Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I definitely do NOT own Star Wars. I really REALLY wish I did, but I don't. I make absolutely no money off of this, so this is completely non profit, ect ect. My OC is mine though.
AN: This story takes place before the beginning of the Naruto manga and in an unspecified period of time between Darth Banes creation of the Rule of Two and the events of Phantom Menace.
"Normal Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Kyuubi Speech"
'Kyuubi Thoughts'
--Force Speech--
Echos
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away… (Cue Star Wars music)
STAR WARS
(And Naruto)
ECHOS
The Republic has stood in a state of relative peace for the last 50 years after the Great War with the Dark Brotherhood led by Darth Kaan. The Sith are, by this time, believed to be completely extinct, and by all the evidence that seems to be true. This period has seen an unprecedented growth of the Republic and an expansion of Republic space out beyond the galactic rim.
Out in the depths of unknown space, a single space craft of unknown design drifts aimlessly in the dark void. As it floats it is caught in the gravity well of a small uncharted planet, and drug down onto the surface…
Chapter 1: Crash landings and discoveries.
DANGER
Red lights blared about the corridors of a decimated spacecraft, its flashing radiance enhancing the light provided by the fires blazing about unchecked.
DANGER
The sirens continued.
FUEL SUPPLY LOW
A figure stirred sluggishly in the pilot seat of the craft, his head thrashing about, barely conscious. It was garbed in a dark robe, the actual color obscured by the flashing lights overhead. The hood of the robe was pulled low, down over the eyes, almost completely obscuring the figures face. Red lights blazed about the cabin, flashing on and off in time with voiced warnings.
OXYGEN SUPPLY LOW
Swimming slowly to the surface of consciousness and reality, the figure began to stir more abruptly. The lights continued, their blazing brilliance going unnoticed by the ships single occupant.
HYPER-DRIVE DAMAGED
DANGER
Finally regaining their full mental faculties, the robed figure stood up, its robes rippling with the movement. Reaching out towards the control panels, it began to type quickly, punching in various commands into the main computer.
PERSONEL IDENT NOT CONFIRMED
"Shit" the figure mumbled, the deep rumble undoubtedly male. He typed in another passage, his fingers moving furiously over the keyboard.
EMRGENCY OVERRIDE ACCEPTED
Breathing a sigh of relief, he went back to typing.
STATUS REPORT: HYPERDRIVE HAS BEEN IRREVERSIBLY DAMAGED. HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED IN NUMEROUS SECTIONS. EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN HAS TAKEN EFFECT. FIRES IN THE CORE. ASTRONAVIGATION CHARTS UNAVAILABLE
"Damn." The figure swore again. He resumed typing, hoping that at least some of the functions of the ship were still operational.
MAIN ENGINE NEARLY DEAD, ESTIMATED RUN TIME 5 MINUTES 30 SECONDS
Upon gathering the available information, the figure seemed to lapse into himself, going quiet as if in a trance. Seconds later however, his craft was suddenly jostled as if it had been hit, nearly throwing the occupant to the ground. Regaining his balance, he once again typed a command into the computer.
THIS CRAFT HAS BEEN CAUGHT IN THE GRAVITY WELL OF A NEARBY PLANET. PLANET IS SHOWN TO POSSESS AN S-3 ATMOSPHERE AND IS DEEMED HABITABLE. ESTIMATED TIME TO LANDING 10 MINUTES 45 SECONDS.
After this final message, the computer sputtered before the screen went dead, the last of the backup power giving out as the ship began to change course, dragged towards the large blue green sphere floating in the black sea of space.
The robed figure merely sat back, allowing himself to fall once again into a meditative trance as his ship was dragged unerringly towards the planet before him. There was little point in worrying about it now.
He simply sat and waited…
The moon hung bright and full in the sky. It was a rather warm summer night, the temperature was pleasantly warm without being uncomfortably hot, and there was a cool breeze in the air. The breeze felt good, especially to the old man standing at the balcony of his tower, his gaze cast out across the vast cityscape before him.
Sarutobi considered it for a moment, his old mouth splitting into a small rueful smile as his mind wandered into past memories, as they seemed to often these days. Faces of old friends, comrades, and even enemies sprang up into his mind, phantoms of his younger days. Taking a moment to remove his pipe from his mouth, he blew out a thin stream of smoke, which was quickly teased into nothingness by the slight summer breeze. The sounds of the day's construction had ceased a few hours ago, and by this time the village was beginning to look normal again.
Like it had five years ago. Before the Nine-Tails came.
Another flash of memories came, these far less pleasant than those he had currently been mulling over. He remembered still the screams of the dying, the terror. He recalled the horrible, yet terrifyingly majestic form of the great demon as it stood over the village, its great body dwarfing everything, its tails thrashing about, sundering buildings and mountains alike.
He remembered the fourth, the Yondaime. That had been one of his greatest regrets, one whose legacy haunted him still. He lived daily with the guilt, remembering how he had argued that it should have been him to confront the demon. He was old; it was his responsibility to sacrifice what was left of his life for the sake of the village and the people that he had loved so much. But, ultimately, the fourth had gone, arguably one of the greatest ninjas that Konoha had ever produced, dying an old mans death.
Sarutobi sighed deeply, breathing out another lungful of smoke. It was not only that which left him feeling so regretful, it was the aftermath as well, or more specifically the fourth Hokage's legacy. He had failed in that too and now he had to watch daily as his failure tormented the legacy that their greatest ninja had left behind.
"So many regrets, so many failures…" He mumbled to himself, voicing his own self-recriminations idly to the wind. He got no answer of course, nor was he expecting any.
Looking back out to the skyline, he noted with some interest as a small, bright streak made its way down from the heavens before vanishing into the night. He watched it with interest, an odd feeling going down his spine as he did so.
On the other side of town, in a small rundown makeshift building, a young boy sat upon ragged sheets as he stared out the window into the night. A warm breeze floated in through the open window.
Running his hand through his porcupine mop of shaggy blond hair, the young boy turned away from the window sullenly, once again nursing the sizeable bruise that decorated his left cheek, a souvenir of yet another day in his miserable hated life. He cast an almost withering look around the small room, noting each of the other young boys and girls as they slept in their beds. He knew that when tomorrow came, it would bring with it once again the jeers, the names, the pranks, followed by the fights and the beatings. Today had been worse, when he had managed to fight off several of the boys, only to have the caretakers rush out and dispense 'justice' upon him for striking out at the other kids. They never seemed to mind when he was beat up on, they would even watch, their faces twisted into sneers as they looked down on him. Just as everyone seemed to look down on him.
A flash of movement caught his eye and he glanced out the window again in time to catch a streak of light from a shooting star. As it shot down, Naruto made a promise to himself, hoping that those old myths about shooting stars were really true. When it disappeared Naruto jumped out of bed, his feet hitting the wooden floor silently. He couldn't sleep tonight anyway, he felt anxious for some reason…
As if something major was going to happen tonight.
The craft streaked through the atmosphere, its advanced heat shields easily allowing it to enter without any risk of burning up. The figure continued to sit calmly, forcing his body to remain loose and limp in preparation for the coming landing. Extending his senses outward, a mental picture formed in his mind, depicting a vast forest of trees. There was also a lake nearby, deep enough that it would not only cushion his landing, but also provide adequate cover for the wreckage. Reaching out, he concentrated on the craft as it shot towards the ground, subtly directing its trajectory towards the lake.
Satisfied that he had changed his course enough, he sat back, bracing himself for the inevitable impact.
The water of the lake exploded as the craft plunged into it, sending water hundreds of feet up in the air. He had done what he could to slow the craft enough to limit the shock as well as the explosion, and it was in the middle of the night as well, so the darkness would also help to provide cover, and he hoped that he had not drawn undue attention. Regardless, he was unfamiliar with this world, and its unusually powerful connection to the Force was another thing to consider. Even if the natives of this world were unaware of how to use the force consciously, the Force's powerful presence alone could manifest itself in other ways.
Reaching out with his senses, he found himself faced with the dilemma of making his way out of his craft and to the surface, and he had no idea just exactly how far up the surface of the water was.
Gathering his robes about himself, he braced his body before hitting the emergency switch which would open the hatch. Water immediately rushed in, its temperature quite warm, almost hot as the super heated metal of the ship began to heat the water all around it. He would have to make his way to the surface and out of the lake fast before the water heated to the boiling point. Allowing the water to rush in long enough to eliminate the initial pressure, he swam up out of the hatch, making his way towards the faint light which glittered at the surface.
After about a minute of swimming, he broke the surface, making his way quickly to the shore line. The water was steaming, and there were areas where it was already bubbling. Crawling up the dirt shoreline, he extended his senses all around him even as he began to wring out his water soaked robes.
'Good, it does not feel as if my landing has been noticed by any intelligent beings. I should depart quickly however. I will have to return and attempt to salvage my ship later' He thought to himself. He just hoped that nobody would come along before the water in the lake had a chance to cool down. He did not want any potentially aggressive beings locating it before he had a chance to remove some of his more important possessions. His craft had not hit solid earth, so there was no real trail leading into the lake.
His initial scan of the planet when he broke the atmosphere indicated that there was a large city about 50 miles away from his current crash site. It was as good a place as any to head, and hopefully he would be able to find what he needed to begin making repairs upon his ship.
Pulling his soaking hood back down over his face, his wet robes flopping about his ankles, he proceeded to walk through the dense forest.
He neared the gates of a massive wall about two hours later. They were gigantic, looming above him about a good 100 feet up.
And they were made of plain stone.
This certainly did not bode well for this planets technology level. Ordinary stone walls were completely useless against pretty much all forms of standard weaponry used in Republic space, and it would certainly not be able to stand up to the more destructive weapons. This wall served a far more primitive and basic purpose. He let out a sigh.
No, this definitely did not look good at all.
"HEY!"
A voice caught his attention. A man glanced down at him from the top of the wall, speaking in some unknown language. Given the tone of voice however, he could easily guess what was being said. Extending his senses, he allowed the Force to flow around him, and the language he was hearing suddenly began to make sense.
"I am not here for any trouble" He began calmly, knowing that the force was working around him, allowing his words to be understood by the guard at the wall despite the lingual differences "I merely wish to be allowed in so that I might find food and shelter for the night."
"I am afraid that we don't just let anyone into Konoha at this time of night, certainly not a stranger like yourself" The man stated. He felt his irritation well up inside of him, and he had to fight against his better judgment and refrain from simply crushing the man outright. Subtlety was the key here, he still had no idea as to the defenses and power of the warriors inside the city, and until he had gauged them properly it was unwise to engage them openly. Taking a deep, calming breath he tapped into the Force.
"You will open this gate now" he said calmly, allowing the Force to flow through his words, their inflection carrying a powerful compulsion. The Force entered the guards mind as if it had been carried upon his words directly into his brain.
"I… will open the gate… now" The guard said dully, his eyes glazing slightly. A few moments later the gates began to open and the figure swept through them into the city. Once in, he again extended his senses, feeling his environment through the Force, allowing him to acquire a basic idea of the cities layout. It was an impressively large city, shaped like a half wheel centered upon the gigantic mountain with four heads carved skillfully into its surface.
As his senses extended outward, he became acutely aware of several presences in the city, like beacons of light standing out in a dark sea. Potential Force sensitives. None of them were controlled, so it was a good bet that this planet, or at least this city, had little to no knowledge of the Force. Interested in knowing more, he put a little more effort into his scan.
There were nine total; one of them was a very old man, probably in his late seventies to early eighties. The second was a younger man, probably early twenties. The third was female, also in her early twenties; she had considerable potential, though there was a strange taint in her aura. These three were of little consequence however, far too old to be trained properly. The last six were children, two of those children were about 7 years of age, and the last five were about five years old.
'Hmmm, my landing here might actually have been advantageous after all.' He thought, idly letting his mind wander the city, touching each of the youngest sensitives one by one.
The first candidate was a boy, with considerable potential, though his mind seemed… unbalanced somehow. There was potential there though, a possibility that he could likely explore at another time.
The next one was a young girl. She was normal enough, nothing particularly note worthy. Her potential in the Force was quite strong though, however it seemed to be latent. Something specific would be needed to bring that potential to the surface.
Another young boy. This one possessed a very impressive and calculating mind, though his inherent laziness would make training troublesome to say the least.
The third was another young girl. Her potential was about the same as the previous girl, although her mind's processes were rather unique, something he might have to research a bit later.
The last child, well the last child had a stronger connection than all the others combined, but at the same time he had considerably lower control than the others. He would be a difficult one to train, but potentially the most rewarding. Additionally his mental state was quite stable, though his emotional state was in nearly as much flux as the first boy. Not really an issue since a stable mind would help in controlling the more unstable emotions. There was also something else about him however; a second presence within him, like a lump of pure Dark Side energy lying dormant within.
"Interesting." He mouthed to himself, his words barely audible in the night air.
Focusing his senses upon the last boy, he could feel his presence not too far away, and proceeding closer to him. He could also feel the presence of several others nearby, and judging by the dark feelings they radiated towards the boy, their intentions were quite clear.
Smiling slightly, he quickened his pace. This situation would be the perfect opportunity to test the potential of his future apprentice.
Naruto cried out as he was thrown back roughly against the wall of a small alley. He had left the orphanage and had been walking the streets alone, strangely compelled as if he were expecting something, when a group of five boys, each of them roughly 10 years of age, assaulted him. They quickly herded him into an alley, where they had immediately begun to torment him, pushing him back and forth between them while laughing crudely. One boy in particular, obviously the leader, had decided to get more serious, and gave Naruto a strong backhand to the face, sending him against the wall.
Fighting to keep his tears down, Naruto glared back at them, his blue eyes sharp and cold as ice. A bit taken aback at his frigid glare, and perhaps a little embarrassed by his own nervousness, the older boy stopped laughing and began to lace into him viciously.
"How do you like that, huh! Stupid!" The boy crowed, his fist coming in again and again, beating at the smaller boys crumpled form. The other boys continued to laugh and jeer around him, their fingers pointing cruelly towards him.
Fear rose up in Naruto's gut. It was a familiar sensation, one that he experienced on a daily basis. And it was an emotion that brought with it another familiar feeling; Hate. Hatred against those who would hurt him, and hatred against the village who constantly looked down on him as if he were some sort of insect, and finally hatred at himself and his own weakness. At that thought, he felt his rage dissipate as it was replaced by cold despair. He was not strong, he couldn't even defend himself from the pain that was wrought on him every day of his life. No matter where he went and what he did, he was always hurt, or cast aside.
--Use those feelings.--
"Huh?" Naruto mumbled, surprised. Another flash of pain as a foot kicked him roughly in the side, but the pain seemed dulled as his attention was caught by the strange ghostly voice in his mind.
--I will help you. Use your feelings. Feel them flow within you.--
Though not consciously understanding the instructions, Naruto instinctively followed the advice. A sudden wave of sensation rippled through him. Startled, Naruto let it slip, and felt it ebb away.
--Do not be frightened. Feel the energy within you.--
Instinctively, not really knowing or even understanding what was going on, Naruto let that sensation build up again.
--Good. Now let it flow out and around you, then… Release!--
He did not know who the voice belonged to, but for some reason he trusted it. Not really understanding how he was doing it, he allowed the strange feeling to flow around him, and with some effort, he pushed it outward. The air around him seemed to ripple and distort before expanding outwards sharply, like a ripple in a pond.
Caught completely off guard, the older boy was thrown violently back, impacting heavily against the wall behind him with a sickening thud. He slumped limply to the ground.
The other boys, totally shocked by what they had seen, began to scream before their voices were cut off abruptly. Like puppets with their strings cut, they suddenly slumped to the ground as well.
To tired and hurt to even notice the odd phenomenon, Naruto stood up unsteadily and began to walk home in a daze, his young mind still attempting to process what had happened. One thing that stood out vividly in his mind however was that strange voice.
So caught up in his thoughts, Naruto failed to notice the dark figure standing a short distance away, his robe blowing lightly in the breeze as he watched him depart.
He smiled lightly as he witnessed the young boys' potential grasp of the Force. Like he had anticipated the boy had a great latent talent, one that he knew he could strengthen.
But he would have to proceed with caution. He would approach the boy tomorrow, and if things went well he would take him into his custody. From there, under his tutelage, he would train his new apprentice.
He chuckled to himself. His old master would be proud with his choice.
Looking back once more towards the boys retreating figure, he then glanced over at the boys lying slumped in the street. This was a loose end that would need to be cleaned up; otherwise it would draw too much attention to his presence in this city before he was ready.
Concentrating on them, he began manipulating the Force in their bodies, healing their wounds while at the same time erasing their memories of the past hour. They would come to in a few moments, confused but unharmed. Not the way he would have preferred to do things, but the most efficient.
Smiling with satisfaction, he turned on his heel and left them in the alley. There was a rather nice looking hotel he had passed a few blocks back, that would do for the night.
Naruto slumped into bed, utterly exhausted. His bruised body was already beginning to feel a bit better as his accelerated regeneration began to work. While he was uncertain as to why he healed so fast, he found himself very grateful that he did, as the beatings he took daily would otherwise mount up and become very painful.
Remembering the pain, he also remembered that strange voice in his head, the one that had urged him to 'use his feelings' as it put it. And when he had used it, he had felt something, something he could not identify.
It had made him feel powerful for the first time in his young life, and he wanted to feel it again.
Sarutobi shot upright in his bed as a strange premonition engulfed him. Getting out of bed, he walked over to his crystal ball which he kept constantly close by, quickly forming the seals that would activate the crystals divination ability. As soon as the seals were performed, an aerial image of Konoha appeared in the glass surface before quickly descending downwards into the streets.
The Third was not even sure what it was that he was looking for, only that, for a brief instant he had felt a power suspiciously similar to the Kyuubi, though it seemed further augmented by some other force. With this thought he concentrated on the image of the young boy.
"Thank the Kami." He sighed in relief as he found the boy in his bed, no sign of any weaknesses in his seal. After spending a few more moments to make certain that there was nothing else wrong with the boy, he continued to scan the city streets, ultimately finding nothing.
Still concerned, it took him a few moments before he was able to settle down, passing off these premonitions as the paranoia of an aging mind. Content that everything was as it should be, he once again went back to sleep.
He had felt the scan quickly enough to shield his presence before it detected him. Though hardly difficult to counter, he had to marvel at the capabilities of one who had no formal training in the Force. Had the old man been trained as such he might have been quite formidable, his precognizant abilities could possibly have matched that of his former teacher.
But that was not an issue, his current interest lie in that boy he had seen earlier.
Coming across the hotel he had spotted, it was a simple matter to arrange for a room for the night, the fact that he lacked a locally acceptable form a currency was inconsequential when he was able to 'convince' the managers to allow him to stay for free. Settling down for the night in his room, he assumed the customary meditative position, allowing his mind to touch the Force around him. As he did, he kept a discreet eye on his future ward all through the night.
The next morning seemed to come all too quickly for Naruto as he was, once again, awoken rather rudely by one of the other boys who had taken it upon himself to rouse him the most irritating manner. Picking himself off the floor where he had unceremoniously been thrown, Naruto cast a spiteful glare at him, noting with some satisfaction that the other boy seemed to shrink away slightly.
Quickly slipping on his black t-shirt, he left the orphanage as quickly as he could, just glad to escape the stifling confines of the small building. While being out on the street was no friendlier, there were still plenty of places where he could find a bit of peace and solitude.
It was not like he enjoyed being alone, but living day to day without any friends, everyone turning up their noses at him, being alone was certainly preferable.
The streets of Konoha were already bustling with activity when he made his way out into the streets. As per usual, as soon as he set foot out in the street the entire mood of everyone in the area seemed to change, as if the temperature suddenly dropped below freezing. People who were chatting amicably went quiet, their eyes tracking the small boy as he ran down the road. Mothers drew their children closely to them, glaring with undisguised loathing at him.
Every now and then, ominous whispers would make their way through the crowd:
"That's him isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's definitely him."
"Little monster."
"Why is he allowed to run around freely…?"
"You know the law…"
Naruto pointedly ignored all of this, having been putting up with such treatment for as long as he could remember. He had heard the whispers before, had seen the stares. He knew that he was not liked, that for some reason everyone hated him. And he would hate them back, after all what else could he do? He didn't know how to react to such feelings.
But it still hurt.
He was jarred from his thoughts as he was thrown roughly aside by a passerby. Not even bothering to look back they kept walking, muttering something under their breath. Forcing his feelings down, he glared at their back. Despite the defiant face however, his eyes began to moisten. He wiped at them as he got up and began to run, the whispers and glares seeming to burn into his back as he ran.
The figure watched the boy as he had left the orphanage, noting idly the villager's odd treatment of him, feeling the deep seeded anger and hate that they held towards him.
"Oh well, this will just make things easier in the long run."
Ignoring the gossiping whispers in regards to his own presence, he followed after the boy.
Naruto came to a small clearing after a few minutes of running. This was one of his favorite spots, a place where few people seemed to frequent. A single swing hung forlornly from one of the tree branches. He sat down upon it, leaning his small body against the rope as he looked longingly towards a building a short distance away.
The Shinobi Academy.
He had dreamed of one day going there. He knew that the shinobi held positions of great importance in the village, some of whom were known as great heroes and warriors. They were respected, liked, and acknowledged by the people of the village. He gave a deep sigh.
"Rough day I take it?"
Shooting off the swing abruptly as he was startled by his reverie, Naruto turned towards the source of the voice. A robed man was walking towards him, his steps relaxed and fluid, his robes flowing about his ankles lightly as he walked. His face was partially obscured by his hood, though the mouth was visible and turned upwards in a friendly smile.
He watched the stranger warily as he came and sat down on the grass just a short ways away, expecting some cold scathing remark or insult, or even a beating.
However, the man simply sat down, and, motioned for Naruto to resume his seat upon the swing. Naruto took his seat again, his blue eyes fixed warily on the stranger, who seemed unperturbed by his gaze.
"What do you want?" Naruto mumbled defensively.
The man simply smiled and said "You hate it don't you?"
Naruto blinked at the rather bold question. Something was nagging at him from the back of his mind. His eyes shot open as he recalled the events of last night, the voice in his head saying all those weird things. It was the same voice. Swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, he asked "W-what do you… mean?"
Though his eyes were obscured, Naruto somehow got the distinct impression that this man was somehow looking right through him. "Your life. You hate it, you're tired of it." He shifted his gaze out towards the village, "I can't say I blame you."
"Why do you want to know!" He challenged. His tone was lighter than his initial question, betraying a small degree of hope.
The man merely shrugged "I was just curious. It does not seem that you are well liked around this town, that's all."
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?" He shouted. Seemingly friendly or not, he was not in the mood to be made fun of today.
Raising his hands in a placating gesture, he responded "True enough I suppose." He chuckled lightly. It was not a derisive chuckle, but rather one that seemed almost understanding, as if he were sharing some private joke with him.
"What do you want? If you're just trying to make fun of me then…."
"I am not trying to make fun of you."
"THEN WHAT DO YOU WANT!"
The man put a gloved finger to his lips, as if he were considering something before turning to him, "To make a proposition of sorts."
Naruto blinked again.
"What's a prop… propa…" He stuttered, stumbling clumsily over the unfamiliar word.
"Proposition?" The man supplied helpfully, "it's an offer. I wish to offer you something."
"…Oh."
"What if I offered you chance to become something and someone that everybody around you acknowledged and respected?" The man asked quietly.
That got Naruto's attention. His anger quickly forgotten, he looked at the stranger with inquisitive eyes. Still this was a complete stranger, and while most people probably would not lose any sleep if anything were to happen to him, basic survival instincts still came into play.
"…I don't know…"
"What do you have to lose?" The man shrugged. "Do you want to spend the rest of your life being hated and despised? Do you want to live the rest of your life weak? Or would you rather make something of yourself? I can teach you how, but it will require trust."
"Make what of myself? What do you mean?"
"You have a power within you, a power that is dormant. I could help you to awaken that power, teach you how to wield it. I could give you the means to shape your own life, forge your own fate. Now tell me, does that interest you?"
"What kind of power?" Naruto asked quietly.
He smiled lightly at the young boy. Apparently a demonstration was in order. Glancing around to make certain that there were no unwanted onlookers, he called upon the Force.
Naruto gasped in shock and awe as he was suddenly lifted off the swing, floating about in mid air. His short legs kicked futilely in the air. After a few moments he was gently set down again.
"THAT WAS AWSOME!"
The man simply nodded his head.
"What was that? I can do that!" Naruto chattered excitedly, his wariness completely dispelled by the surge of excitement that had risen up inside of him.
"That is just a fraction of what I can do. I will teach you more, though for both our sakes I would suggest that you come to live with me. There I can teach you the ways of the Force."
The young boy tilted his head inquisitively, "The Force."
Shaking his head as he rose to his feet, he extended his hand to Naruto. Hesitating for only a moment, Naruto then accepted the hand gladly.
"That is an explanation that will have to wait. I will come to pick you up at the orphanage by this time tomorrow. Your training will begin then."
Overcome with a sudden surge of excitement and happiness, little Naruto lept off the swing, running over and grasping at the hem of the mans robes.
"Ne, ne mister, what's your name?" Naruto chirped excitedly. This was like a dream come true. He had finally met someone who did not seem to hate him, and he was even going to be adopted. Not to mention that he would be taught this 'Force' thingy.
"Xander Dace."
"That's a funny name, Xander-san."
Xander chuckled "It works for me."
Letting go of his hold and grinning widely at him, Naruto took off down the path, an extra spring in his step.
Xander watched him go, his smile twisting into a smirk.
"That went quite well…" He whispered into the wind.
"Quite well indeed…"
First item on his to-do list was to learn the native language. Speaking through the Force was all well and good, but unnecessarily draining. Taking a few moments before leaving town, Xander located a single wandering villager, and after some 'persuasion' led them down an alley way where he could work without interference.
Tapping into a sentient beings mind was child's play, especially against those who were untrained. It took only a few moments to fully extract and absorb the language into his mind, though the process was, per usual, a rather uncomfortable one. Fully absorbing the intricacies of an entire language in the space of a few minutes could cause quite a headache. With that little errand taken care of, he left the drooling vegetable of a man slumped in the alleyway.
Next on the to-do list: housing. Living within the village walls was out, too many people around to witness the training that he would put young Naruto through. There were numerous places out in the vast woodlands between here and his crash site that would make ideal locations, each bearing a strong resonance with the Force. One place in particular had strong ties, probably a crystal cave, which was perfect.
Leaving the village had not been very difficult. While he supposed that the village's defenses were formidable against their common foes, they had no way of defending against his powers. Bending the light around himself, he walked through the open gates out into the wilderness unnoticed. With his new apprentice nearly secured, Xander felt that it was time to make his way back to the remnants of his craft to salvage what he could. There was a rather large collection of Hollocrons still on board, hopefully most of them had remained functional. He would also have to spend the night constructing a suitable home for the both of them. After all, it appeared that he would be here for a while.
The next day could not come soon enough for Naruto. Yesterday had been probably the single happiest day in his life. He went through the rest of the day utterly blissful, completely ignoring the usual attitude of the villagers. He didn't have to care about what they thought anymore.
He was going to be adopted.
Needless to say he didn't sleep well that night. He lay awake, staring out the window, wishing that tomorrow would come soon, and hoping that this was not a dream.
"It's time."
Xander made his way through town at a leisurely pace, ignoring the stares that he was getting. He knew perfectly well that he stood out, his robes a far cry from the average dress of the common citizenry. It was not the garb of one of these 'shinobi' either, one of those strange warriors who protected the city. He would have to do some study on them to see what they were capable of.
He reached the orphanage at around noon. Walking in, he greeted the woman at the front desk brusquely.
"OH! Welcome, welcome!" she crowed, her rather wrinkled face crinkling with a smile. She seemed kind enough, obviously happy that some one had come looking to adopt a child.
"Are you here to adopt?" She asked hopefully.
"Yes, actually I…"
"Wonderful! I will call out the children right away and…"
"Actually that won't be necessary. There is a particular child here that I had in mind." He said quickly. He really did not want to cause a large scene with this.
"Oh…" The request obviously took the poor woman by surprise. It was not very often that someone came in looking for a particular child. "And who is the lucky child?"
"The young blond haired boy, Naruto I believe."
No sooner had the name left his mouth, the woman's expression darkened noticeably. "Oh… that one" she deadpanned. Recovering, she forced a smile on her face and leaned in towards him over the counter, "I would highly suggest you chose a different child to adopt. That one is nothing but trouble, amongst other things." She whispered, as if sharing some big secret.
Xanders face remained impassive "Regardless, that is who I am here for."
The woman's smile, if anything, became more pronounced, a sheen of sweat breaking out on her forehead "Really sir, I really must recommend you choose another child. There are many children here who are much more worthy of a new home and…"
This was getting very old very quickly. What ever secret this boy possessed was certainly a guarded one, but to be guarded to such a ridiculous degree. It didn't matter however, and frankly he had better things he could be doing than arguing with this leather faced old woman all day. He reached out with the Force.
"You will bring the boy out now." He said calmly.
Predictably, the woman nodded her ascent, repeating his instructions dully. She turned and left the room briefly before coming back, leading an ecstatic Naruto into the room.
"Ok here he is." She grumbled, shoving him roughly forward. Ignoring the boys glare, she reached around her desk, fishing out a small stack of papers. Bringing them out she slapped them down on the counter, not even bothering to hide her scowl.
"You will need to sign these."
'Oh for the love of… I don't have time for this' "I don't need to sign anything" He stated, waving his hand slightly to reinforce the suggestion.
"Oh, you don't need to sign anything after all. Good day." She repeated.
With Naruto clinging to the sleeves of his robe, he made his way out of the orphanage, walking quickly towards the city gates.
'What a pain in the ass.' He thought to himself. His mind then wandered towards the small boy he had just taken in.
'What secrets do you hide I wonder… Well there will be plenty of time to find out for myself.'
"So where are we going Xander-san?" Naruto asked brightly.
He shrugged, "I have a small home out in the forest. It should provide us with a good amount of privacy, which is essential for proper training. But we are still close enough to the village so that we may come and collect any supplies that we might need while we are here."
"Oh…" Naruto said. He looked disappointed that they were not going further.
Xander smiled at him, easily reading his emotions. The location was chosen for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was its strong connection to the Force. There were other reasons as well, but none that the boy had to know about just yet.
"Don't worry. For the first few years of your training I doubt you will have much interaction with this village at all. So don't worry about it."
"OK!" That seemed to cheer him up.
They remained silent for the rest of their trip, slowing only momentarily to slip past the guards at the gate before they made their way out into the vast wilderness.
"Damnit, what is going on!"
Sarutobi had been trying all morning to get a lock on Naruto. Something in his gut was telling him that something had happened, or that something would happen, but when he had gone to look, all he got was static.
Apparently something had already happened.
This was not some freak occurrence. His crystal ball did not simply go on the fritz like some beat up old television set. Only other Kage had the kind of power required to block his crystal ball, and the fact that it was being blocked now, when Naruto was the target, set the old man on edge.
A million possibilities ran through his mind all at once, almost all of them bad.
'I will have to have the ANBU search for him. The demon fox the boy carries is something far too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands.
COMING NEXT: Chapter 2: Training and Meetings.
Naruto begins his training under the mysterious Xander Dace. He will come to know the ways of the Force and his own abilities, and get a better look at the abilities of his teacher. And a curious Xander makes contact with a certain Nine-Tails demon fox.
AN: How was it? Interesting? As far as I know there is only one other Naruto/Star Wars x-over that I have seen, so I hope this turns out to be pretty unique. This has been sitting, nearly complete, on my hardrive for nearly a year now. I figured that, what the hey, I'll go ahead and post this chapter and see what peoples reactions are.
Some Star Wars purists might find cause to reprimand me on how I perceive the Force, claiming that I am allowing the Force to be too powerful. That is not how I see it. Considering what the Force is, it is reasonable to assume that given that the user has the requisite power and control, the Force can do just about anything. Take one of the main bad guys from KOTOR II. He was able to destroy entire planets through the Force, and feed upon their life essences to feed his own hunger. That is pretty damn powerful if you ask me, and since he was capable of doing so, I am sure that the Force can do other amazing and frightening things as well. So this story will also involve my own exploration of the Force and its abilities.
Depicting Naruto at age five was rather difficult, mainly because I know that he was considerably different than he is when we first see him in the manga. I wanted to portray him as a rather quiet boy at this age, before he gets older and decides to force people to acknowledge him by being his usual loud obnoxious self.
All things considered though, it is rather odd that I am writing this. I am not particularly fond of any of the Star Wars movies, and most of the books are something of a bore for me as well. The KOTOR games however, those were a lot of fun. And I'll admit that the basic concept behind Star Wars was really neat as well, so I figured why the hell not?