Greetings everyone! we come to another chapter for Lost in the Force . . . I wonder If I should change the name? I was having troubles thinking of one, in any case. this is the start of the story and I hope you all enjoy, see you at the bottom.
Part 1
I groaned as I opened my eyes. The first thing I took in was the feel of Kalen's hand in my own of course and the second thing was the three men in animal shaped masks . . . make that two men and one woman in animal shaped masks. They each had weapons out in the form of knives. A figure behind a desk on the other side of the small wooden room I was in looked on with apparent interest. The figure wore a had with a strange symbol on it with white robes hiding his body. Something was telling me that the symbol on the man's hat said fire but I had no idea why that was the case since I'd never seen that specific language before.
"Who dares disturb Hokage-sama" Came the call from one of the animal masks and I recognised the voice of a trained soldier when I heard one, apparently, me and Kalen had been picked up and dropped into the office of the leader of whatever military establishment we had stumbled on.
"Lieutenant first class Tanin, Militia company six, seventh platoon" I said without hesitation . . . and then realised my voice sounded several years younger . . . oh joy. I took a look at Kalen and realised she looked about nine or ten years old now . . . this was going to be troublesome. For some reason I got the impression that several dozen people just shivered at my thought.
"That sounds like a military rank and yet you seem to be a little young for such titles, don't you think?" said the man with an amused smile . . . he probably thought we were kids on some form of prank or another . . . that must mean that this military establishment also housed the families of the soldiers that served here . . . odd but I could understand that if this was a long term deployment if not a permanent one . . . make sense to have families here to train and recruit from.
"Funny you should mention that . . . last I check I was twenty four . . . and I'm guessing I look about nine or ten if Kalen's sleeping face is anything to go by" I said, a frown having settled on my features a few revelations ago "Would you mind telling me where we are sir? I asked the man in the white robes, clearly the leader . . . no doubt about it.
"You are in my office" The man said, amusement still plastered all over his face . . . the bastard didn't believe a word I just said.
"Really . . . I hadn't noticed" I said with a deadpan and Kalen groaned before waking up herself.
"I feel younger . . . I sound younger . . . the hell?" Kalen clearly made the observations faster than I did. "Where are we?" She asked while getting a good look at the figures around us.
"Apparently in that man's office" I said in reply.
"Yeah . . . but where is this office" She asked, looking around her.
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say in a building of some sort" I said before looking at the man in the robes again.
"No need to get snarky" The girl quipped before turning her attention to the robed man.
"You don't know where you are?" The man asked, some of the amusement draining to be replaced by . . . suspicion? Fair enough, we appeared out of nowhere apparently so yeah, I could see spies . . . even ten year olds can be dangerous if anything I've heard about those Jedi was true.
"Not a clue . . . last time I knew where I was . . . I was in the middle of a street in the capital city of our homelands and had been run through with a lightsaber . . ." I said looking at the three masked soldiers. "Those masks of yours are interesting . . . grade two combat masks, not intended to fully encapsulate the head and not designed for proper protection from attacks, the micro-cameras are a nice touch same as the filtration system . . . could use minor improvements but they look solid" I said and the three looked at each other, careful not to turn their heads enough that I was out of their view.
"Where are you from exactly?" The robed man asked, now clearly suspicious of us . . . maybe I should have tried to play the 'I'm ten years old' card.
"Erm . . . Tanonia . . . sir . . . It was being invaded by the Empire and I don't think we won the war" I said while Kalen looked down at the ground
"We had a chance until he showed up" She whispered and I nodded in agreement.
"What kind of country sends untrained ten year olds to fight against the enemy?" Asked one of the masked people
"You forget the situation" I said to the masked woman, the one who had spoken. "I told you already, I was twenty four when I died" the masked woman didn't look convinced . . . not that it was easy to tell with her mask on. Speaking of which, now that I got a good look at it, she had a mask that looked like some form of feline animal while the other two had some form of avian . . . if the beaks were anything to go by.
"Cat . . . Fetch me Inoichi, he should be home" The white robed man said and the woman with the feline mask snapped to attention before disappearing from existence . . . my trained senses detected her leave out the window rapidly but if it wasn't for that, I would not have seen her go. Kalen drew in a breath as well.
"That was a fast exit . . . I wonder if a Jedi could do that?" She said softly.
"I've heard of their battle abilities . . . and I had heard there was a few that could move so fast that even their own number could only see the battle by the flashes of their lightsabers as they struck" I said, my childish voice still squeaking.
"Why don't you two get comfortable" The white robed man said, gesturing to the two seats in front of his desk. Me and Kalen got up with a little hesitation and sat in the seats indicated, the masked guards still hovering over us but their triangular knives were hidden again. I had to wonder that if one could move as fast as that Cat woman could then maybe they didn't need blasters at all, they could use knives because they can kill you before you could ever get a shot off. "My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen . . . I am the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato" The robed man said . . . Hokage means fireshadow but how do I know that. To my right, I noticed Kalen cocking her head to the side like she found it odd that she knew what the man was saying as well.
"You already know my name . . . I've already pegged you as the leader of this military establishment and the fact that you seemed comfortable around children" I paused for a moment to cringe at my new status as amongst the children "Means you have plenty living here . . . makes sense for a permanent posting I suppose, soldiers' kids can be trained into more soldiers and thus replenish losses" I finished and Kalen nodded beside me
"I'm Kalen, Partisan of the six militia company sixth platoon" Kalen said "Although technically, attrition would make Tanin here the captain of the company and I the first lieutenant" Kalen squeaked. It was going to take me some time to get used to Kalen's new childish voice.
"I assume these are significant ranks?" The Hokage asked.
"Erm . . . not really . . . Militia companies are made up of the people who live in a specific area . . . ease of deployment . . . universal conscription means that anyone above the age of ten and below the age of sixty five would get called up into their company . . . usually having an elder or something lead the company since the captain isn't really intended to be in the fighting, there is usually only a few hundred of us per company . . . and I can guarantee that our forces would be no match if you had a few thousand more soldiers like the one you called 'Cat'" I explained to the man who merely took out a carved wooden pipe, deposited some leaf into the end bit and lit it on fire with a flame that extended from his thumb. Both me and Kalen narrowed our eyes as we felt him conjure the flames by drawing on some form of energy inside of him. It seemed the man noticed this and was studying our reactions intently.
"You called for me Hokage-sama?" Asked a blonde haired man who entered with Cat not far behind. The man looked very feminine with his ponytail and that fringe but I could see the muscle he was hiding. He might not be a frontline soldier but he wasn't afraid of getting his hands dirty, the man practically screamed combat intelligence.
"If you don't mind" The Hokage said, directing his attention to us for a moment. "Yamanaka Inoichi here is going to take a look inside your minds to see if you are telling the truth" both me and Kalen stiffened at this.
"Isn't that a Sith trick?" Kalen asked me, I had been paying more attention to that woman than she had.
"We were told not to view this world between the division of Jedi and Sith since neither exist here" I said to the girl. "Be cautious of what you are looking for sir . . . you may find things you won't want to see" I said to the man with an emotionless face. "I only ask you leave Kalen out of this" I would be damned if I risk Kalen in any way shape or form, I'm not losing the last of my squad . . . especially not when it's her. The Inoichi man seemed very taken aback by my commanding tone, even though I couldn't muster the same deep voice I once had, it still had a similar impact.
"Alright then, I'm guessing this is why I'm here" Inoichi said and looked at the Hokage, getting what he wanted from that glance, he moved his hands through a series of gestures and then stuck his rather cold hands on either side of my head. Suddenly we were both travelling through what appeared to by my mind . . . or imagination or something but Inoichi seemed to know what he was looking for because he went straight after my memories. Going backwards from this time, he saw the encounter with the Hokage through my eyes, then he had gone through my last day of life and as time went on, he steadily progressed through my memories, stopping to shake his head when he came to my scene with Kalen . . . we probably should have tried to be a little quieter . . . I feel sorry for Cole and San, the last member of the team.
When Inoichi got to the battle droids, he stopped and stared for a while at my memories of fighting them . . . although fighting them would have been a strong word for me . . . they tended to keep me out of the front line combat with the droids but still. Finally Inoichi turned to me, he seemed to know I was following him the entire time as we walked down memory lane.
"You've certainly been through some tough times" The man said to me "What happened between your death and here? There were memories there but they are closed off to me"
"Erm . . . just a few things . . . lessons on some secrets . . . and a warning . . . nothing too serious . . ." I said as I shuffled from foot to foot in my own mindscape, this was really weird.
"I could just try ripping those secrets from your mind, who knows? Maybe you've been here a lot longer than you claim and you are here to assassinate the Hokage?" Inoichi said to me and finally, military interrogator was the role I realised he played . . . I was captured by the enemy and he wanted the secrets I was hiding. No.
"Do your worst, I should have known not to trust you people" I said and raised my mental defences like I had been taught by that woman, booting Inoichi out of my mind.
Back in the real world again, Inoichi snapped his eyes open, he was kneeling on the ground, and jumped back away from me, knife in hand and an almost frantic look on his face. The masked guards took that que and had their weapons out as well while the Hokage had kept seated.
"W-what's going on?" Kalen asked, looking around at the now armed group.
"Remember when we were told there might be people who'd want to kill us for our secrets?" I said and Kalen nodded eyes widening in horror "Well, it appears like we found them"
"Inoichi . . . explain" Was the Hokage's crisp order.
"I found a closed off section of his mind and when I asked about it, he closed up and kicked me out" The man said. The Hokage's eyes widened as he heard that.
"Kicked you out? Is such a thing possible?" the Hokage replied.
"Until now . . . I didn't think so" the blonde said grimly.
"What was in that closed off part of your mind?" The Hokage asked me, eyes analysing me for any sign I might attack.
"Secrets best left unsaid" I replied "Of course Inoichi here told me he would be attempting to rip those secrets from my mind . . . so you will have to understand when I say over my dead body" I said, giving the Hokage my own version of an analytical stare while my senses strained around me to keep track of what everyone was doing.
"Is this true Inoichi?" The robed man asked to the blonde who had positioned himself behind the guards.
"Yes, my reaction was mostly born of the fact that he possessed the ability to kick me out of his mind" The man answered surprisingly honestly. I don't want to admit I'd jumped the gun and came to the hostile conclusion but still . . . maybe?
"Look erm . . .mister Hiruzen? I'm not even certain that is your family name to be honest. Me and Tanin were told by someone who we'd rather be kept secret that there are those that would take our . . . abilities and try to strip us of them or breed people with them . . . the closed off section in our minds is where we learnt to use these abilities . . . albeit minutely as they can be dangerous if overused in specific fashions . . ." Kalen said to the Hokage and I looked at her before sighing, it probably would have been easier to explain that to Inoichi . . . dammit jim I'm a soldier not a diplomat! For his part though, the Hokage widened his eyes as if that explained everything.
"I see . . . that makes sense then, other than that, what else did you see Inoichi, were they telling the truth?" the Hokage asked, directing his attention to Inoichi.
"Yes, the boy was anyway . . . he is . . . mature . . . in more ways than one" the man replied, lowering his knife while Kalen blushed at the man's statement and I looked a little sheepish.
"It was cold, we knew we were gonna die the next day and dammit she was eighteen!" I said in defence of myself. Kallen giggled girlishly into her hand and I felt the amusement of those around us.
"So you have a Kekkei Genkai then . . . would you be able to demonstrate it at all? If it's not too much trouble of course" The Hokage said to the two of us and I looked at Kalen who was looking at me. I nodded and stood up, the guards closed in on my and I raised an eyebrow.
"Would you like me to demonstrate on them?" I asked and the Hokage just chuckled.
"I'd rather you didn't" He said. Pity, it would have been fun tossing three fully grown people around when I was just a ten year old brat heh, this might actually be fun. Either way, I looked at my chair and concentrated until I felt out with the force and touched the chair I had been sitting on. I moved my arm upwards and the chair followed my movement until I flipped the chair around and sat it on the ceiling looking around at the other people in the room who were eyeing the chair.
"There are more elements to the err. . . kekkei genkai . . . but this is the most common and easiest to perform" I said and Kalen snorted.
"It took me forever to just lift a rock you know that right?" she said with her arms folded over her chest.
"Would you rather learn from Vader?" I asked and Kalen shivered "I will be thankful every day of my life that he said no . . . based on what I know now and what I observed then . . . He must have sensed it in us and decided that killing us would be the kinder fate than . . . you get the idea" Kalen nodded vigorously while Inoichi frowned. I flipped the chair around and lowered it to the floor before sitting on it again. "People with this ability, while not unheard of, are rather rare . . . were rather rare . . . now there is two readily acknowledged people with it some rumors that those two people, who lead the Empire I might add, have a group of others they have trained . . . other than that handful . . . any others are killed on sight . . . remember when Kalen said it can be dangerous? Well the ability can drive a person mad if they use it in a certain way without proper conditioning . . . sometimes this is the desired effect however and thus a group known as the Sith like to torture their trainees . . . especially if those trainees were unwilling to begin with" I explain and suddenly I had the feeling people were looking at me as if I was a threat again and I sighed. "The Jedi, the direct opposites of the Sith, were destroyed by the Sith . . . I'm not certain is a bad thing as I learnt some interesting details that suggests the Jedi were on their way out anyway but still, they were replaced by people who were legitimately evil. Darth Vader killed a room full of kids because the guilt of the action would make him stronger" I heard Inoichi gasp since he had seen the man in question.
"You say that like it's so casual!" Inoichi said and I rubbed my head and looked at him.
"What did you see in my memories?" I asked him and he shut up "Legitimately evil . . . like I said, the kind of power he was wielding was the kind that leads to madness and despair . . . the man was a good man at heart which made it all the worse" Kalen was staring at me as I said all of this.
"Will I be correct in assuming you two are an item?" Asked the Hokage and Kalen blushed, glancing down bashfully while I smiled forlornly.
"Yes" Came Kalen's reply even if she was looking at the ground. I gave her hand a squeeze.
"Good, then we will put you in a house together, offer you the Kekkei Genkai package with the exclusion of the pick of partners since you won't need them and then the only question is would you like to be ninja?" The Hokage said cheerfully, taking a few puffs of his pipe.
"Ninja?" Me and Kalen said at the same time
"Yes Ninja, with your abilities, you'd make great Ninja . . . you only have a few years to learn before I'd have to put you into the ranks though . . . think you could do it?" The Hokage said.
"Erm sure . . . one thing though . . . umm . . . this might need to be said in private" I said to the Hokage and he looked at me strangely before making a gesture.
"What is it you wish to talk about" He said and an array of script appeared around the walls.
"The person who instructed us in our abilities told us there was a plot afoot . . . now, this is very vague I know but the kind of person who said this means that the kind of plot involved is an end of the world or universe plot" I said and the Hokage took another drag of his pipe.
"What I got from it was that someone . . . or perhaps a group of people were working behind the scenes to do something seriously bad . . . has anything out of place happened recently? Good men suddenly become vicious enemies?" Kalen said, posing a question and the Hokage took another drag of his pipe, blowing a smoke ring out.
"I will keep this in mind . . . you have nothing more specific than what you have given me?" The Hokage asked
"The enemy is trying to resurrect some form of powerful entity like a god . . . one that may not be the best person to have hanging around" I said and the Hokage nodded
"Just so you know . . . Sarutobi is my clan name and you two are going to need a clan name as well" Sarutobi said as he looked at me and Kalen.
"Umm Jedi isn't easy for you to pronounce is it?" I asked and the Hokage dragged on his pipe.
"Zidai is easier" He said simply and I looked at Kalen who looked at me.
"Zidai Tanin?" I asked the man to see if I got the wording right and he nodded.
"Zidai Karin" The hokage said as he looked at Kalen.
"Wait, what Karin? Can't you say Kalen? Hmm no L sounds right? So Karen sounds closer" Kalen said as she nodded to herself.
"You both have extraordinarily unusual names now . . . very noteworthy" The Hokage said "I will have a man I know teach you as much of the basics he can before we get you started on defining your specialties which I assume you, Tanin, will be a frontline fighter while you Karen, with be a long ranged specialist" me and Kalen both looked at each other again and shrugged.
"I guess we'll find out after we have mastered the basics . . . can't be harder than learning the Force" Kalen said.
"Very well . . . Zidai Karen and Zidai Tanin, let me get to work on the documents required to get your housing ready" Sarutobi said as he pulled some papers out and the guards came back in again. "Inoichi, would you mind housing these two for some time while I get their new housing in order? They will be starting a new clan eventually under the name Zidai" The Hokage said as Inoichi walked in.
"Zidai huh? I can understand that, and we can spin the whole foreign immigrants fleeing a hostile takeover in a land across the ocean to explain the accents, culture differences and names" Inoichi said, his hand on his chin in a thoughtful gesture.
"Hmm my thoughts exactly" The Hokage mentioned "It's settled then, you two will stay with Inoichi until we have your new housing in order, you will learn the basics from the instructor I have picked out for you and then we will see about getting you up to speed in the next say . . . three years? Yes I think I can put you into that graduating class . . . right, it's been a pleasure to meet the two of you, come see me if you have any problems and please try and act your age . . . in both senses of the term" Both me and Kalen blushed at the Hokage's Last statement. Before we got up and looked at Inoichi who nodded and pointed the way.
Zidai . . . well this was going to be interesting . . . and me and Kalen creating a clan . . . I looked at her and it looks like the same thought crossed her mind as she instantly blushed and looked away.
"Well, we have the whole acting our age down pat" I said casually while Inoichi started laughing and Kalen blushed harder. Yes, we can make this work, I will make this work.
And here we come to the end of another chapter, It has been pointed out by someone I get to read my works before I upload them that I might need to doll down the uhh . . . ecchi content . . . I wasn't bothered . . . let me know if it is really bad because the bad sexual references are really not part of the story. I might come up with some ecchi content later . . . when the two kids are actually adults (in the world of Naruto) but for now, they will be "acting their age" sorta so no underage sexual content . . . and preferably none at all, it does say in the rules and guidelines that such content isn't allowed after all.
in any case, let me know what you liked, disliked, what you thought could use improvement and what you'd like to see more of. take care