mint: Someone asked what Naruto's current age is in this story.
CH 1:
Before fusing – 13
After Fusing – 15
Stay in Suna – 16-18
CH2:
Before time skip – 18
After time skip (currently) – 20
Thank you for all the reviews!
Sorry about taking so long to update. There's only one more semester till I graduate and my thesis is taking up a lot of my time. Please bear with me.
Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Naruto are not mine
EDIT: Sorry I did not notice that I uploaded the old version (which was shorter). It should be okay now.
CHAPTER FOUR: HUMAN TRANSFORMATION
"I'm sorry can you repeat that?" Naruto asked in a sickly sweet tone. Opposite to him, Masahide had broken out in cold sweat. The dragon looked at his mate but she continued on playing with their child, completely ignoring him.
"I kind of showed off the haori you gave me and maybe that's why a lot of demons are now trying to enter the forest?" He sheepishly answered.
Naruto wanted to hit him.
"Apologize properly,"Masahide's mate, a half-lizard half-spider youkai named Tsuyuki said in a no-nonsense tone.
The dragon quickly bowed in front of Naruto. "I apologize!"
Naruto looked at him and frowned. It wasn't like him to be mad at an honest mistake no matter how bad the outcome was for him. He supposed he was a bit flattered that his work was worth showing off to others.
He sighed, "It's not like I can do anything about it now..."
"Naruto-kun, as much as I don't like what my mate has done, perhaps you can perceive it in a positive light? You get free training and the spiders get their meal. No one says that you have to give away your work,"
Naruto's face scrunched up in thought, "Well… I guess so,"
The female picked up her child, a bubbly toddler named Eijiro with crimson hair that he inherited from his father, "We should go and eat in a while, dusk is almost upon us,"
Masahide promptly looked at the sky in attention, "Yes. I shall hunt us something to eat,"
"Thank you," Naruto smiled in appreciation. "I'm still annoyed at you though!"
"I said I was sorry!"
"Well, learn your lesson then," Tsuyuki said, "Now go, shoo!"
Naruto have never eaten meat ever since he arrived in this country. He could never travel out of the forest to hunt meat (animals inside the forest are for the spider colony) because if other demons found out, the forest could get attacked again. As such, Naruto survived mainly on eating berries and plants. It's been a few weeks since he had met Masahide and he promptly brought his wife and child one day. Tsuyuki then drilled it into his head that he needed meat for it was the way of the demons, one of the sure ways he could get stronger. Ainara was thankful for the two. She as well was starting to get worried about Naruto's health.
"Will you be staying the night?" Naruto asked Tsuyuki as he laid a thick rug down, a gift from the Sand siblings given by some high-ranking official of another country. It made a perfect mat for young little Eijiro to run around without the worries of getting his knee scraped if he falls.
"Yes," She answered seriously, "Today will be the start of weekly visits to get some meat in your diet,"
Naruto woke up in his bed the next morning feeling slightly uncomfortable. He shook his head a bit, trying to clear a weird buzzy feeling lingering in his hearing, like the uncomfortable feeling he got when he climbed a high mountain before. The action had no effect whatsoever and he was left still pondering on the feeling that something was different.
"What is wrong with my hearing today?" He grumbled and tried to grab one in his ear but his hand only met air.
His hand froze, "Wait, what?!"
The fox touched his head, blindly feeling for the pair of fox ears that were usually on his head, messing his hair in the process, but they were nowhere to be found. And so thinking of nothing else that he could do, he screamed.
"Naruto-kun!" Tsuyuki was at Naruto's room the second after she heard the blonde's scream. She moved so fast that she did not bother checking up on her mate - she knew he would eventually come as well as calm their son. The half could not help but feel close to the fox and was already starting to view him like a son. There she saw the young blonde pacing around his room in a half-panicked state.
"Tsuyuki-san! What's wrong with me?! My ears are not there, my claws are not here! What's happening?!" The blonde yelled while comically tugging at his hair in frustration.
Tsuyuki frowned. If her senses were correct, and she knew that they were, the being in front of her was complete and utterly human. However it also looked like Naruto - same blonde hair, same length even, same blue eyes, hell, even the same whisker markings. The only difference was the obviously missing tails and the pair of fox ears on his head which was replaced with a pair of human ears. Yes, it was Naruto alright albeit he smells different - like a human.
"Calm down Naruto-kun!" She said to the nearly hysterical hanyou. "And keep your voice down a bit!"
Though she said this, in her head, she was confused. How in the world had Naruto turned human?
"Calm down…" Naruto took deep breaths "I'm calm…"
"What's wrong?" Masahide's voice was heard from the door. There he was standing with his son in his arms followed closely by Ainara. Masahide narrowed his eyes in confusion "Is that-?"
The old spider gasped in shock, "Oh my"
"Naru-nii!" Eijiro all but struggled out of his father's arms and dived straight to the blond.
"Well, I guess that answers my question." Masahide muttered.
They moved to the small sitting room in Naruto's hut. The now-human blond winced as the small toddler in his arms finally noticed his lack of furry ears on his head and started to tug at his current human ears.
"Its fine." Naruto told Tsuyuki who was about to take the child from his grasp. He understood the child's curiosity.
"So um... Any theories?" Masahide asked about the problem at hand.
Tsuyuki was the first to speak, " Well, the only logical reason I can think of right now is that it has something to do with Naruto being a hanyou."
"The idea has merit. There were rumors of some form of weakness regarding half-breeds reaching my ears but since I do not go out of the forest, I can hardly confirm that this is it," Ainara said.
Masahide nodded in agreement, "I've heard of that as well but thought nothing of it before." He straightened his back against the wall he was leaning upon and scrunched his face in thought, "If this is truly this weakness, then it may have been a safely guarded secret. For survival and all."
Tsuyuki frowned. What her mate said made sense of course, but it doesn't help them in any way. If anything, it made everything much more complicated. "If that is true... Then the only way to find more information about this is-"
"To ask another hanyou." Naruto supplied, having arrived at the same conclusion.
Hanyous were exceedingly rare to find, Naruto knows that at least. There aren't many of them naturally - the hatred of most demons towards humans and the fear of most humans towards demons have made sure of that. There is also the fact the most demons hated half-breeds as much as they hated humans, or in some cases even more. This resulted in half-breeds being eliminated early in their lives especially without the supervision of their demon parent. As such, finding other half-breeds in order to learn about what Naruto was experiencing would be quite a challenge.
"Isn't the Heir of the West a hanyou?" Masahide asked.
"The Heir? You mean Lord Inuyasha? Defeater of Naraku?"
"Oh that's right. Baabaa told me about it. The half-inuyokai, brother to Lord Sesshoumaru?" Naruto had not remained ignorant of the land's history. Since he was going to live in this country, he made an effort in learning about the land, at least whatever he could get from Ainara. Most of them had been about demon culture though he was also able to learn about the current Lords and the some other important news that managed to make its way into the forest, one of which was the fall of Naraku.
"But there is no way we can ask of him. Especially now that he has been appointed as the Heir of the West," The old spider reasoned. They would either need an invitation or send a request, both of which are impossible since they were not of noble standing. They are not even under the rule of the West. Silkwood, in all its glory, was located on the edges of the East on the foot of a mountain.
Suddenly, Masahide's head shot up with a large grin on his face. He clasped his hands together rubbing them while releasing a low rumbling laugh.
"What's gotten into you?" Tsuyuki asked raising an eyebrow at her mate.
"We can't ask for a request to see the Heir of the West of course, but we can always visit the Lord of the East."He grinned while the others listened attentively.
Looks of understanding filled the faces of Tsuyuki and Ainara but Naruto failed to see how it was important. "And how does seeing Lord Kouga fit in all of this?"
"Because Lord Kouga and Lord Inuyasha happen to be friends... in a way." Masahide finished with a large grin.
"Oh..." Naruto said dumbly.
"There is no guarantee that Lord Kouga can accommodate our request of course, but it's worth a shot," The dragon added.
Naruto though had new worries that popped into his mind. Lord Kouga was after all the Lord of the East and not just some random guy. "And how exactly can we meet Lord Kouga? It's not like we can just go in there without warning right?"
"Oh don't worry about that kid. Just leave that to me," Answered Masahide with a grin.
Not entirely understanding and very skeptical, the blond turned to Tsuyuki with an eyebrow raised in confusion.
"Masahide and Lord Kouga are on friendly terms," Tsuyuki answered at his silent question.
The dragon had met the Lord on a gathering when they were still young and unmated. Both found solace in each other as they were brought to the gathering by their parents against their will. Masahide was quite an easy-going youngster harboring no interest in formal, uptight gatherings, a trait which he shared with the young Lord Kouga. They ended up spending the rest of the event with each others company much to the ire and amusement of their parents.
"Mama! I'm hungry!" Young Eijiro shouted in his small voice breaking the four's thoughts and concentration. They haven't had their breakfast yet, Naruto's human form seemed more important at that time.
Ainara laughed and smoothed the toddler's locks, " The young one proves a point. Come, we must eat. We shall decide the details later,"
"Come on Eijiro," Tsuyuki said and finally relieved Naruto of the toddler. She head straight to the kitchens with her mate following behind her.
Naruto started to follow them but was stopped when a gentle hand landed on his shoulder.
"Baabaa?"
"Naruto-kun," She started once she was sure the two were out of earshot "You know with this upcoming journey, they must know who you are. Why you are a half-demon,"
Naruto sighed and stared in the direction of the two, "I know baabaa. I'll tell them,"
"Naruto-kun are you alright?" Tsuyuki asked eyeing the blond who was picking at his food.
Naruto looked at her and replied, "Yes, of course,"
"If you say so," She replied skeptically and did not even attempt to hide it from her voice.
Naruto went back to his cooked meat. Masahide had taken down a deer for their breakfast today and Naruto had taken it upon himself to cook the meat seeing that he was a human for the time being. The aroma of cooking meat had wafted into the kitchen with the full demons scrunching up their noses at the smell. While it did not smell that bad, it was a foreign scent as they normally consume their meat raw. Naruto was thankful that they were understanding of this new development and did not bother much about his change. Despite this, he was anxious about telling his story to the couple. He knows he probably would not be judged for it but still, it did not change the fact that he felt skittish about sharing the information.
Naruto inhaled a deep breath and finally said' "I have something to tell you guys,"
"Now?" Masahide asked ridiculously who was in the middle of putting a piece of meat in his mouth.
"Yes? I feel like I might chicken out..."
Tsuyuki sensed the seriousness of the request, "Alright."
"Okay," Naruto took a breath. "Please try not to interrupt me."
"No promises kid," Masahide grinned, "OW!" He rubbed an arm that was swatted by his mate.
"Go ahead Naruto," She said.
"Alright. The thing is... I'm not entirely like Lord Inuyasha. I was not born a hanyou." Naruto looked at the expression on Tsuyuki and Masahide's faces. Aside from the obvious surprise, not one word passed from their lips so he took that as a sign to continue.
"I merged with a demon. He was called Kurama and it all started when I was a baby. Perhaps it would be easier if I started from the fact that I am not from this land,"
"Hidden by this cottage, is a separate land where I came from where humans lived in plenty of numbers, some of them wielding chakra. Those who wield chakra train to be Ninja and they were able to manipulate the elements into various purposes because of it. The only demons in existence are numbered. One of them, Kurama, attacked he village where I was born. My father was the leader of that village and in order to protect his people, he sealed the demon inside me in exchange for his own life. Both of my parents died that night with my father wishing that I will be seen as a hero for keeping the beast at bay."
"That did not happen. I grew up hated and ostracized by the village but I did not give up. I thought if I gave it my all, then they will eventually see my worth. Well, that did not happen as well."
"We were on a mission. A ninja of our village had decided on siding with a missing nin - ninjas who were labeled criminals because of their actions. He was just our age and the village leader ordered for his retrieval. He was part of this 'prestigious' clan in the village you see and it did not hurt that he was 'my friend'. We did not come unscathed but I managed to retrieve him.." Naruto frowned.
"But they blamed me, told me I had nearly killed their 'precious' ninja. The villagers demanded that I leave and never come back with one of 'my friends' doing nothing to stop their insults."
"So I left and travelled. Of course the village leader who later found out about it ordered ninjas to bring me back."
"One time, Kurama talked to me and told me that we could merge in order to hide better from my pursuers. I agreed."
"I lived as a half-demon from then on' Met some friends who did not care about my condition and eventually found this place. Seeing that I was happy here being free to be who I am, my friends let me leave and stay as well as guarding the gateway to those lands." Naruto finished.
The blond looked at Tsuyuki and Masahide. The two were still and quiet and the only noise in the air was from Eijiro who was finishing up his own small share of meat and berries.
"Well?" Naruto asked.
"Well..." Masahide scratched his head. "That was quite a story."
Like a breeze, the quiet and serious air in the table went away with the dragon's statement.
"Certainly," Tsuyuki chuckled.
Naruto sighed in relief. He did not know what he was being nervous for exactly.
"This would definitely be important later if we end up talking to Lord Inuya-" A low grumbling interrupted Tsuyuki's statement.
The three demons looked at Naruto who was sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
Masahide laughed, "All right, time for the human to eat!"
Soon enough, all of them were laughing at Naruto's predicament.