Chapter Text
She walked from the forest on soft feet, her face veiled from view. Before, she’d have to worry about Shinobi guarding the building, but with the tragedy wiping out their forces she knew patrols were tight.
Because of the monster, people had died. Shinobi, children, elders, the Hokage. Everyone. Buildings destroyed by red chakra so drenched in hatred and malicious intent some of her neighbors ended up losing all sense. She hadn’t seen the old woman from the apartment next to hers in years. Not since the shinobi took her away screaming and clawing at anyone who touched her.
The family that lived a story under her? Dead. Along with the tiny five-year-old little girl she had heard giggling in joy a few days prior to the event.
Her favorite restaurant had been crushed, along with the elderly couple that ran it. She remembered eating there with her parents as a child and returned as an adult after they passed.
A block of residential buildings behind her apartment, gone, five buildings that held twenty rooms, most of them had housed families. The monster hadn’t even noticed when they crumbled under the attack it shot toward the village. Of course it didn’t. What care did a monster have for the lives of humans?
She grit her teeth, eyes burning, and slid under the window.
The Third Hokage announced a giant memorial once they accounted for all the dead. If they held respect for each individual, they’d be running services for months. She remembered seeing his grim face and the shadows of loss that aged him further. The Third was a good man, trained by the Second and First, but when she heard the rumors, she realized even the God of Shinobi had grown weak.
He allowed the monster to live.
She took a shaky breath out, hatred brewed in her gut. Then she stood up and pulled out the tools she brought to break in.
Her therapist, a blonde Yamanaka, told her she needed to try and make friends to help process her grief. Any empty statement she knew any trained professional reiterated to each of their clients.
All her friends had died thanks to that monster. How was she supposed to move past that? Everyone in the village still suffered years later. They held the same desire she did.
The window opened with a soft pop, she looked around for any signs of Shinobi, then slipped into the building.
Her heart raced as she peered into the darkness of the room. Moonlight filtered through the window, allowing her to see partially cracked walls and plain wooden beds holding a pair of twin size mattresses on either side of the room.
She glared at the beds and shoved her hand in her pocket to grip the handle of her weapon.
How did the monster have a place to sleep, when the Village still struggled to fund the reconstruction of Konoha? Every day she walked past partially built shops and apartment complexes, some people lived with friends because the demand for housing could not be met. Even with Shinobi helping, her village struggled to provide for those in need.
Having the monster living under the same roof as other orphans was horrifying to consider. Whispers of children disappearing surely linked to the monster killing them, but the Hokage had forbid any villager from passing on that information in public.
He had passed many laws over the years. Particularly ones involving the monster. No one understood why.
So, she decided to act. After years of sleep deprivation, hours of sitting at the memorial stone, and months of listening to the villagers mourn for their loved ones, she made a decision.
To avenge those they lost, and prevent the future that she knew would be inevitable, she had to protect her village.
She would kill the monster.
She looked at the first bed to her right, then the one to her left.
Spiked blond hair stuck out against the pillow on the bed to her left. She knew the monster had chosen the face of their beloved Fourth Hokage to torture them. That must be the monster.
Her heart thudded in her ears, and she drew the kunai from her pocket.
Soon.
Soon the nightmares would go away. She’d be able to move on and live a happier life.
Her hand shook as she neared the bed. The monster was small, she could see it curled up under the patched blanket. For a moment she paused as she saw its face, a soft jaw with small hands curled into fists.
It looked so young and helpless.
She pushed away the doubt, the weakness that tried to make her second guess her plan.
The monster. The Kyuubi. It had to use some sort of technique to make people not want to kill it. Everyone knew foxes liked to lie and cast illusions, and the monster was trying that very technique on her so it had a higher chance of surviving. That made sense. She would not fall prey to such tactics.
Everyone depended on her to finish it off. If it grew to maturity, they’d have no way to stop it from finishing off their village for good. Konoha no longer had the forces or mental fortitude to withstand another attack.
If she had to see her village get wiped out again, she’d lose herself just like the old woman had all those years ago.
She reached toward the blanket, intent on moving the monster so she could strike its heart.
The floor creaked and spun on her heels, eyes wide as she looked around wildly for the origin of the noise.
Was it a patrol? Had they noticed someone snuck into the orphanage?
No shinobi came out from the darkness to stop her, she remained still for a moment longer, breath coming out in harsh pants as sweat stung her eyes.
Maybe she was just hearing things. Anxiety ruled her most days, made it hard to leave her house, sometimes it even created noises there too. Ghosts that cried out to her, begging to be released from the mortal plane. At least, that’s what Yamanaka said created those things. As she was handed another bottle of pills. Her brain was in survival mode, so it needed help to relax, the medicine would help.
No.
She snarled under her breath and turned back to the monster.
Killing the monster was the only solution. She raised the kunai again. This time she didn’t bother to try and position the monster. If she had it stab it multiple times she would.
“Every time one of you sneak in, I wonder if you’re going to change your mind and not go through with it.”
She froze.
“I think to myself, ‘no one would truly kill a child, right?’. ‘What sort of twisted personality did a person need have to desire to harm someone who can barely read?’”
The voice was young, and that made her much more terrified. But a kid would never speak with such measured control. A shinobi had caught her; she was going to be sent to prison without being allowed her revenge.
She turned to look at the shinobi and only found a child.
Her heart stopped.
Illuminated by the cool light of the moon, golden eyes stared her down through dark brown hair. She gasped softly, the red markings on his face reminded her of someone, the intense edge of his gaze made it impossible to move.
The child sat on the edge of the bed across from her, calmly watching like the weapon in her hand was made of foam and she, a welcome guest.
“But then every single time, they try to kill him anyway. The number of villagers that come here have shown the potential to become Shinobi, but are too cowardly to try, it astounds me in a place like Konoha. If you’re so keen to kill children, why not make a profit of it and become a shinobi?”
She swallowed.
A child, she reminded herself. This was a child, probably barely five years old. What was she afraid of?
The child looked at her like he expected an answer.
She licked her lips. Conversing with him was going to get her nowhere. In her plans she had considered the possibility of being stopped. Though certainly not by a child.
Uncertainty twisted in her gut.
“Nothing to say? No denial or accusations? I expected a few curses at least.”
“You can’t stop me.” She said, gathering the anger that had simmered in her for years. She wasn’t going to allow anyone to interfere. A shinobi would have held more of a threat, but a child? No, she could win against a child. “The monster deserves die.”
“I’m not going to allow you harm him.”
She raised her weapon.
He parted his lips, and she swore she glimpsed the fangs of a beast. She faltered.
Had the information she gathered been wrong? What if…
What if this were the monster?
A form shifted behind the child, rising from the shadows like it had been summoned from them. Pricked ears stood atop its head, and all the air left her lungs as eyes the same color as the child’s stared her down.
“Arya, angōs.”
The creature lunged and all she saw was a mouth full of sharp fangs, then she crumbled under the weight of the attack and they tore into her throat.
“How dare you allow a child of my clan to sit in the orphanage without saying anything! This is grounds for a far serious response, Third! This would have never happened if you had given him to us!”
This time, he mused, they may have taken it a bit too far.
Arya sighed at his feet, a mound of dark fur, and he felt pity for the boredom in her body language. Usually at this time they’d be outside running in the forest with Naruto, making sure he was safe.
Instead, they had to be trapped in this building, waiting for the head of the Inuzuka clan to stop cussing out the Hokage.
“I understand your frustration Tsume, but I had no idea the situation had evolved to this extent. The Orphange is currently understaffed and overrun with children, most who we assumed had no family left. If the Matron had any inkling one of them had been of clan blood, I’m sure she would have said something.”
“Bullshit! Are you implying that the Matron, and the guards you post there are all blind, deaf and stupid?! He even has our markings! Every Inuzuka gains them at his age, you can’t deny the fact you willfully ignored the signs he was of my clan!”
“You have to try and understand our situation. Toboe has been of great importance in the orphanage-“
“By acting as the body-guard of Uzumaki Fucking Naruto?! The child you should have been protecting this whole time?! He’s only five years old and he’s killed multiple people to keep Uzukmaki safe! How could you allow that to continue?! That child out there is bonded to a fucking wolf! Do you understand what that means!”
“Tsume-“
“Inuzuka children bond to the canine that speaks to their very soul, Third. Most children in my family find pups from the lines we have carefully bred over the years. Canines who have been domesticated and trained. Our children are drawn to that stability, and that bond they create helps them mature into a solid shinobi of Konoha. If they happen to be pulled toward one of the wolves from the packs in the forests, that means something in their life has gone very wrong!”
Toboe watched a few shinobi converse down the hall. Arya raised her head to watch them as well. They didn’t smell of fresh blood like some Shinobi did, but he could spot the various weapon holsters attached to their person.
One of them looked in his direction, then turned away and continued their whispering.
Arya laid her head back down.
How much longer did they have to wait here? Toboe missed the fresh air and sunlight. He missed Naruto.
“I know you are frustrated Tsume. I never imagined the situation would become this dire. Please try and calm down, we can transfer him over to your clan, and you will have full guardianship over him.”
“Oh, that will happen Third.” Tsume snarled out. “Or the village will have a far bigger problem then a few villagers dying. This is grounds for me to call the Elders to action.”
“Let us not reach that point. I will comply with whatever you wish. Toboe is yours to take care of.”
“He should have been in the first place, and that’s why I’m fucking furious!”
Toboe frowned.
It sounded like he had no choice in where he lived, and his mouth soured at the thought. He did not like the idea of having to follow the wishes of a clan he had no desire to join. They meant nothing to him.
He and Arya stood up in the same fluid movement, her fur raised along the line of her spine.
We will not leave our pack behind. She snarled in his mind. I refuse to.
Toboe agreed with her silently.
For whatever reason the Third had not placed a guard to keep watch on him. Toboe took advantage of the opportunity and approached the closest window he could find. He felt the eyes of the Kunochi at the reception desk watching him.
Arya watched his back as he peered out the window. Thanks to the structure of the buildings, each story had a curved tiled roof that allowed quick access for the Shinobi to use. Toboe pushed himself up and swung a leg over the sill of the window to use it as well.
“Excuse me, where are you going?”
He glanced over his shoulder at the receptionist. A chunin based off of her state of dress, he caught wind of her nervousness and offered her a smile.
“Back home.”
“But-“
Toboe slipped out onto the roof and Arya followed soon after with an easy hop. He closed his eyes for a moment as wind brushed through his hair, and took a deep inhale. Countless scents wafted in his nose, wood and earth were the strongest, as the founders of Konoha had used their chakra to grow the forests and create most of the buildings in the town.
He liked the smell of Konoha, it was beginning to make him feel at home.
Toboe opened his eyes and walked to the edge of the roof, he looked down at the people milling about, then at the bodies he spotted jumping along the rooftops of the village further away.
Now those Shinobi could stop him. The Chunin may try as well, but her nervous energy was stopping her from pursuing him at the moment.
Arya brushed against his leg.
Pack?
Toboe took off in a run, and Arya let out an excited yip as she followed along.
Back to Naruto.
Chapter One
Pack
He was three when he finally accepted the fact he was reborn.
Denial had been a tool to try and cope with his new reality. He never thought reincarnation would happen to him, because he assumed most people had to earn it. Like a reward. Almost anyone deserved a second chance more then him, the normal, and fairly rude, man who lived by himself and worked too many hours.
But here he was, memories intact and waking up each day in this strange world again and again.
“Are you going to leave me?”
The small voice drew him out of his ruminating, Toboe focused on the blond head of hair lying by his leg.
“Why would I leave you?”
Behind the blonde, Arya had her eyes closed, she listened as well. She needed even less sleep than they did, but she did like to rest to conserve her energy.
“Arya hurt someone, and then you had to go to talk to the Hokage.”
“He didn’t say much to me, besides ask about what happened, and then apologized.” Toboe replied. “Then someone else tried to tell him I belong with them, but they were wrong.”
Naruto shifted, and his face came into view. Patches of sunlight filtered through the leaves that grew from the tops of the trees around them. Illuminating the golden hair so that it took on a brilliant shine.
“So, you really are from a clan then?”
“Perhaps.” Toboe offered. “But I don’t intend on joining them at any point. Not if that means I must leave you.”
Naruto squinted at him.
“What if they make you leave?”
“I will not.”
“But-“
“Konoha has rules and protocols.” Toboe offered. “I am officially an Orphan. Perhaps a bastard of the Inuzuka, but that does not mean they can force me to join them. Only my parents could rightfully claim and bring me to the clan, I know for certain they are dead.”
Naruto watched him for a moment.
“Don’t you want to be with your clan though? You could be part of their family and not be alone. If I had a clan, I think I’d join them.”
“You’re my pack, if they try to force me to leave you, I won’t.”
Naruto sniffed, then turned to face Arya. His hands grabbed her fur, and she allowed him to pull her close. They were nearly the same size lying down.
Toboe smiled fondly at them both.
He’d been born in this world with no real goal, lost and confused. Then he started to learn about where he was, he read books and watched everyone, he listened to what they talked about and observed their patterns.
This village was full of Shinobi, warriors raised from childhood to defend their village. A noble thought. Deeper though, in the alleyways when the drunks started to roam about, the raw edge of loss showed its face.
He came upon Naruto one of those nights, and his life was never the same.
Naruto did have reason for concern. Toboe considered the situation silently as Naruto got up and started to run about, Arya followed him and teased Naruto into a game of chase. Naruto laughed as he ran after her.
The Clans had significant political power in Konoha, as was the agreement as they all gathered to form the village years ago under the banner of Senju Hashirama and his brother. Claiming a child, bastard or not, of their Clan was in their right to do so. Especially if the child proved to be able to use their specialized technique.
He didn’t want to join the Inuzuka. He liked his freedom.
But he had very little say about what happened. In fact, he was surprised the Inuzuka hadn’t hunted him down after he escaped the Hokage tower a few days ago.
Best to enjoy each day as it came. He decided, and stood up from the ground. Both Naruto and Arya stopped to watch him.
Naruto grinned.
“Toboe! Let’s play ninja!”
Just a moment ago Naruto had been in tears, how he recovered so fast was always a mystery. Toboe almost felt jealous at times.
He forced himself to focus on the present, and offered Naruto a smile.
“Let’s play Ninja!”
In the evening as the sun set and turned the sky colors of red and orange, Toboe and Naruto headed back to the orphanage. A few of the children who lingered outside watched them curiously, none dared to near them as Arya padded close to Toboe’s right leg.
A unfamiliar scent caught his attention, Toboe halted and Naruto hesitated.
“Toboe?”
From inside the Orphanage a woman with red fang marks under her eyes, the exact same shade and shape as his, walked out. Arya tensed next to him as the massive form of her ninken appeared at her side.
Toboe could only stare at the ninken, a wolf that had to reach the chest of a grown adult.
Naruto gaped.
“Hey! That looks like Arya!”
Tsume’s narrowed eyes flicked toward Naruto, then she looked at Arya.
Naruto was right. Toboe acknowledged with a sinking gut.
They did look similar.