Naruto Fan Fiction!

Adventure! Mystery! SI-OC!

(Title)

"Myths, Monsters and a Man"

A/N: Okay, so... I kinda got distracted from writing on my other stories 'cos I read a fic by peccolia called 'The Legend of The Three Leaves' and was suddenly hit with a lightning bolt of inspiration, figuratively frying every other idea in my head until I wrote this out. I've always been a huge fan of the Clan War Era stories featuring Madara and Hashirama and their brothers like the 'Sunfall/Moonrise' stories by Tavina, also 'Shadow of a Tiny Flame' by jiemae, 'From Dusk To Dawn' by Azaira, 'Fire Flower' by Ink-Tainted, (one of my personal favorites) 'The Clan of Samsara' by erimies. And one many of you might know; 'Sanitize' by Sage Thrasher.

I've always been fascinated with the idea of writing in this time period and am really eager to see how well this goes. I don't have it planned to be long and drawn out, this 'Book' is only going to be three or so chapters long. I literally couldn't write anything else until this was done. I hope you like it.

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Naruto' or any of the Canon characters!

WARNING! RATED M! Violence, Blood, bit of Gore. Language. Traditional stuff, yanno?

Book of Mysteries

Chapter One: "Oak Leaf"

"Quercus: Strength"

Two men traveled along the dirt road, a path worn down and established by the passing of countless merchants and caravans on their ways to their set destinations. Brothers walked this road, in search of a wayward bride whose Father had hired them to retrieve in time for her wedding day. Though their high-collared, long sleeved mantles were bare of any Clan Mon, they stood proud, their strides confident and long.

They were Uchiha.

"Brother, remind me again why I agreed to this?" the elder brother asked irritably. They had been traveling through this godforsaken region of backwoods for nearly two weeks now, tracking their target's movements, and it had began to wear on his already-thin patience over a week-and-a-half ago.

Izuna looked over at him with an annoyingly cheerful grin. Madara had the sudden urge to wipe it off, but he reigned in his annoyance. For now, at least.

"You didn't." the younger Uchiha happily reminded his cranky elder brother. "With all the unease still within the Senju after Butsuma's death and the doubt revolving around Hashirama's ascension to Clan head, Father thought it would be a good idea to win favor with the Daimyō while he pushes the Senju forces South, towards Tea and far away from the Capital. So, when the Daimyō's third daughter decided to run away—our clan was the obvious choice to hire!"

"I know all that, Izuna!" Madara snapped, arms crossed over his chest with a heavy scowl on his face. His irritation was palatable now. "Why am I the one out here looking for a spoilt brat?! I should be with our clansman, fighting on the battlefield! This is a waste of my energy and time."

Izuna could acknowledge his brother's frustrations, he even shared them, and that is why he refrained from rolling his eyes at his beloved Nii-sama.

He kept a peaceful smile on his face and spoke patiently. "Because Father wanted to make the best impression on the Daimyō, and that meant sending the infamous Madara to personally handle it. And I'm here to ensure that you don't go off to do exactly what you just said."

Madara glared balefully at his younger brother, Izuna merely pretended not to notice it as they walked under the boughs of the Oak trees, side-by-side. Though he enjoyed this time with his younger brother, and the knowledge that Izuna was safe and away from the battles, he would honestly rather have been many miles to the South, engaged in a fervid and impassioned clash of might. His thoughts, as they often did when thinking of a worthwhile fight, drifted to Hashirama. Of how their latest battle ended in a stalemate after a day of fighting, only stopping when the courier his clan had been escorting had made it to Genshouku-Dai with the client's scrolls. Even though his skirmish with Hashirama had left him with a new scar across his lower back, the day had been a win for the Uchiha.

"Nii-sama, you're smiling. It's starting to scare me." Izuna joked, inwardly though, he was being a wee bit truthful. Nothing ever turned out okay when his Nii-sama smiled.

Madara was quick to clear his expression, unaware that he had been smiling in the first place. He turned his attention to their immediate surroundings; the sunlight streamed down from between the large-leaved oaks above their heads, shading them from the summer heat and allowing a brisk breeze to caress his face. Nothing but the idle sounds of the branches rustling and the occasional call of a bird to disturb the air around them.

It was... tranquil.

Overall, he mused, it wasn't that bad of a day—

"Oh, OH! H-Hey there, travelers! Over hereeee!" a voice suddenly called out, alerting both brothers. Izuna and Madara shared a look between them, deciding whether or not they should investigate. It probably had nothing to do with their current mission; finding a spoilt girl who had runaway from her betrothed just before their wedding.

They continued walking.

"Heeeeeeyyy! I know you're over there! Out there on the road! I... I could use some help?" the voice insisted, tone tinged with a slight desperation. "...please!"

Izuna looked towards his brother, silently asking. Surely, it wouldn't take up too much of their time or divert them from their current mission? Even if it was a plot set by bandits, it certainly wasn't as if they wouldn't be able to handle themselves. What if it really was someone in need? Madara saw the look and scoffed, stopping in his pace.

His little brother was always a touch more soft-hearted than he.

It was a simple matter to turn off the beaten path and follow the direction the voice had come from. They walked without a sound, soon entering a glade encompassed by lofty and weathered oaks. It was easy to spot the owner of the voice that called out to them. The Uchiha brothers halted in their steps, frozen by the scene before them. There was a young man, arms bound behind his back, with his head bowed and a mop of dark hair hiding his face. He was kneeling in front of a stone altar in the center of a symbol drawn with blood. The man's body was covered with long and methodical lacerations along his arms, legs and abdomen and his clothing torn and stained with blood in those respective areas. As if sensing their approach, the stranger lifted their head and a pair of shrewd amber eyes flickered over the brothers faces, their clothing, and resting on the gumbai fastened on Madara's back.

The side of his mouth lifted and the stranger smiled lopsidedly, even as blood slipped past his lips and slid down his chin. "Well... what do we have here? You two look fairly capable, mind lending a fellow a hand? Be good Samaritans an' all that? I seem to have gotten myself into a... heh, a bind."

The Uchiha brothers shared a glance between each other, confirming that they both were seeing this.

The stranger was still smiling at them.

Perhaps they should've continued walking?

"Oi! Who the hell are you two!?" another voice shouted, angered. The brothers turned and saw a group of seven men clothed in black cloaks emerge from the trees on the opposite side of the glade. Each of them were equipped with what appeared to be ono and other items that looked to be ceremonial, they seemed to be monks of a sort. Izuna's eyes darted back to the altar with the bloody stranger and a chill ran up his spine as he realized what they'd just stumbled onto.

Cultists in the midst of a ritual.

"Ah! You're all back!" the stranger exclaimed, a laugh in his voice as he addressed the cloaked men. "I was startin' to wonder if you'd just forgotten 'bout little 'ole me out here! Don't mind these two, eh? They're just passing by! Really, don't bother—"

"Silence, heathen!" one of them snarled, breaking from the group and walking towards the stranger. He grabbed a fistful of his dark hair and jerked the man's head back, drawing a serrated dagger from his belt and pulling it across the man's collarbone, leaving a trail of blood to weep from the shallow wound. The stranger's amber eyes widened but he made only a low grunt to acknowledge the pain. The Uchiha brothers watched in silence, deciding on their course of action. Another stepped forward from the group, towards the brothers this time. He held his hands out towards them, entreatingly.

"Are you willing to hear of our Lord's word?"

Madara and Izuna exchanged glances.

The cloaked man continued, taking their silence as acquiescence, speaking with conviction. "We serve the most severe of Lords, the almighty God of slaughter and ruination! In his service, we offer the blood of our neighbors and gift him their death, for he delights in their suffering and is pleasured by their demise! In exchange he grants us vitality and unsurmounted strength!" he looked at the brothers with eyes glazed over with an unreadable emotion, still holding out his hand. "Tell me travelers, will you accept the sacred creed of the almighty Jashin?"

"Don't do it!" the stranger interrupted, drawing all eyes back to him. He was grinning even as he continued to bleed freely. "Their parties really suck!"

That glib comment got him a knee to the face by a enraged cultist.

"Well?" the leader-like cultist intoned, his face darkening. "Are you ready to accept our Lord Jashin... or are you going to become another gift to our most unholy Divine?"

"That's an oxymoron, you idiot!" Another strike, a blow to the chin this time. He spat a glob of blood to the ground.

The brothers did not have to even think about their answer.

Izuna spoke, tone light. "Nii-sama, I believe he just said he wanted to sacrifice us." He smiled suddenly, an idea coming to him. A plan to briefly entertain his elder brother. He looked up at Madara with a cheeky grin. "I bet I can take out half faster than you can!"

The corner of his mouth pulled back and Madara smiled. There was a small creak of leather as a gloved hand wrapped around the hilt of his trusted War Fan, even as he had already begun to mentally run through his battle strategy. Madara's voice came out in a low rumble, "A race to the seventh man? You'll lose this one, otouto."

The leader-like cultist lowered his hand to his ono, "So be it... then you will face our Lo—Hrrk!?" he didn't get to finish his threat before Izuna's tantō slid between his ribs, piercing his lungs, causing him to choke on his blood.

Madara cursed his brother under his breath, dashing forward into the battle. The impertinent wretch hadn't said 'begin'!

Izuna was already finishing his second target by the time Madara had crushed the sternum of his first and he decided to pick up the pace by folding his hands into the Tiger seal, changing the chakra in his lungs as it sparked to life, warming his chest and leaving his lips as a breath of flame. The roar of fire spread across the glade, engulfing two cultists and narrowly searing a third. He made a move to finish off the third one, but was taken aback when the two he'd charred picked themselves back off the ground, their skin still melting off of their bones.

"Izanagi's balls!" Izuna yelped suddenly.

Madara turned just in time to see his brother jump away from a man with his brother's tantō firmly placed through his jaw, coming out on the back side of his skull.

The man was still moving.

"Their brains! Get them in the brains or sever the spinal cord! It's the fastest way!" the stranger shouted, squirming in his bonds and rolling backwards, avoiding the swing of an axe by a hair's breadth.

The brothers turned back to their opponents, making sure that they fell and stayed down after separating their heads from their bodies. The battle, if one could even call it that, was finished in under the next three minutes and the brother's glanced at one another, their blood rushing in their veins as they sought out the seventh man to end their little competition. They found the last cultist staggering backwards with the stranger on his shoulders, squeezing the man's head between his knees with his hands still bound behind his back. Before either brother could intervene the stranger's body twisted sharply, spinning the cultist's head around with snapping finality.

"W-W-WOAH!" the stranger shouted as the body fell limp, collapsing under his added weight. He fell face-first into the dirt ungracefully.

Madara looked towards his brother and Izuna shrugged helplessly.

It was a tie.

Izuna then went over to help free the stranger of the binding around his hands and wrists as Madara felt his blood settle. One thought pervaded his mind as his eyes looked over the corpses. Disappointing. They were always disappointing in recent days. Though the cultist's resilience to Death was mildly entertaining at the start, they eventually fell to his hand just as the rest did before them. It was beginning to seem as if Hashirama would be the only one to ever give him a challenge these days.

Madara scowled suddenly, irritated that his thoughts once more led back to that damnable man.

He felt a pulse of chakra invade the air and his eyes snapped to the stranger who was facing the blaze he had started with his earlier attack, he watched in surprise as his hands folded into the Dragon, Tiger, and Hare seals. Madara recognized those signs and knew what jutsu it was even before a torrent of water spilled out from the stranger's mouth, dousing the trees and shrubs and ending the fire before it got too widespread.

Water Release: Wild Water Wave

It was now that Madara took another, more scrutinizing look at the stranger. A muscular frame if not thinly built, not a front-line fighter then. Bronzed skin and a pair of scarred, callous hands. No doubt from using them often. Ends of dark-brown hair dyed a sun-light blonde from years spent under the sun, the length ending at his jaw. He looked to be a teenager, Madara observed, as young or even younger than Izuna, who was fifteen summer's old. His voice also was light when he spoke, adding to the idea that this was not a full-grown man, but a boy. Clothing in tatters, bloodstained and torn. No Clan markings of any kind could be seen on him, just a plain earth-green haori hanging over a bandaged chest and dark-colored hakama. He looked entirely unassuming and that set the Uchiha warrior on edge.

The last of the fires went out and the man turned, grinning widely at the brothers. Madara stalled at the sight, eyes deceiving him. For a moment, Madara's vision was replaced with an old and unpleasant memory, one of an obnoxiously optimistic boy he used to skip stones with by the riverside. He quickly blinked away the images and refocused his glare on the smiling stranger in their midst.

"Thanks to 'ya both! You had me worried, for a minute there I'd thought you'd just keep walking!" he said with a laugh, walking back over to the altar to collect the scrolls and papers that were strewn over its surface and placing them into a satchel that had been abandoned to the side. Izuna glanced at his elder brother with a knowing look. They almost had kept walking. Madara didn't notice it as he crossed his arms over his chest and kept his eyes on the boy who looked impossibly familiar.

"Lord, I hate Jashinists!" the stranger exclaimed, kicking the dirt with extreme prejudice and disturbing the symbol he had previously been encircled by. "They have no fuckin' manners, I swear! You don't just tie up people and try to sacrifice them in a blood ritual to your God! It's just damn rude!"

"It was certainly an... interesting situation you'd gotten yourself into, friend." Izuna said neutrally, taking note of how his brother wouldn't take his eyes off the stranger. "Do you have a name for us to call you by?"

"Ah, I don't have a name. Well, actually I did, but I've long given up that name. I... don't like to talk about it so just, eh... uhh, call meeee..." his brown eyes wandered the glade before landing on the large trees encircling them. He grinned widely, looking back at Izuna. "Oak."

"Pardon?"

"Call me Oak—Professor Oak. Because I'm a Professor." he nodded, placing his hands on his hips. "Yup."

Madara could tell by how the muscle in his brother's jaw twitched that he was not pleased by that answer. Nevertheless, Izuna's expression never changed from polite, he lifted a hand and placed it over his chest. "My name is Michirou, and this is my elder brother, Akihiro. We're traveling mercenaries."

'Oak's' eyes flickered with emotion, but before Madara could read it, it was covered up with a smile and as he whistled low. "Wooow, mercenaries, huh? It's been a while since I ran into any of your kind! So if you've been traveling then you must know some good rumors, I've got to ask... have you heard anything about any unsolved grave robberies happening in this region?"

Izuna's brow furrowed together, "Grave robberies?"

Oak nodded, rummaging through the satchel and seemingly began organizing the scrolls inside. "Yeah, there's been a string of them starting way back in the Land of Bears all across Fire, leading to here, on the border of Hot Springs. The thieves have only taken the most recently buried—within hours recent. And what's even more disturbing is that there's always a rash of missing people following their departure."

The brothers did not have to look at each other to know they had both heard that. The woman they were tracking, the runaway bride, they had begun to suspect that she had found shelter with a merchants caravan traveling across the country after she had evaded apprehension this far, but now...

"We're looking for a woman—" Izuna started, Madara shot his brother a sharp glance but it went ignored as his younger brother stepped forward, taking the stranger's attention. "—she's a runaway, we were hired by her Father to bring her back to her home. We've been tracking her since the Capital but we suspect that she's had help to get this far, do you think that these people could've taken her with them?"

Hesitation flickered across the stranger's face, amber eyes darting away, but the younger Uchiha was not deterred.

"Please," Izuna pressed, looking genuine. "Her family misses her dearly. They just want her safe and back home."

The tactic worked. Madara could see the moment the stranger believed his brother's words as a small sigh escaped his lips.

Though Madara was displeased with Izuna's actions, he was satisfied with his tale. It was close enough to the truth to get information they could use in their search, yet skewed far enough not to guess who they were and who they were looking for. The Daimyō certainly wasn't pleased by his daughter's rebellious actions and it didn't seem to Madara that he very much cared about the fate of his third daughter, only that she be returned, married to the Lord Fujiwara and her bride price be paid in full. The groom himself, the fat and small narrow-eyed man, was furious by the apparent rejection and had even made an insinuation to Izuna, the more approachable brother, that he would not mind too much should his betrothed encounter any 'harm' on her journey back to the capital, provided they ever find her in the first place.

It was a situation like this that Madara was reminded that he detested the courts and their games. And the idea of marriage, too. He practically raises hell every time one of the elders even mentions the possibility of a matchmaker in his presence.

"I... guess it's possible." the stranger allowed, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at the ground in thought. "So far, no bodies matchin' the missing people's descriptions I gathered have shown up again. I've actually been tracking someone myself, a man by the name of Ryūga, and I'm pretty sure he's the one who's behind these disappearances. Each town I've been 'ta all say the same thing; a handsome, quick-talking man traveling with a few good-looking folk blew in, had a celebration and charmed the whole village and are gone a day or so later. It's always the young and pretty that disappear the nights following their departure, no signs of foul play either. If your girl fits the bill, then it's likely she fell in with their lot."

"Are you implying that... the missing people are actually following them? Of their own free will?" Izuna asked suspiciously. Privately, he wondered if a Genjutsu could be involved? Then that would mean they were dealing with someone that could use their chakra.

"No, no. I wouldn't say that it was of their own choice but that they were more... compelled to follow." Oak said slowly, watching their reactions closely.

"What are they then, a nomadic brothel? Collecting workers?" Madara remarked dryly, not entirely serious. Though, the slave trade in the Land of Hot Springs was more frequented than in other countries. Madara made a face, repulsed by the fact they would now have to start searching the markets for their quarry. Truly, he would rather be skirmishing with the Senju in the South.

Oak burst into surprised laughter at Madara's dry comment, drawing an odd look from the man himself. "Hahahah! Hahahaa... haa... Yeah, no. That'd be silly! I've never heard of such a thing!" he shook his head, his laughter winding down into chuckles. The man looked at Madara with those blithesome amber eyes, smiling. "They're vampires, of course!"

A silence fell over the glade.

"What." Madara said, voice clipped and onyx eyes turning darker. If this idiot was going to try and play them for fools, then it will be the last mistake he makes. The man whose life expectancy just significantly shortened further explained as easily as if he were talking about the weather or what to have for a meal.

"Well, I'm pretty sure not all of them are vampires! That would be really, really bad and they're not really the 'social' type of creatures. Too many bodies left behind with each mouth to feed." Oak said blithely, seemingly oblivious to the incredulous stares the brothers were giving him. "As far as I can tell, the man leading the group is the vampire, and the rest of the poor bastards followin' him around are just loyal, mindless thralls. Totally dedicated to their master. I've been tracking their trail for the last couple months now and they're good at covering their tracks, but they slipped up."

The brothers watched as Oak reached into the satchel, not noticing how they tensed in preparation of an attack, and produced a small cloth bag, emptying it's contents into his palm. Izuna narrowed his eyes at what looked to be a handful of pine needles.

"This," Oak started, "is the leaf of the incense-cedar, native to the mountains in this area. I found it in the remains of what I believed to be their camp over on the border to the Land of Rice Patties, their last known location. This is what led me here, vampires tend to have a sort of den or 'safe haven' that they return to after they're done hunting. I expect to find them hidden away somewhere in the region. Probably a cave—Hopefully a cave."

"A leaf." Madara asked, tone bordering on incredulous.

"A leaf." Oak confirmed, totally serious.

Izuna's brow pinched with confusion, debating whether to take the man seriously or not. He certainly seemed to believe what he was saying.

Madara just turned around and started walking away, he'd heard quite enough of this nonsense.

"Nii-sama!" Izuna squawked, glancing at Oak only briefly before quickly running after his older brother. The younger Uchiha shot his brother a disgruntled look as he fell into step beside him. Madara was unrepentant, glad to be moving away from the loon they'd just liberated.

"Heeey!"

Madara briefly considered liberating Oak again, this time to unburden his shoulders from his head. He did not slow in his strides even as his younger brother did, eyeing the other man with open curiosity. The lunatic ran up to them on the road, limping all the while, he was still wounded and did not do much to abate the—he wasn't bleeding as much as he had been, Izuna noted.

"We're headin' in the same direction, yeah? Rusutsu is the only village on the map for miles! If the vampires are living anywhere around here, then the odds are that someone from the village might've seen something or heard something about Ryūga and his troupe. And I'd love for the chance to repay you two for your help with the whole; 'almost sacrificed to a Death God' thing. How's about dinner? My treat."

Izuna shrugged, a smile beginning to grow on his face as he faced forward again. "I wouldn't say no to eating something that I hadn't gutted and skinned myself. What about you, Nii-sama?"

Madara scowled, displeased.

Book of Mysteries

Chapter One: "Oak Leaf"

END

A/N: Haah, originally this was supposed to be a long one with the start and finish but I, unsurprisingly, couldn't finish it and it kinda screwed my whole writing process. It clogged up my creativity and halted all my stuff, I tried to write on my other stories but I came up with nothing. Thank you to ClosetCase for reading over my horrible grammar and finding my mistakes and helping with the chapter!

So, I ended up really liking writing this. Oak is pretty fun and Madara and Izuna were, too! Tell me, what did you guys think of this? It's a bit of a twist on Naruto canon, I suppose I should just call it and AU. It's going to be a bit unorthodox but we'll get to that in the coming chapters. This 'Book' is only about three or so chapters and more will be revealed! It's a bit of a mystery surrounding Oak. I want to know your guys' thoughts on this so far!

I wuv yew all! 'Till next time!

-Nanami