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N: AU, Re-write of The forest child and to a lesser extent the hungry wolf. Probable one-shot, unless enough reviewers tell me otherwise.
One could always move, but it was with such trifling slowness that this usually ended up being a generally foolish gesture. In his younger days, some thirty or forty thousand years old, he had made the daring endeavour to climb to the top of a nearby knoll, a distance of some five or six metres. It was with genuine enthusiasm that he had equalled the task, with a diligent reshaping of roots, and a score of centuries later he had made it, a feat promising decades of exultation.
But such inherent hubris had lost him one of many limbs as away from the shelter of his brethren, though he had lasted long, the event happening barely eighty winters ago. He was spotted by a passing woodsman, a rather unfortunate thing for the tree, and seeing so fine and tall a tree the logger shimmied up the branch and began to lop off the limbs, so such beautifully thick wood would not break as he felled the trunk. Such an action was quite distressing for the now-ancient tree, but there was very little he could do about it. So, resigned to his fate, he waited for the end. Closing metaphorical eyes, He was surprised when alternate senses heard the stop. So far one limb had been taken and another injured, there was no purpose in pausing. So surveying the area he saw the butcher of the woodland on the floor, writhing, a poppy bruise blossoming on under his right eye
Another man appeared to be the interloper, an interruption that the tree was most grateful for. He was tall, radiating a strong life force and was quite broad-shouldered. His hair was straight and of an earthy hue, and his eyes were a piercing black. A look at the colour of the man’s soul revealed a pure-heated killer, a juxtaposition of words rarely heard, and the tree decided he liked him. Regardless, the tree, most thankful for the aid, gave the man two gifts of knowledge: the method of communing with all life, and the method of creating life purely with Chakra. Apparently he managed to a make a technique out of it, using trees, and Gaea had felt his brethren multiply with startling rapidity at times, so he guessed that must have been it.
He’d never expected the man to ever return, none ever visited his little haven, but within the year the man had returned, and they talked about the weather for a day. It took the tree a fair while to get used to the speed the man talked, for it had become accustomed to talking with its brethren at a painfully slow pace, but by the next day (the man had spent the night there) there conversation had sped to a rate nearing the norm. The man promised to return a year later and did, that time introducing himself as the Shodai Hokage, from a land far to the South.
And the man came and went, like some ephemeral wanderer, and Gaea (for he had long since decided the name was better than none) thoroughly enjoyed his company. He spent weeks in a fervour of anticipation, waiting for the man to come for the day of new conversation, of the comings and goings of the world outside. In such a self-contained enclosure information was scarce, but the link forged by way of this man, however tenuous, gave him that knowledge. For twenty winters this continued, the man growing older with each visit, until, one night, as the elderly gentleman sheltered under his branches, the tree saw a most curious thing. The animals, some hailing far from the forest’s borders, had come to his abode. In the nearby river marine-born creatures had lifted there nose to the air, from the tree-line each manner of beast or insect came and paid homage to the man. And Gaea knew what was special about this man. He was the forest Lord.
The regeneration of life was a secret soon passed on, and the man stayed, never leaving. He spent most of his time, roving the forests, protecting the trees, and returning to the clearing periodically. He seemed genuinely happy, attuned with nature, so much so that his hair turned green, and with each step on fertile earth flowers sprang up; a very healthy aura indeed. Gaea liked green; it had so many better, livelier qualities to it than brown. The change was certainly a very agreeable one.
Seventy winters or so past thusly, in quiet, reserved company that had little excitement. The Shodai had slowed his mental speech a little to account for his immortality (going too fast could very well dry up the conversation topics very quickly) and Gaea had conversed with an obliging rapidity. At this very moment the green-haired man was away, some miles to the North if the nonsensical chattering of the trees nearby were anything to go by. The last century had been rather exciting for them, and they themselves had sped up thought to an appropriate degree, but nothing they said was particularly interesting or even intelligent. There only real use was as sentinels, and with the appropriate stimulus of galvanising chakra, guardians.
But this very night, the moon gloriously full and stars innumerable shining in the pure-black sky, it had happened again. The animals had gathered, owed in reverence, and the object of there worship was a large bundle, tufts of blonde bursting from the thick blanket, hidden among his roots by an old man.
The Earth had recognised another, a young boy, barely four years old.
In fact Naruto, though he could defeat such pitiful prey on his own, was waiting for someone, his spirit brother, the great wolf. Among the wolf clans, names were descriptive, not merely a label, and his brother was no exception, with the name Banji “like iron hammer.” He was enormous, some twenty feet long standing on all fours, and slightly shorter than Naruto at the shoulders, around five feet. His strength, Shodai-sama had told him, surpassed that of a human jounin, though he wasn’t nearly as fast. That’s where Naruto came in. Since the wolf clan abjectly refused to call him by his Human name, they named him Touji, “like wind” and the emerald-haired boy found it thoroughly agreeable. He liked the wind spirits, his eyes could see them and they helped him in battle very often, hiding him or carrying him over long distances. He could outrun the fastest of them to be sure but over long distances there really is no alternative.
The trees told him of a “giant, oncoming furball” and he laughed at their description of his brother; made him sound cuddly, which he was, in a feral sort of way. Banji had arrived. The beast erupted from the bushes lining the beaten track and collided with one of the attackers, seemingly my accident, sending the man head first into a tree. He wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t waking up anytime soon.
“Ah…um…sorry?” The near-apologetic voice of the wolf rang in Naruto’s head, but the wolfish grin he wore gave away his amusement.
“Don’t worry, they’re enemies” The lupine smile grew wider and an appreciative growl rumbled in the wolf’s throat.
“You take the back one, I take the front?”
“Sure.”
“Be with you in a minute then, brother.” With that, the wolf pounced and Naruto disappeared.
“How long until we reach Konoha?” The mental voice of his brother, resplendent with rumbling pitch and guttural tones, sounded again.
“Two hours if we walk, five minutes if we catch a good wind.”
“Can you see any?”
He looked on the horizon, and smiled. A strong wind was blowing down from the Mountains as if on command. It looked to be a wild one. That could only mean one thing.
“It’s Mael!” He didn’t bother with mental speech, so happy to see a familiar face coming. Travelling for six weeks, away from Home, was a real emotional drain. Banji sputtered out an audible curse, again forgoing telepathy, and walked over to the boy, allowing the boy to touch his neck. Through shared eyes they saw the scarlet lines of the wind that coalesced at a single, focal point. Timing their jump as the centre neared, the tensed, and with one great leap, they were inside.
The inside of a large wind is a very strange thing indeed. It looks very much like a rectangle, but only solid on the floor and ceiling. How the two stay in the same place without sharing at least one wall is a general mystery, it is roughly ten paces by ten paces, and somewhere around six feet tall, allowing the wolf to stand with dipped head. In the centre, the wind spirit sat cross-legged, hands dipping to push energy into the veins.
Wind sprites are themselves interesting creatures, seemingly created from some phosphorescent mist, and are, as the names suggests, winged, with numerous arms. They have somewhere between two and twelve arms, but the number is always indeterminate, as they divide and fuse as the situation dictates. Extremely confusing to watch. Anyway, this is the scene that the two brothers had happened upon. The spirit, Mael as he was called, was a big one, some where around eight feet tall, and his arms danced around him, keeping the wind blowing.
“You boys okay?” Some say the wind sings; it is merely the wispy sound of a sprite, a little hard to define, even at close range.
“Yeah sure… sure…” The words died in Naruto’s mind as he looked at his companion who looked a little green, or as green as a white wolf could get. The reason why Banji didn’t like Mael was exactly this, he liked things a little wild; the wolf didn’t. Naruto bit down a laugh, the poor animal didn’t look happy.
“So where you and the beastie heading to?” A waft of smoke clouded around the spirit’s eyes and formed into sunglasses, he’d taken lessons in style from humans.
“Konoha.”
“I’m passing that way, but it’s going to be one hell of a jump, quarter of a mile if I’m not mistaken.”
“Sounds cool,” The boy and the sprite grinned, the wolf groaned.
“Are you alright?” For a moment she was lost in the scarlet pools of his eyes, but quickly dispelled it. A Hyuuga could not have such silly infatuations. Taking in a breath, she stepped up, putting her weight on the unharmed limb, and with a contemptuous hand brushed away his offer for help. Standing, albeit unsteady, she took a tentative step, and stumbled straight into the older boy’s arms.
“Here, let me help.” She protested but he’d already lifted her, one hand around her shoulders, and another just cradling her rear. So all she could get out was a petulant huff at the indignity of it and for the time let it be. She was laid down again, on what appeared to be a mess of white fur, but she quickly realised it was just the wolf, who’d curled up to give her a comfortable bed.
The boy was well-trained it seemed, for he was so gentle she could hardly feel the pain, though she let out a gasp as at the sting of the cooling chakra held to her swollen ankle. She instantly chastised herself a Hyuuga should not show weakness, but apparently the boy heard it as he was seemingly even gentler with her. She smiled, an action totally unbidden, because she liked the attention she was getting. Though she’d never admit it, she was envious of the way that most children were cared for. In her household there was no familial love, merely the cold indifference of the Branch House servants, and she’d missed it. And this boy, this boy was treating her like a little girl, and she loved it.
“So what’s your name?” The boy apparently wanted to make conversation while he reduced the swelling. She had marvelled at the technique, the bruising was almost gone, faster than any medic-nin could do it (or at least, that she knew of,) and her experience with the doctors of Konoha hospital was extensive.
“It is proper to say your own name before you ask another’s.” He smiled roguishly at the young girl, and she couldn’t help but be taken by the youth’s total lack of decorum.
“My apologies, Chi-hime, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, friends call me Touji.” Little princess, she liked that, she realised she’d want to see this boy more often. But the missing link between the two names confused her.
“Why do they call you Touji?”
“You’ll see soon enough if we have to run from the ANBU. Where the hell are they anyway? You’d think a four metre wide crater would attract their attention, wouldn’t you?” The boy looked around, as if expecting to see the shadowy figures that made up the Konoha elite, but looked down again, sensing nothing. He spoke again when he began bandaging her foot, his touch soft but firm. “Probably don’t believe the story about a giant wolf and a green-haired boy jumping out of the sky, eh?” She giggled at that. Laughing was more fun than stoicism by far; she could see why her sister was so emotional.
“My name is Hyuuga Hanabi…” she stuttered a little as she continued, quite embarrassed, “… but…but you can call me Chi-hime if you want.” He seemed to brighten further, whistling a little as he finished off the last of the bandaging, and slipped her sandal back on.
“Well then Chi-hime, looks like you’re good to go!” He leaned forward and kissed her on the nose, eliciting another giggle from her, and a chuckle from him. She was a little sorry that her time with him ended, but she made to stand anyway, however saddened. But he beat her to the punch and scooped her up with one hand under her thighs, and stood straight. “Probably not a good idea to put weight on it now Chi-hime, I’ll carry you…” Delighted, she nuzzled the crook of his neck tenderly as she snuggled into his chest, “… so where do you live?” Instinct guided her hand to point to the commanding sight that was the Hyuuga complex, some half a mile distant, to which he set off at a slow jog.
It was in too little time that they reached the gates of the Hyuuga compound, to see a fretful Hinata waiting at the entrance. Okay so Hanabi lied when she said there was no love at home, she was still mothered by her sister, but the girl was so timid she was rarely there for anything more than moral support. Still, the sight of the awkward kunoichi still made her smile, and was more than happy when she was handed over to her, even if it meant leaving behind Naruto.
“Hanabi-chan I was so worried about you. Are you hurt? Did you get lost? Were you scared?” The mother-hen part of Hinata was on full force and Hanabi was grateful for it, they day had been a long one for the seven year-old and she felt like being mothered incessantly. But first things first. Reaching back, still in Hinata’s arms, she grabbed Naruto’s shirt in her tiny hands, and stretching up kissed him softly, sweetly, as only a child could. Blushing at her own actions, she pulled away, but didn’t let go.
“Will I see you again, nii-san?” Hinata was surprised, as far as she was aware they were total strangers this morning, for the girl to get so attached was a rare thing indeed.
“Of course,” Hanabi brightened at that, but had to make sure.
“You promise?”
“I promise Chi-hime.” With a pleased little huff she let go, once again wrapping her arms around her sister’s shoulders, and allowed the boy to go. She didn’t complain when Hinata carried her inside, intent on putting her to bed. She yawned, exquisitely cute, and held on tight. She wouldn’t let her sister get away; the shy girl was just the perfect substitute for a plushie.
“What took you so long?” The reactions of the three differed extremely, the woman shuffled her feet sheepishly, the cyclops reached a hand behind his neck, obviously a nervous habit, and the bear remained unflappable.
“You see…” it was one-eye who gave the explanation, “…we thought you had a hostage, and were confused when you started healing the girl, so we held back.” Naruto levelled a mocking glare at the man, though he did sympathise. Soldiers were known to be uncertain how to react to niceness. The man continued with, “Nice job by the way,” changing the subject in a particularly poor effort to hide his own inadequacy.
“Well, I don’t have a hostage, so what now.” The forest-raised boy was a bit annoyed at there roundabout way of doing things, it seemed even jounin could suffer from fits of embarrassment, but there way of dealing with it was a bit ridiculous.
“Where do you want to go?” It seemed they were in a good enough mood, or perhaps unwilling enough to endure further shame, to help him. This was useful indeed, and pleasing enough that the irritation passed swiftly,
“I’d like to see the Hokage…”
“… and he’s right here.” The sentence was finished, albeit incorrectly, by what sounded like a wizened old man behind him. The green-haired turned, and there he was. Still, though aged and arthritic, he bore that regal air, and having donned his ceremonial robes still commanded the respect he’d done eight years before. “The question is though, who are you?”
“A friend, jii-san.”
To the Hokage, there was something familiar before, but he could not place such an outlandish hair colour in his memory, for such a rare hue, coupled with a similarly uncommon shade of iris, should be unique in his long history of acquaintances. He checked for any other distinguishing features, then happened upon the whiskers. An image of a smiling, sunny-haired little boy flashed before his eyes and super-imposed itself on top of the young man in front of him. And long-forgotten emotions welled up inside, the rage he’d felt at the villagers, the sadness for the poor boy, and the despair as he was forced to travel night and day, to abandon the boy in that forest, alone, in the hope that he’d find a better life. He nearly choked out that long-buried name. “N…N…Naruto?”
At the boys nod, the old man forgot etiquette and diplomacy and rushed towards the boy, hugging him tight, an action which was happily returned. He’d felt the honesty in the boy and knew there was no way it could be a lie; the elder had spent to long sifting through them not to recognise one. The boy was back, truly back, and the man stood straighter than he had in a long time.
“Are you to stay here for good?” The hope in the Hokage’s voice was unmasked, and Naruto flinched a little upon hearing it, it was a good thing he planned to stay.
“Not for good…” The man looked saddened at that, “But it’ll be a good few years before I leave.” A grin, a flourish and a mocking laugh from the green-haired boy and the venerable gentlemen was smiling.
“Well in terms of sleeping quarters, I can arrange an apartment for you to stay in until your family’s account reopens, then you can arrange building on your land.” If Naruto was surprised that he had money and holdings, he didn’t show it, merely asking to see his land. The Hokage happily agreed and dismissed the now uncomfortably bored guards, and lead the way.
While walking, the Hokage asked one question, “Why is your hair green?”
“Just is.”
“As I said, you’ll be able to build a substantial complex once your accounts are opened; your father amassed a great wealth in his lifetime, however brief it was.” Naruto smiled ruefully, the man had made no secret of his heritage, and however much he’d wanted to shout it out at the hateful population he’d been sworn to secrecy. His father Kazama Arashi, his mother Uzumaki Motoko; both he’d sworn to make proud.
“There is no need Hokage-sama.” The formality confused the old man, and his eyes were quizzical as he saw the boy already sealing with his hands, a prolific energy welling up within. With a shout of, “Mokuton: Shichuka no justu,” he slammed into the ground, transferring the awesome power in a second. The name confused the Hokage, for the ‘Four Pillars House” technique was certainly an unusual one, but it was explained soon enough for, with astonishing haste, a house grew out of the ground. It took up over three quarters of the area, so large was it (Sarutobi suddenly had an idea of just why so much chakra was needed) and walls even sprung up around the hot spring. It was quite a sight.
“Do you really need it so large?” The House was bigger than many clan Houses, hell the doors alone rivalled Konoha’s gates.
“It’s mostly gardens…” the boy spoke uncertainly, then made a gesture towards his ‘spirit-brother’ as they’d been introduced, “and he needs his space.” That, the Hokage reasoned, looking at the great beast, was pretty much self-evident.
“Since the house is built, I’ll get you whatever you need and get it all installed, from my own account, Call it a housewarming present.” The old man smiled, as the boy grew a little excited, he owed the boy a lot, this was an offering, no matter what the cost, to bridge eight years gap between him and the boy.
How he got the list of things was strange indeed, the ape-nin could sense the chakra welling in the boy’s hand, and as he touched the tree, he pulled away, taking with him a piece of paper covered in a somewhat legible scrawl. Looking over it, the Hokage was surprised just how little was there, he’d expected far more. There were the basics, a few mattresses and cushions, electricity/water hook-up and electrical appliances. But other than that there was only a request for food and clothes. The Hokage could get all but the clothes bought and delivered within two hours.
The question that was let in his mind was thus, “Just how much can you get made with wood?”
It was quite late when Hyuuga Hinata managed to pry herself from her sister’s beside, and it was only partly due to the girl’s vice-like grip on her. One half of her, a very loud half, had wanted to stay with Hanabi, for Hinata was rarely shown such an affectionate side to her sister, and the warm feeling in her heart was euphoric. But another side of her, told her she stank from training (which she’d only just returned from to find Hanabi missing) and she needed to bathe. This was why, the setting sun telling her it was around seven, she was heading along the paved roads to the western forest, for a relaxing bath.
Ordinarily, she would merely bathein the Hyuuga rooms, but this day was not an ordinary one, and the facsimile of a natural hot spring which was on the Hyuuga estate was not so good for clearing her head, so she went up, to her own private spot, the true hot spring in Konoha. And found it built upon. This was extremely confusing to her, so much so that she fell on her rear, into a mud puddle. She nearly cried then, out of sheer frustration, but she’d try knocking on the door, there was no way she could return to Konoha in such a state.
And there he was, the reason she had not been thinking straight for hours, the very definition of a dashing renegade, or so both Hyuuga sisters thought, Uzumaki Naruto. His eyes widened, in recognition, and he said “You’re Chi-hime’s sister right?” She nodded her assent, afraid to speak. “Why are you here?”
A minor, cynical part of Hinata let out a sigh, “Great. Here comes the stuttering…” A side that Hinata, should she ever listen to it, would feel even worse about herself over. But as it was, she barely got out the words. “Ano… um… I usuallybathe here… sorrytointrude.” The last few words went out in a rush, barely audible as the girl backed a hasty retreat but the boy stopped.
“Of course you can!” The boy had obviously completely misinterpreted the quiet squeaks, a feat indeed for someone of his hearing, and he ushered her inside. “Plus you’re sodden. Take off those clothes and I’ll throw them in the wash.” She squeaked from sheer nervousness again as she was lead to the changing rooms. Once inside, the boy made sheer she knew he’d gone back down the hall, and she disrobed, allowing her nude body to be in full view, though she was mercifully alone. And went to the bath, after calling to him the location of her clothes
However he managed it she did not know, but what he’d done to the springs was marvellous. They retained the natural beauty she so admired but allowed a few conveniences, like decking instead of sharp rock, to complement it. Natural bushels of lemon mint sprang up around the rim, and a long Sakura tree stood next to one of the walls, alone but healthy and proud. Taking a handful of the citrus herb, she crushed it in her hand, and taking a deep breath through her nose marvelled at the scent, before rubbing it against her body. Soaking in the water was marvellous, there was no other way to describe it, and she felt fantastic.
She must have been there a good thirty minutes, languor keeping her in the luxurious bath, before good manners kicked in and reminded her host was likely waiting. So, hastily wrapping the towel about her body, it straining to keep her covered, she ran out of the baths towards the Kitchen, when the green-haired boy had said he’d wait.
What lay before her eyes was quite a meal, and it looked wonderful. Elegantly simple, it consisted of egg, fish and rice, yet the concoction of smells that reached her were so entrancing she couldn’t refuse the boy’s offer. Apparently her clothes wouldn’t be dry for thirty minutes anyway. It was only halfway through the meal she’d realised she’d made one mistake. Her towel, which had strained before, could barely cover her sitting, and at one point, picking up a lost utensil, it burst open, exposing to Naruto her pert breasts. Hinata was mortified, and she could feel the heat of her blush radiate from her cheeks. Though one pleasing thing did happen, the blush didn’t fail to appear on her host either, and it was certainly not one of embarrassment. The arousal of a man felt like an accomplishment for the young Hyuuga, and, in a rare display of audacity, kept the towel lying across her lap, protecting the last of her modesty. If he’d seen her chest once, why bother covering it again?
If Hyuuga Hinata was told that morning she’d wind up having dinner, perfectly nude, with a new friend, she’d think it was madness on all counts. In fact, she did now.
Thus began the stay of Uzumaki Naruto, scion of Gaea, in Konohagakure no Sato.
Godsbane.