12Chapter 1
Swearing is going to be a thing in this story, violence more so. Don't own Naruto. Don't own Bleach. Enjoy.
The cries of a newborn child, a powerful sound that could bring many different emotions to those who hear it.
In the smoldering embers of Konohagakure a small child wept, not even an hour old and already had lost more than most ever his age. He had been robbed of the physical form of a mother's love, and the guiding hand of a father. The seal on his stomach would be sure to rob him of a normal life.
The one who left that seal lingered on though his job had long been done. The Shinigami watched the child weep, feeling the turmoil emotion of the babes father rolling in his stomach. The death god felt the sorrow of the boy's mother as her spirit lingered through the seal.
The ancient deity felt little in its eternal life, but just this once, it allowed itself to feel pity. The Shinigami took favor for this was a child of prophecy, and bestowed a gift.
The horned death god reached over and plucked a single gem from his prayer beads and ran a stand of his white hair through it, and placed the gem around the infant's neck. The stone took a blue tint as it rested on the child's chest, glowing softly.
And with that, the Shinigami returned to its realm, content with the choice that it had made this night. The choice to leave a powerful artifact from a bygone era in the hands of an infant already to change the world.
Naruto had had a relatively easy life, but a deeply isolated one. He lived alone as far a he knew, he had learned how to reasonably take care of himself at a young age, he saw the Third Hokage on a regular basis. At least once a week would be taken out of the old man's busy schedule to spend time with the young blonde.
But that still didn't help him on the dark nights when the silence of his apartment was deafening and he would curl in on himself.
On nights like these he would clutch his pendant, an heirloom from his father, the Third Hokage had told him when he asked. The soft blue glow would help soothe him into a calm trance. But this night it failed, it only reminded him of what he never had. He never felt the soothing fingers of a mother run her fingers through his hair, he had never known the soft hum of a maternal lullaby on nights like these where dark thoughts would haunt him, he had never known the soft warmth of a mother's embrace.
The eight year old clutched his pendant in a death grip, the one connection he had to his father. He thought himself selfish for wanting more, he thought he was ungrateful for wanting all the things he had been denied nearly a decade ago, and he wept for the things that had been ripped from him.
He did not notice the glow of his gem brighten, nor did he notice the tingling sensation in his abdomen as the seal formed. He did not notice the faint hum, so soft it was almost nonexistent, echo from his subconscious, he did notice the soft touch of ghostly fingers brush his hair, he did not notice the faint warmth that wrapped itself around him as he cried.
Though he did not notice, the actions still took effect on him, calming the boy and soothing him into a deep dreamless slumber.
The boy did not notice when the presence retreated, or when a weight was added onto the bed beside him. But his guard noticed the later, realizing at some point, a blade had been placed beside the boy.
'I'm so getting fired' the masked man thought as he silently- but rapidly checked the room for any kind of presence besides his and the boy's. When he was reasonably assured that no break-in had occurred, he returned to his hiding spot with the sword and examined it. It was a simple tachi, featuring a nondescript hilt and scabbard.
The most intriguing thing about the blade was the feeling that it gave off. The masked guard noticed how wrong the blade felt in his hand, almost as if it was revolting against his touch. The guard held onto the blade regardless of the feeling, trying to ignore the growing feeling of wrongness.
When it was time for the guard shift, the anbu agent immediately made his way towards the Hokages home. Someone had been able to sneak into the Jinchuriki's apartment and place a sheathed blade next to the sleeping boy without the anbu guard noticing.
The further the anbu agents carried the sword, the worse the feeling grew. He had to physically force himself not to blanch when he was almost halfway to his destination. When he was three fourths of the way to the Hokages home, the feeling was at its worse, nearly bringing him to his knees, and then it disappeared.
The sudden shift did trip the anbu up for a split second, causing him to tumble onto the roof he was leaping towards. The masked man checked where he had placed the blade on his back, only to find it gone.
After swiftly checking the surrounding area the anbu found no sign of the blade, but was left with the feeling that he should return to check on the boy.
Again the anbu agent began his trek back to the boy's apartment, quicker this time now that he had a clear mind.
When the anbu returned he found the current guard standing over the blonde child, confusion clear from his posture. The two looked down at the boy, now curled around the blade.
The anbu currently on guard motioned for the others attention, his bear mask hard to see in the dark.
'Why did you return?' Bear signed silently.
'Sword disappeared, felt it would be back here for some reason.' The other anbu signed, frowning behind his bat mask.
'This sword?' Bear gestured to the sword in the blonde child's hands.
'Yes.'
'What should we do?'
'I'm getting some overtime.' Bat signed before moving to take a position to watch over the boy, 'I'll inform Lord Hokage first thing in the morning.'
The bear masked anbu nodded before taking up his original position. The two stayed in their positions until the early hours of the morning.
Naruto awoke the next morning groggily, but with a strange feeling of peace he did not possess before, like a hole in himself had been partially filled. Not completely, but enough that it was noticeable.
The blonde also noticed he had a sword half the size of him. That was new.
Naruto tried to pull the blade free of its sheath, but found his arms weren't long enough. So he sat the blade down on his messy bed, and pulled the blade free.
The grip of the blade felt comfortable in his small hands, despite the fact that it was much to large for him. He stared at the blade, noticing how sharp it was, but soon became entranced by the flat of the blade, polished enough to shine his reflection in the morning light. He had no idea how long he stared at the blade, but was soon disrupted by a knock at his door.
He set the blade back in its sheath and started to make his way towards the door, thinking to leave the blade on his bed. He wasn't half way across the room when he had a change of heart, something in him didn't want to be to far from the blade.
Another knock at the door reminded Naruto to hurry, so the boy quickly grabbed the blade and placed it on his back, the strap attached to the scabbard coming into use for the blonde.
"Oh, hey gramps." The young boy greeted the aged Hokage with a wide smile. Said Hokage returned his own grandfatherly smile.
"Good morning Naruto." The Hokage stepped through the doorway and into the young blonde's messy apartment, taking note of the sword.
"What'cha doin' here?" Naruto asked as he plopped down at his table, Hiruzen taking the seat across from him.
"What, can an old man not visit who he wants, when he wants?" Hiruzen asked in a mock offended tone.
"I guess," Naruto thought aloud, "But aren't you busy being Hokage."
"I'm always busy, Naruto." The Hokage chuckled, "But sometimes a break is needed."
Naruto nodded, finding the statement to make some sense.
The two sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the others presence.
The Hokage finally decided to acknowledge the Akimichi in the room, "Naruto my boy, where did you get that sword?"
The blonde gained a look of shock, then realization as he looked back to the sword on his shoulder.
"Oh yeah," The boy muttered softly before returning his attention to the old man, "No idea."
Honestly, Hiruzen wasn't surprised. The reports he had been given by Bear and Bat both agreed that the sword had appeared by the boy in the night after he had cried himself to sleep, which caused a pang of pain to stab his heart as he remembered that particular detail.
"Can you tell me why you're carrying it then?" Hiruzen asked in a relaxed tone.
The boy took on a thoughtful look as he sat crossed legged in his chair and rested his chin on a closed fist.
"It feels like it belongs to me." The boy said with a slightly confused look on his face.
"May I see it?" Hiruzen asked softly, stretching out an old callused and wrinkled hand.
Naruto reached up to remove the blade from his shoulder, but hesitated half way through. For half a moment the boy seemed to debate handing the sword over to the Hokage, but seemed to settle on letting the old man handle the blade.
The Hokage smiled at the boy, worried by the emotional attachment the young jinchuriki seemed to have to the mysterious blade, but pleased by the trust he seemed to have in the older man.
Hiruzen examined the sheathed blade, its sheath was a dark black with an orange cap at the end, with no design, and the same coloration was on the hilt of the blade. The old man pulled the blade free of its sheath and looked at the polished blade, noting how well made it was.
He also noticed the feeling the blade instilled in him. He could tell it was well made and well balanced, but found that it felt wrong in his hand. The longer he held it, the longer it seemed to rebel against him.
He could also tell that Naruto was growing more uncomfortable the more he held the blade, though he tried to hide it.
What confused the man was just how simple the blade was. No seals, where etched into the blade, nor was there a sign of any painted on it. There was no source to the feeling the blade was instilling into him, and it worried him.
"It is a well-made blade." The Hokage said as he sheathed the blade and handed it back to the blonde boy, who all but ripped the blade from the old man's fingers. The boy didn't immediately place it back on his back, content to leave the blade in his lap with a hand clutched around the sheath.
The Hokage saw little reason to take the blade from the boy, especially with how attached he was to it. 'It would probably be best to get the boy some amount of training with it, so he doesn't hurt himself' the old man thought, oblivious to the jewel around Naruto's neck glowing more intensely than it was a moment ago.
"Well since I'm here, how about we go out for breakfast." The Third Hokage said with a smile, causing Naruto to leap from his chair with a shout of joy.
Oh look a new story. Sorry, my hand slipped.
Also *breaks open a bottle of vodka* Happy singles awareness day.
Have a good one!