Tripping On The Past
Naruto dreamed. Of sea salt and warm rays. Of crimson hair dancing across scarlet rooftops and a laugh like wind chimes. Orange eyes the shade of the harvest moon and being safe beside a warm fire as snow and hail wailed their horrors outside. He dreamed of nine trees under storm strength winds, always bending, never breaking; and a yipping bark that haunted the shadows of his mind. Dandelions and sunflowers, reaching for a setting sun all the same.
And when he opened his eyes…they slipped through his fingers like sand. He didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry. He chose instead to smile. It was a small thing, barely there as he raised a hand to the rays falling through the east window. Dust motes danced through the air, outlining the rays in high detail.
Then someone kicked him in the kidney.
One of these days he was going to make Themo sleep in the middle and see how he liked being kicked. The damn sekigan could kick like a deer in his sleep. With that, Naruto knew he wasn’t going back to the land of dreams.
Extricating himself from the tangled pile of limbs and snoring siblings proved more difficult then usual. Gumo had wrapped an arm around his, Kirum having been his pillow—that explained the snoring—while Themo was stretched against his back, nails digging into his skin in some places. Their sister, he found, was perhaps the easiest to get around if only because her hindquarters was resting on a leg while the rest of her—paws in the air, ears splayed over the floor—was taking up the remainder of their sleeping area.
By the time he was up and out, Kirum was awake, slipping away much more easily then Naruto had. He scratched his brother behind the ears as a quiet greeting and they headed for the entrance.
“You want to do what?” the voice caught his attention when he emerged and Naruto shot a questioning glance at Kirum. When the wolf shook his head Don’t know, the blond tiptoed to the corner, peeking around where he found the Alpha standing in a circle with their teachers.
Shisui-sensei had been the one to yelp if the hands over his mouth were any indication. The hands fell away, and they continued speaking at a low volume, too low for him to hear from where he stood. Curiosity burning, Naruto tried to channel chakra to his ears like Tenzo-sensei taught them. It took a couple of attempts but finally, Itachi-sensei’s voice reached him as clear as day.
“I want to take Naruto and Gumo to Uzushio,”
“And why do you want to do that?” his Alpha asked, expression blank save the curious set of his shoulders.
“You didn’t see him last night, Kakashi. He was desperate to find anything at all on his clan and even then we only came away with a total of ten scrolls. There’s no one in Konoha that remembers Uzushio and those that remember Kushina aren’t allowed to tell him anything. Even if they can’t know anything about their parents, they deserve to know about their clan.”
Alpha Kakashi nodded, a breath of anger rolling off him. “I want to tell them but I can’t. Hiruzen’s taken to reminding me most days that ‘even if you’re my successor, you have to wait until you take the hat before you tell them.’”
“That’s bullshit,” Shisui growled, “those kids have parents just like anyone else, why the hell does it matter if they know now or later? If anything, it’ll drive an even deeper wedge between them and the village if they find out we’ve known all this time and never told them. They’ll never trust the village at this rate.”
Curious and worried despite himself, Naruto cut off the chakra to his ears and quietly crept around the corner, coming up to stand behind Itachi’s side and stared up at his Alpha.
The wolfinhumanskin blinked, his eye crinkling in a smile. “Good morning, Naruto. I take it you heard us speaking?”
Unwilling to be embarrassed having been caught, Naruto nodded, blue eyes steeled with determination. “You know who our parents were but this Hokage person won’t let you tell us. Why?” Then, remembering the angerhatredfear he always felt from the villagers, his mouth fell open as something occurred to him. “Is that why the villagers hate us? Because our parents did something bad?”
His Alpha was in front of him before he could blink, calloused hands holding his shoulders in a firm grasp. “No, never let yourselves believe that. Your parents were kind and amazing people who gave their lives to protect you and your brother. The villagers are stupid because they can’t see the sun for the clouds.” And in a rare occurrence, Alpha Kakashi hugged him. He was confused, his heart aching at the honest words.
Still, Naruto returned the hug. After a time, the Alpha pulled away, meeting his eyes, “Go wake your siblings and I’ll explain what I can.”
Somewhat dazed, Naruto nodded and walked back to where his brother was waiting for him beside the entrance. He set a hand on Kirum’s head for support and they entered the den.
Once they were awake—Dodging Diapha who’d thought he was a deer—they all gathered on the engawa. Their teachers sat with their backs to the den, while he and his siblings sat across from them. Kirum, having an idea what the talk would be about, chose to lay his head in Naruto’s lap. Something the blond was appreciative of more then words could count.
“There’s not much I can explain now,” their leader started, pulling his mask down so they could see him clearly. It was something he’d started shortly after taking Alpha from their Den Mother and while Naruto and his siblings saw nothing different in the action, their teachers always seemed to get a kick out of it. “You’re too young, for one, and for two most of what we’re telling you are considered S-rank and SS-rank secrets within the village. Do you remember what that means?”
“Nothing said here is said outside the territory,” Themo yawned, making the point by snapping his jaws shut with a loud clack.
Alpha nodded, “Yes. To start with, Naruto, Gumo, you are brothers. I want to make that point crystal clear. I made a promise before your parents died that you two would grow up together because no one else but you will understand the burden you carry.” When Naruto opened his mouth to ask a question, Kakashi held a up hand. “Save the questions until after I finish, I can guarantee what I’m about to tell you will answer them. If not, I’ll answer them to the best of my ability.”
Naruto nodded, his redheaded brother doing the same from the corner of his eye, and Alpha lowered his hand. “To the point, you do not share parents. Gumo’s mother arrived several months before you were conceived, Naruto. She arrived heavily pregnant from a land to the west called Kaze no Kuni. Gumo, you were born on January 19th. Your mother died while giving birth and on her death bed begged your parents, Naruto, to take care of Gumo. Had things not happened the way they did, you would’ve been brothers anyway.”
Their leader’s face was expressionless, any emotion locked away in stiff shoulders and a sincere eye, but that eye met theirs all the same. He and Gumo would speak of this later, when it was just them and their siblings, as they always did when something big came up. Somehow, Naruto knew this was bigger than big.
“Naruto, you were born on October 10th, a little over eight months after your brother was born. That night, there was an attack on the village. Your mother was the previous Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox. That’s why you have those scars on your cheeks. They’re a remainder of your time growing in your mother’s womb with the Fox’s chakra. When your mother went into labor, the seal weakened and it managed to escape, killing her in the process. Your father, who was one of the strongest in the village, captured the Kyubi sealing it into an infant using a kinjutsu. When I said your parents were kind, it was an understatement. They were strong shinobi, loyal, and above all they loved you both dearly.”
He fell silent, sorrowgrief in the slouch of his shoulders and Naruto remembered a time where that scent covered the trees.
“A jinchuriki,” Itachi spoke up, setting a hand on their Alpha’s shoulder, “is the very definition of human sacrifice. They are looked down on, feared for the bijou they hold. Naruto-kun, what your father did that night saved a lot of people, including your brother, but in doing so he had to seal it into the one person he could trust beyond all else. There was only one person that night he knew would be able to withstand the ridicule and one day be able to harness the creature’s power. That person was you, Naruto.”
He-He…Naruto swallowed, arms wrapping around his middle. Now the seal on his stomach made sense. Whenever he channeled his chakra it was clearly visible against his skin. He’d always wondered what it was but, even back when they were first learning about chakra, had recognized it as too complex to mess with. Now it made sense why.
He was a jinchuriki. The person who held the Kyubi and who prevented it from getting out and destroying the village once more. The hatred, the fear he felt from the villagers made so much sense. And it made their reactions hurt that much more.
A low keening whine built in his throat but he forced it back. He could break down later. There was something else their Alpha had said that warranted attention. “Y-You said” Naruto bit his tongue, biting back the stutter before he asked quietly, “You said Gumo would understand my burden, does that mean he’s a jinchuriki as well?”
The Alpha nodded, silver eye trailing to his redheaded brother. “Gumo, you contain the Ichibi, the One-Tailed Tanuki. It was sealed into you before you were born but the seal they used was weak, designed to break under the slightest pressure. It was why your mother came to Konoha, to seek the assistance of a Seal Master to improve it. In doing so, she signed her own death. I don’t know the specifics behind it, but the way Naruto’s father explained it was they had to layer onto the previous seal so that when you were born, it would bond as one.”
Gumo released a keening whine, Diapha crawling into his lap much like Kirum had for Naruto.
“What can we do?” Themo asked, baring his teeth, “For all the trouble they are, they’re my siblings. So what if they’re the human sacrifice thingies, they’re wolves, I refuse to let some stupid humans dictate how they act or who they are.”
That earned a twitch of the lips from their Alpha. His shoulders relaxed relief. “That is up for you all to decide. You’ve lived with them for years now, would you say they’re any different?”
Themo tilted his head, thinking before he sneezed negative. “Ruto’s loud as he always is and Gumo’s too easy to taunt but they’re my siblings. They’re wolves even if they don’t have fur.”
“Then keep that mindset,” Alpha nodded. “What happens from here on out is for you to decide. “
Shisui groaned, disturbing the moment as he stretched loudly. “You know, I’m starting to like that Uzushio trip more and more. Sounds like a good way to get away from all this heavy heartedness.”
“You’re just saying that because the author doesn’t know how to move on,” Itachi muttered, side-eyeing his cousin. Shisui reached out, slapping a hand over the clan heir’s mouth and eyed Naruto and his siblings.
“You’re saying that to me when you just did the you-know-what in front of the you-know-who.”
Itachi-sensei rolled his eyes before looking at Alpha Kakashi.
Their leader scowled and Tenzo leaned forward, meeting his eyes around the silver-haired Alpha. “I thought we all agreed that wasn’t allowed?”
At that point, Naruto was thoroughly confused, which seeing as his siblings were too, was a group vote for moving the conversation along. “What do you mean a trip to Uzushio? I thought it was destroyed.”
Alpha Kakashi sighed, pushing back Tenzo-sensei with a hand to the face. “Itachi-sensei informed me of what happened at the library last night. There’s not much about Uzushio left anywhere in the village besides maybe a few things from your parents but the Hokage has told me on more then one occasion you’re not allowed to receive them until you turn eighteen or reach Chunin rank. So Itachi proposed a plan to take you before then.”
“Utterly cockmamie is what it is.” Shisui-sensei huffed, glaring at his cousin. “The village leader isn’t just going to let one jinchuriki outside the village let alone two and as we all know, where one of you brats go, everyone else is bound to follow.”
“Which is why Hokage-sama wouldn’t know,” Itachi drawled.
“Are we sure we should be discussing this in front of the kids?” Their brown-haired teacher shifted, looking at the others with wide eyes.
Yes, Naruto was absolutely sure they should. The idea of seeing the village his clan hailed from, to see where they lived and possibly learn more about them was worth the danger. In his eyes at least.
Unfortunately, their Alpha thought otherwise. “Tenzo is correct,” He raised his voice, speaking over the bickering Tenzo and Shisui were doing—they were worse then Diapha and Sass after a bad day’s training—before he set his hands on their heads and pulled them apart. “This is something that will require proper discussion and planning if we decide to do it.”
Shisui grinned, “We are so doing it.”
“No, we’re—” as amusing as watching their mentors argue was, Naruto was aware of the burning daylight. When all three of them fell into bickering, he leaned closer to Kirum.
“Training on the lake?”
The wolf flicked an ear and with ease born of having ANBU class Shinobi for teachers, they slipped off the engawa. Gumo, Diapha, and Themo close behind. When they reached the trees and started running, he turned to his redheaded brother, “If my seal is on my stomach, where’s yours?”
It was Diapha that replied, leaping over a bush as she kept pace, “It’s on his back. You just never see it ‘cause he’s smart enough to wear a shirt.”
“Hey!” Naruto cried, using Kirum as a launching point to get into the trees. “Just because I don’t doesn’t mean I ain’t smart.” And he had been wearing shirts up until a few months back. A game of Chakra tag involving a branch catching his shirt and almost suffocating him just…kinda changed his mind afterward. Only Kirum truly knew how terrified he’d been and the wolf was more then willing to take that secret to his grave.