Oreo; Wow, the next chapter already! Hehe I like this one… for now. Now, let's get wild!
Naruto gripped the Sandaime's hand tighter as he looked at the fence surrounding the low house in front of him. The modest wooden fence was about six feet high, just enough to offer privacy, stained a natural brown. Walking through the simple wooden gate, however, made Naruto feel a tingling sensation, and he noticed he had heard nothing from inside the fence before stepping through.
The blond took a quick look around, noticing short green grass that looked well cared for, and an abundance of flowers and plants of all varieties in ten well organized lots. Three medium sized green houses dotted the yard, each one having a different color of frame, and each with its own quirk. The greenhouse with the light blue frame had frost surrounding the glass from the inside, and made Naruto yelp at the cold when he pressed his hand against it. Moving on, the red greenhouse about two meters away gave off heat waves, the light inside seeming to burn with the heat. The third of these greenhouses was a deep blue-green, and peering inside warily, he noticed floating plastic platforms and a flooded floor with plant tops sticking from the surface.
Looking from his new vantage point, Naruto surveyed the small house. Two stories tall, a large side window gave full view to a spacious kitchen and dining area. Most of the actual room on the lot was taken up by the garden, leaving room for only four moderately-sized rooms on the bottom and top floor each. Solid wood walls were glazed against the time and weather, keeping the natural color of the wood. Only after brushing his fingertips against the wood did Naruto notice the intricate carvings made into the very walls of the house. Repeating seals took up the bulk of the walls, so small that it would take actual physical contact for them to seem anything but an odd grain to the wood. Around the bottom of the house were lovingly carved pictures of scenery, animals and most predominately, plants of all sorts. He had leaned down to brush his fingers along, taken with the more twisted, mutated plants, those that seemed like they didn't belong in this world at all. A tree with acid spilling mouths, an ominous, heavily gnarled tree, and a vine plant that looked like it would strike at any second were among these.
Naruto straightened, paying attention to the rest of the house once again. The top floor was peppered with small windows, their soft yellow windowsills holding colorfully flowering plants. He let out a soft breath at how comforting this place was, how he had never felt so safe anywhere before. Looking around for the Hokage, as his idling thoughts had taken him around a corner, he noticed a huge black greenhouse, one that he should have seen when he first came in, but didn't. As he stepped closer, he could feel that this one was different, more ominous than the other, smaller greenhouses. A strange scent filled the air when he stepped even closer, a scent he knew, but couldn't identify. Hearing a small voice that seemed a long ways away, he paused, listening again before the mysterious greenhouse pulled him even closer.
Pushed right up against the glass, his eyes went wide as he learned the source of the scent.
Blood.
Naruto took a step back as he saw three bodies being torn up and thrown around by plants in the greenhouse, all of them the dangerous, mutated looking plants from some of the carvings. He backed away even farther, struggling to get away from the scent of blood, the scent that was stealing the air from his very lungs. Backpedaling, he found himself in a pair of strong arms, the same ones that had saved him multiple times in the past, one of the two pairs that had always been there. Fear not allowing his brain to think clearly, he curled into the supportive arms, whispering out the man's name as he knew him.
"Inu-ani."
Naruto woke up on an unfamiliar couch in an unfamiliar room, late afternoon sun slanting into the calming green room through a window. Sitting up, he took in the small glass-top coffee table, the oak writing desk against the opposite wall, and the numerous pictures hanging around the room, showing many people Naruto didn't know. His attention was brought back to the large picture hanging over the desk. Three smiling people, were huddled comfortably close, the two men with arms on the one woman, who was heavily pregnant, flaming red hair hanging loose down to her mid-back. Familiar shining green eyes drew him to the oldest of the two men, his straight back and long red-streaked silver hair in a low ponytail and his silken, comfortable-looking tunic hanging easily. Suddenly, Naruto understood where he was. "Jiji… otou-san… okaa-san…"
Naruto heard shuffling, and looked to the open door frame, seeing Sarutobi standing there, a look of relief on his aged face. The Hokage strode over to Naruto's couch, wrapping the boy in a warm embrace. "Naruto- kun, are you all right? We were so worried."
The blond nodded, turning his attention to the three men waiting in the doorframe. Gravity-defying silver hair rose from a tilted hitae-ate and a single grey eyes shone above a blue face mask, the man's posture screamed laziness, but also strength to the observant. Next to him, a muscled man in a brown trench coat wore his hitae-ate as a bandana, cunning dark eyes evaluating the blond boy. This one gave a nod at Naruto's quick look. The last of the three men was also the youngest and the only one dressed in a chunnin outfit, kind brown eyes showing concern and his brown hair in a pineapple ponytail, the ends of the scar crossing the bridge of his nose dimpling with his warm smile.
"Hokage-jiji?"
The youngest one answered his silent question. "That hurts, Naruto-kun. Even though you've only seen us with our masks, you should be able to recognize Kakashi and me." Naruto jumped out of the Sandaime's hold, rushing over to the kind chunnin and the lazy jounin as the bandana wearing Nin backed off. "Inu-ani! Iruka-ani!" he swept both ex-Anbu into a huge flying hug, knocking both of them back a bit, his laughing exclamation filling the room. Iruka laughed as well, supporting the boy's weight as Kakashi ruffled his hair affectionately.
"Never thought I'd see the famous pair, Copy-Nin Kakashi and Heat-Seeker Iruka get knocked back by a little kid." The gravely voice brought the trio's attention back to the trench coat-wearing man. He held out his hand to the young blond. "Nice to meet you, kid. Name's Ibiki." Naruto looked at the man, recognizing the name from the times he's been beaten by mobs. "Ibiki? As in the same Ibiki who deals with the mean people who hurt me?" eyebrows rose all around, as Ibiki nodded slowly. Naruto grinned and grasped the still out-stretched hand. "Thanks, Ibiki-ani! Because of you, fewer people attack me."
All four adults let out a breath of relief, and Ibiki grinned back. "My pleasure, kid. People who would attack a little kid are worth less than dust, and about as useful."
Naruto smiled, looking around at all the friendly faces. "Not that I'm complaining, but what are you three doing here?" Sarutobi stepped forward, and gestured to the gathered shinobi. "These three are the last members of the two teams your parents taught, Naruto." Bright blue orbs went wide. "M-My parents?"
Sarutobi nodded, smiling at the boy's surprise.
"Yes. Kakashi was your father's little 'protégé,' and is the only surviving member of his team. Iruka and Ibiki were teammates under your mother, even though their third teammate died years ago. They've been taking care of the house, and you, since your parents died." Naruto sent a glance at the three shinobi he now thought of as brothers, eyes shining with curiosity.
"What were their names?"
Iruka smiled, setting Naruto down on the ground. "Minato and Kushina. Come, Naruto-kun. Lets sit at the table, and the four of us can answer all of your questions."
Naruto lay down in his new bed, the three boxes containing all his belongings from his old apartment, his head spinning with all he had learned. Rolling off his bed, he padded over to his window, opening it to let in the clean night air, the night-blooming flowers filling his nostrils and clearing his clouded mind. He looked over the yard of his new home, a place he felt he had been in his whole life. Tall strong trees lent shade and shelter to airborne animals and other tree dwellers, blooming flowers glowing softly in the cleansing moonlight as their daylight relatives had closed for the night.
Taking another deep breath, Naruto looked up, taking in the perfect view of the Hokage monument as the silver disk of a moon hung on high in a clear, cloudless night.
His sight was heavy after an hour of watching the calm beauty, and he trod lightly back to his soft bed, sliding into its soothing embrace.
Naruto trotted out of his home bright eyed and energetic. Three months had passed, and he had learned pretty much everything about his new home, from the secret hiding places, to the immediate spot where anything was kept, to the care of each greenhouse and plots of plants. Well, every greenhouse except for the large one, the one where plants ate people and anything else that wandered in there.
The blond shook his head at that thought, focusing instead on his destination. The Hokage had told him about a new librarian, one that didn't seem to hate him, and Naruto planned on using that to his advantage. He had always wondered what the library was like, and this was his only chance to find out.
Soon the seven-year old had reached the stone steps of the large building, taking them two at a time. The chiming of a bell overhead signaled his entrance, and he looked around the air-conditioned building with curiosity. Large bookshelves dominated the room, all filled with scrolls, seeming like enormous troves made for exploring, comfortable chairs and tables spread out in spacious areas for relaxing, these little clearings safe havens for entering the world of words. Naruto inhaled and the scent of paper, ink, and leather drew him in further, snaking around him like a cat or lover.
"Can I help you, young man?"
Naruto turned his attention to the young voice, taking in the sight of the twenty-something woman, her long brown hair drawn back in a loose ponytail, elegant glasses perched on a delicate nose, warm moss-green eyes shining kindly. The blond smiled at the woman, blue eyes trusting her completely. "Yes please. This is my first time here and well…" She smiled. "No problem. I'll give you the grand tour." He grinned at her, taking her offered hand. Little did he know that this little trip would change the way he saw the world.
Naruto nudged the gate, fumbling at the latch around his load. Getting his foot through the gate, he shouldered his way in, the scrolls in his arms making things awkward. Feeling the tingle of the sound barrier, Naruto let out a sigh of relief, clipping the gate back into place. Trotting over to one of the nearby trees, a solid oak, Naruto shrugged off his orange jacket, placing it down next to him as he gingerly rolled the scrolls onto it. Sitting cross-legged, he sorted through the pile, trying to decide which story to read first. 'What's this?' he picked up one of the scrolls he hadn't noticed before. "The legends of Makai?" snapping the seal, the first thing on the unfurling scroll was a foreign map, one of places he hadn't even heard about, under the title of three different countries.
Leaning against the tree, Naruto spent the rest of the day reading the scroll, struggling over some of the harder words, completely and utterly fascinated by what the scroll was saying, the story scrolls laying forgotten on his jacket.
It was this sight that Ibiki, Kakashi, Iruka, and Sarutobi came across when they came around for supper. They literally had to drag him away from the scroll, only to hear all that Naruto had learned from that one scroll. Surprised at what Naruto had found, Ibiki and Iruka found it appropriate to inform Naruto of a certain aspect of his heritage. Iruka swallowed the lump in his throat, knowing this could permanently damage part of the boy's psyche.
"Naruto, this Makai is where demons are from, right?"
"Yeah. It's cool the natural abilities they have, like the Youko clan, which were whipped out by one of their own, Youko Kurama. Neat that my Jiji had the same first name, isn't it?" Ibiki cleared his throat as Kakashi choked on his rice.
"About that, Naruto. You see your jiji and the Youko share a name because, well, they're the same person."
"Yeah that's so—Whaaa?" Naruto stopped, Ibiki's words finally reaching his brain. Kakashi had finally cleared his throat of the persistent rice blockage.
"They're right. You're half-demon, the demon being from your mother's side."
The blonds eyes rolled back and he fainted, the Sandaime barely managed to stop the boy from falling into his rice. He sent a disapproving glance at his subordinates, carrying Naruto up to his room. Iruka shook his head at Ibiki's and Kakashi's lack of tact, following behind Sarutobi after grabbing Naruto's scrolls from the living room, leaving both men to clean up from the short supper.
TBC
Oreo; Surprise! Hehe. Not a lot done in this chapter, but it'll get moving pretty soon. The next chapter will be a larger time skip from this one, and should be drastically longer. Real action next chapter, I promise. And Naruto finds an ability and hobby he inherited from his infamous grandfather, one that'll be a huge inconvenience to shinobi everywhere! Muahahaha. Lol. A little crazy at the moment, but ah well. Ja!