu Demon from the lands in the West." Naruto, while staring, suddenly subconsciously decided that his 'buh' expression wasn't enough and he yet again had to prove his intelligence.
"Whuh?" he said, of course, blinking quite quickly at the same time.
"Yes, it's true," she said her smile growing bigger by the minute, "when I found I sensed something strange in you, similar to a demon but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I knew you weren't a full demon, obviously, and you weren't a half demon, so it finally all makes sense. Kyubbi's essence has slowly mixed with your over the years making his spirit barely noticeable but still there!" She finished a bit out of breath, but still looking quite pleased with herself.
"… Nuh?" Yet again, Naruto's brain congratulated him on his intellect.
"No, no really, it all makes sense now. The wounds you had when I found you would have instantly killed any human, well obviously, you had a gaping hole in your chest, and even though it did take some time for them to heal, they did heal, and even now after eating only a hour ago, I bet you feel strong enough to stand, if not walk." Well, there was something he hadn't noticed. He did feel a lot better.
"Yeh, buh… Wha?" You must of course realize that Naruto was still in quite a bit of shock. Whether it was the whole "I don't instantly hate you" factor, or the "I'm a something demon, hurray!" speech, he seemed to be rather fazed.
Subaki rolled her eyes at his shock-induced brain-deadness and replied rather slowly. "Think of the question, and then say it."
Naruto blinked a few times then after many attempts finally managed to blurt out, "You're a what now?"
She smiled again, "An Inu Demon, dog, if you will. I come from the Western Lands."
So here goes Naruto's inner battle. 'Well it sort of does make sense; I mean… she's so white. And calm, and kinda freaky, and she's so clean… Yeh ok, that's a stupid one, but really, we're in the middle of nowhere and she's all sparkly white… Haha! Rip, Slip! Brush, Ahhh!!! No! No time for mint flavoured distractions! Right ok, so it explains a lot. But I mean… Who would lie about that, right? And she did get all excited and happy when I said I had Kyubbi sealed in me. But I mean… Really, that's impossible right? I can't even sense any chakra in her, and besides, aren't demons supposed to be blood-thirsty rampaging monsters? I mean rea-'
"I can see you are doubting me. Please, just tell me what it is you want to know and I'll explain to best of my ability." 'Man, she smiled again; really her smile was getting more confusing and understandable by the minute. Yes, I know that phrase contradicts its self but I don't care! I mean… the whole, motherly, you are just so cute when you're confused thing; I'm starting to get… But why is she smiling? Guh, I'm digging my own grave … so confused!'
"Well, why are you here? So near to Konoha?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
"You believe your map is the only one that exists? Truly, there are other kingdoms in this world that lay on the same ground as the ones your people have claimed. I knew not of your village, but I shall do my best to avoid its direction. I am merely a wanderer."
"Are there many demons out there? You seemed familiar with Kyubbi's name."
"Oh, there are thousands of us, spread all across the land. I met Kyubbi centuries ago when he was still a kit, though it is unfortunate you both must suffer from his lust for blood."
Naruto hesitated, "But if there are so many of you, why did we never notice you before? I have never heard of a demon attacking from anyone in my village before Kyubbi attacked."
"Not all demons are evil, just as humans. As a whole, our species is peaceful, and content with what we have, though, like humans, there are some among us who crave power and destruction… "
Naruto shuddered at the thought of his meeting with Orochimaru in the Chunnin Exam, but then suddenly remembered the old man from the Ramen Stand back home, and Ero-Sennin, and Iruka, and Naruto abruptly realized she was right. Wherever there are good people there will always be those who wish to abuse them. It was down right depressing.
A comfortable silence settled between them and they both realized that neither knew what to say. Naruto was simply too dazed and still getting over the "I'm a something demon, hurray!" speech to think of anything to say, while Subaki was merely accustomed to silence, and his breathing comforted her nearly as much as his voice.
"Naruto," Subaki called, getting his attention.
"Huh?" Yes, yes indeed, quite intelligent.
"You mentioned that your friend, Sasuke, that he left Konoha to gain power from Orochimaru, correct?" Subaki asked hesitantly.
"Mhmm, what about it?"
"Well then, why are you trying to return him?"
Naruto's head flung upwards. "What do you mean why?! He's my friend, even if he is a jerk-face; I'm not just going to leave him to do something stupid. Friends watch out for each other!"
Subaki paused before continuing. "Perhaps, but how do you intend to return him? Even if you do capture him and drag him back to Kohona he will only betray you a second time and leave." Silence met her reasoning. "And regardless of your good intentions or those of your comrades, he will only see you as an obstacle in his path. When you were describing him to me earlier, you mentioned that he was stronger than you."
"Maybe, but I have to try! I'm not going to let him throw away everything he's accomplished just for some quick power!"
"… But he already has." Naruto instantly went silent as any rebuke he had planned was caught in his throat.
"He's my friend… And I refuse to let him throw away his life just for revenge."
"Although I agree with you, how do you intend to return him? You are far too weak as you are."
Naruto's eyes filled with anger as he looked at her. "Hey, I don't know who you think you're talking to, but I'm Uzumaki Naruto!! I'm not some weak-ass pansy! I'll totally kick Sasuke-teme's butt!"
Subaki covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers as a small chuckle escaped her lips. "Forgive me, Naruto. I did not mean to insult you. I was merely stating that you are currently not strong enough to fight Sasuke, much less Orochimaru, if he is in fact a Sennin. I highly doubt he'd so willingly let you waltz in and steal away his precious new student."
"Well, Yeh, but I mean… I have to try, you know?" Naruto tried to explain to her. "He's my closest friend…"
A sad smile appeared on Subaki's lips. "Oh Naruto, I understand more than you know." Her eyes lowered to her lap for a moment as she paused in her thought. She raised them again to meet his eyes with renewed resolve. "Please, let me help you. I cannot interfere with the affairs of humans so directly as to go get him for you, but if you would like me to, perhaps I could teach you some things before you go find him."
"You'd train me?" Naruto asked in shock. "But how? You don't even have chakra."
Subaki's special smile returned. "I can teach you to fight without it, and to fight with the strength of the world around you in combination with your own chakra. The spirits of this earth are all around us, you must merely learn how to speak with them and they will aid you readily."
"Speak with them?" Naruto asked in confusion. "Like… You mean dirt, and air, and stuff?"
Subaki's smile tightened a fraction; so slightly he almost missed it. "Yes, dirt and stuff." She said with slight sarcasm. "Most of the spirits of the earth are kind and timid, but if you befriend them you'll quickly find that your name gets passed around. They're lonely, you know? To speak with them is an art that has almost vanish completely. Most do not still have the memories of how to call upon them. It's sad, they used to speak with everyone, and now all they have is each other, and when there are guests they are almost always welcome." Subaki's eyes crinkled, as her smile grew larger.
Naruto's 'buh' expression had returned, quite noticeably too because Subaki burst out laughing at the sight of him. "Here let me show you." Naruto leaned forward as he saw her bring her hand to her face, just close enough that she would only have to lean in an inch or two to rest her face in it. A frown grew on his features as he saw her begin to move her mouth, as though whispering, though no sound came out. He had just begun to lean in closer to try to hear her when a small burst of flame jumped from her hand.
"Whoa!" Naruto said startled as Subaki chuckled. "How… How did you do that? You didn't do any hand seals or anything."
Subaki smile grew. "Naruto, this is Sheebah." Naruto's eyes grew wide as the small flame formed into the shape of a tiny woman, sort of faerie sized, small enough to fit into Subaki's hand. The tiny woman gave Naruto a small bow before vanishing out of sight just as suddenly as she had come.
Naruto looked from Subaki's empty hand to her satisfied face before crying out (In one breathe I might add) "Oh my god! How did you do that!? That's so cool! I want to do that! Sheebah! Hey Sheebah, come back!! Oi!! Sheebah?! Is she dead? Where'd she go!? Sheebah!!!"
Subaki laughed aloud. "Please, Naruto, remember they are quite shy, I fear your yelling will only scare them off." Well, that shut him up quite nicely. "If you let me train you, eventually you will be able to speak with them too, and they are nice company on lonely evenings, as well as combatants."
Naruto's face lit up in a large grin. "Really? You'd put up with me?"
Subaki smiled a small fond smile before replying "Of course, but only if you put up with me."
Naruto's grin seemed to grow larger, as impossible as it seemed, before nodding his head. "Sure."
As the two lay down to bed that night, with the promise they would talk more in the morning, they both couldn't help but wonder what their upcoming journey together would bring. Subaki questioned if she had made the correct decision by inviting the human, and Naruto was wondering what had happened to Sasuke, and if he really could become strong enough to help. Regardless of their own thoughts and theories, the next phase in their lives promised to be quite an interesting experience for the both of them.
Erm o.o So this is my very first fanfic, Please me kind with me, T.T I'm sensitive and fragile. XD
Also, it'll probably be a few chapters at least before more normal Naruto characters are introduced Sorry, it's just that Subaki and the time Naruto spends with her have important roles in the fanfic and their relationship needs to be explained