DJexe: Alright! I think I'm ready for my first fanfic.
DJ: …. You think so? I kind of find it sad that you can't come up when a better name for your original character.
DJexe: I just wanted to have an OC with my nickname. Is that too much to ask for?
DJ: OK. So, what idea did you come up with? Maybe this is another typical bashing fic.
DJexe: Shut up! I just want to see how adding some things from Megaman Battlenetwork would work with the world of Naruto.
DJ: I will admit that I haven't seen fanfics that bring in cybeasts as tailed beasts.
DJexe: I know! For now, let's just go ahead and get this show on the road.
Disclaimers: I do not own anything from the Megaman and Naruto franchise, only thing I'll claim is my original character DJ.
Trials of the Wolf and Fox
Chapter 1: A New Home?
"Execute him!" That was the majority of responses given from the civilian council. It was just another day for Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, as he was listening to what the shinobi and civilian council had to say about this 'problem'. Said problem was a young boy no younger than three who was accompanying the representative from Kumo two days ago. The boy was nothing more than a scapegoat to use for a covert mission to attain the Byakugan. A ninja was found attempting to abduct the Hyuga heiress Hinata. It ended in failure with the representative dead and Kumo demanding payment in the form of the clan head Hiashi Hyuga's body. What they got instead was his brother Hizashi and that plan was also foiled.
"Has there been anything from Kumo regarding the boy?" Hiruzen calmly asked the council.
"From the letter we received from them, they have stated that they have no use for him, deeming him a failure." said Homura Mitokado, one of the elder councilors of the Hokage.
"How can they deem this child a 'failure'? It doesn't look like he can really do anything." asked Koharu Utatane, another elder councilor.
"Perhaps we should give the boy a thorough examination to see what capabilities he has." suggested Danzo Shimura, the last elder councilor.
*Bam* "We will not turn this child into a weapon at such a young age!" Hiruzen exclaimed.
"What about Itachi and Kakashi? Both were just five years old when they became genin." said Danzo trying to push the issue.
"Both of them had help from fellow clan members and we were at war Danzo." explained Hiruzen closing the issue for now.
As much as the Sandaime wanted this to end, he couldn't make a decision about him. He knew that Danzo would want to recruit the boy into Root. Root was another form of the military run by Danzo himself. Root operatives handle jobs and missions that would be considered 'cloak and dagger' and are performed swiftly and quietly. Hiruzen didn't approve of the training method of theirs, but he had to begrudgingly admit that they could get it done.
"At this time, I would like the civilian council to be dismissed from this meeting."
"Wait a minute! Why are we leaving? Doesn't our input matter at all about the enemy?" one of the civilian members yelled frantically.
"No, this matter will be settled with just the shinobi and elder council members. The boy can't be considered an enemy if he has done no wrong. You are dismissed." the Sandaime said with finality.
Soon the civilian council vacated the building; Hiruzen focused on what the others had to say about the boy. If he had to guess, he had a feeling that Hiashi would want the boy dead for the attempted abduction of his daughter. Hopefully the other clan heads would give a better option.
"Troublesome. How about we just send him off to the orphanage like the others?" Shikaku lazily asked.
"It doesn't matter at all to me. Having one Kumo brat will not make a difference to our village." Fugaku haughtily replied.
"Of course you would think so. Saying the Uchiha clan is the royalty of the village." Hiashi snapped.
"Is there any way the pup can be taken in by any of the clans?" Tsume, the Inuzuka head, curiously asked.
"Do you think he has some potential to be great? Or are you just trying to be nice?" Inoichi Yamanaka questioned intently.
"Does it really matter if one of us has an interest in the kid? That looks like he's just some ordinary boy from Kumo?" asked Choza Akamichi.
"What do you have to say Hiashi? And be honest with me on this." Hiruzen finally asked after listening to most of the clan head's words.
Hiruzen had a feeling about what Hiashi might want to do with the boy. Either he would outright call for execution for the death of his brother. Or he could have the boy trained and use him as a means to an end against Kumo. Personally, he hoped that the boy would be left alone to his own fate with just some small backing from himself. Being a civilian from another village and suddenly having to adjust to another one is a big change in someone's life. Even if said someone was a child.
"I know what you're thinking, Hokage-sama, and I have nothing to say about him. As much as I don't want to say this but the boy is just a victim in this as much as I am. I will not ruin his life for something that isn't his fault. What would I really get out of using him for personal or selfish gains?"
At this point, Hiruzen could relax knowing the boy wouldn't be used for anything malicious. "Does anyone else have something to say about him?" No one had spoken up so the answer to their problem was made. It would seem that the only option for the boy was the orphanage until he got adopted or something. If he didn't get adopted, then he would be given a place to stay. The only other thing he was worried about was how the villagers and shinobi would react and treat him. After the Byakugan incident, the tension between Konoha and Kumo would be at an all time high. He was hoping that the people wouldn't do anything stupid, but that would go against human nature.
"The final decision will be that the boy will reside in the orphanage until further notice. Is this acceptable?" The Sandaime asked, hoping to be done with this meeting. The clan heads and elder had pretty much nothing else to say "Very well. This meeting is now adjourned."
As everyone was leaving the room, only two individuals remained. Hiruzen and Danzo were staring at each other, waiting for the only to say their piece.
"What are you up to Danzo? There has to be some reason you wanted him. What could you hope to gain to training one boy?" Hiruzen asked, breaking the silence.
"You should have given him to me Hiruzen. Think of the possibilities of having a trained and loyal shinobi from Kumo. After thoroughly training the boy from scratch, we could send him back to Kumo to be our spy. No one would suspect a thing. You already know that we are the strongest out of the other villages and Kumo is right behind us. This could be our only shot to crippling Kumo and showing the others not to mess with us!" Danzo bellowed in anger.
'I had a feeling he was thinking about doing something like this' Hiruzen thought solemnly. It was the same procedure as always: Find, exploit, cripple and destroy. Even if he didn't know, Danzo had spies everywhere in the Elemental Nations from the big five to smaller villages for information. He assumed that with having a shinobi spy from Kumo in said village, information gathering or assassination missions could be easier to implement.
"This matter is no longer up for discussion!" shouted Hiruzen, tired of his old comrade's plans. "Be grateful that I only 'officially' disbanded Root and not actually dismantled it. I do not need any more than what you have done and thank you for that."
"Very well, but mark my words Hiruzen. You are getting soft in your old age and it is only a matter of time before one of your decisions come back and bites you." said Danzo while leaving the room.
"I understand, old friend." The Sandaime mumbled to himself. With the conversation over, he made his way back to his office to finish any work that might have piled up during the meeting. 'I wonder how he is doing right now. I can only imagine what he can do to occupy his time.' He pondered.
Upon opening the door to his office, he was surprised to find the young boy that the meeting was about looking through his books on the shelf. He had dark skin with spiky silver hair that looked unkempt and couldn't be brushed down. His attire consisted of a black shirt with a white star insignia on the front that fitted tightly around his chest. He wore white shorts that came to his shins and black sandals.
Hiruzen smiled at the boy who was reading his books. He was amused at the fact that the boy was trying to read any book that he could understand. He cleared his throat so he could the boy's attention.
"Hello there." He greeted cheerfully hoping to start up a conversation with him."Have you found any books that interest you? I hope you weren't put off by the variety of books I have." He said waiting for the boy's response.
"No sir. I found some funny and weird books while you were away." The boy said rocking back and forth on his feet. He had a small cheeky smile across his face and his hands were behind his back.
"Oh? Can I see which books you have chosen to look at?" Hiruzen asked curiously.
He face faulted when the boy pulled out a familiar orange book with the title Icha Icha Paradise. He was wondering how the boy found his edition of that book. He could already hear the snickering of the Anbu in the room. He quickly snatched the book away from the boy and put it in his robe for safekeeping. He didn't need a young boy being corrupted so early in his life and the book was dangerous…. very dangerous to the untrained eye.
"What wrong with that book sir? Is it bad or something?" The boy asked hoping to understand the problem.
"Uh…. before I answer that question, can I have your name? If feels wrong not knowing your name. My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha."
"You want my name? Just call me DJ, Hokage-sama." He said with big grin on his face.
"Nice to meet you DJ. That particular book you found is intended for an older audience to read. I can't let you read something like that." Hiruzen said trying to keep a straight face while explaining.
"…..ok. So, what's going to happen to me now Hokage-sama? Is there a place for me to stay or what?" DJ asked.
"I'm afraid you are going to have to go to the orphanage until further notice. There might be a chance that you could get adopted by someone. How does that sound?"
"I don't know, Hokage-sama. Will I be able to make any friends there? I'm kind of nervous about meeting new people at times. I am going to be liked by the others?" DJ quietly asked.
Hiruzen already knew how DJ was feeling right now. How could a three year old kid from one village integrate himself into another? It seemed possible, but the reactions of the villagers will have a big impact on whether it will work or not.
"Well DJ, we'll cross that road when we get there. For now, let me give you a tour of the village. Is there any place specific you want know about?"
"Um… I guess I want to know where the library is located. I also was wondering if there's a restaurant with seafood dishes."
Hiruzen wasn't surprised about the library part. It warmed his heart knowing that a child so young wanted to be knowledgeable. Most kids at this time would focus just playing or … oh, making friends. Maybe this might be an issue in of itself. It all comes back to if he's accepted. The only thing he could do is believe in the people and see what happens in the end. While they were leaving the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen noticed DJ messing with something under his chest.
"DJ, is there something wrong? It looks like you're scratching a certain area on your chest."
"Just-a-mark-that's-all." He said, trying to avoid the subject. Hopefully the Hokage won't try to get him to budge.
"Do you want me to take you to the hospital to check on it? It's not a problem with me at all. We can go there immediately if we need to?"
"No hospitals! Never again!" he shouted before slamming his hands over his mouth. He looked up to see that the Hokage had a sad look in his eyes. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that hospitals and I don't go well together. I don't want to talk about it ….yet." he mumbled loud enough for the Hokage to hear.
"Ok then. Can I at least see what it looks like?" Hiruzen asked. He didn't want to come on too strong and give him a reason to distrust him. Kids around this age seem to find reasons to dislike others in a small period of time.
Both of them stopped walking and look at each other for a moment or two. DJ looked him in the eyes for a while. Black met turquoise blue and with a sigh, DJ relented. He lifted up his shirt to see the Hokage the mark.
He raised an eyebrow in interest as saw an orange crest in the center of DJ's chest. It looked like a six pointed star that strangely could be touched. The lines that showed each point of the star was the only thing that felt sharp while the rest of crest was smooth to the touch. He was so intrigued with it, that he didn't notice someone calling him.
"Hey, Hokage-jiji! Did you forget what day it is today?" Someone shouted.
The two stopped what they were doing and turned around to find another young boy running towards them. He had tan skin with blue eyes. His face consisted of three whisker-like marks on each side of his cheeks. He wore a white shirt with a spiral leaf insignia on the middle of it that was a bit loose on him. He also wore dark blue pants that almost go to his ankles along with blue sandals.
"I'm sorry Naruto. I was just showing someone new around the village and I forgot what today was." Hiruzen said apologetically.
"Oh. Is this who you were talking about Jiji?" Naruto asked while pointing at DJ.
"Hmm…"
Both boys stepped up sizing each other up and down. They looked like they were getting ready for a showdown since they were circling around the Hokage.
"Um… what are you doing?"
"Not now Hokage-sama/Jiji." Both said simultaneously while having a staring contest.
This continued on until they stopped and finished off with a loud handshake with both wearing big smiles on their faces.
"I'm Naruto"
"Name's DJ"
"Want to go get some ramen?"
"That depends. Can I get seafood in the ramen?"
"That's all? Let's go!"
Hiruzen watched this scene with a fond smile. It seems that the friend issue has gotten a little easier to handle. Naruto could make friends easier than most people when they just sit down and talk. Hopefully, Naruto's enthusiasm with talking to people will rub off on DJ. Before either of them could start running, he cleared his throat to get their attention on him.
"Since you both seem so eager to go eat, why don't we all head over there?"
"Ok! I'm game. Lead the way, Naruto."
"Right! Next stop Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto exclaimed.
As the trio started walking toward Ichiraku's, DJ started to notice that some of the people we giving Naruto and him dirty looks. Actually, it was more Naruto than him but they were all glares of hatred all the same. Hiruzen also noticed the looks and sighed quietly without alerting the boys. He expected glares on Naruto since they though he was the Kyuubi reincarnated, but not DJ. It would seem that news and rumors travel fast around the village. He thought the news wouldn't hit the village until tomorrow, but that was quickly put to an end. Naruto was taking the looks in stride while DJ was a little unnerved by them but kept walking on.
When they arrived, DJ noticed that Ichiraku was just a small restaurant. It looked like it could only fit seven to eight people to fill the restaurant. In the back, he saw only two people working in the kitchen. One was a man who looks to be in his forties. He wore a white chef outfit with a small white hat on. The other was young woman who was looks to be in her late teens. She wore the same outfit except she had on a white bandana over her brown hair.
"Hey Teuchi-jiji! Your favorite customer is here!" yelled Naruto upon entering.
"Welcome back Naruto, Hokage-sama, and….hello there. Might I ask who this is?" Teuchi asked kindly.
"This is DJ. I just met him today and we came here for a bite. I'll take three bowls of pork ramen. What are you getting, Jiji and DJ?"
"I'll have a bowl of miso ramen Teuchi." Hiruzen said.
"Um... I'll have two bowls of shrimp ramen please. I'm pleased to meet you Teuchi sir." DJ said respectfully.
"Wow, what a formal greeting. No need for that DJ. Just Teuchi will be fine." he said before he started preparing the noodles.
"Nice to meet you, DJ. You seem like a nice person if you are with Naruto." The young women said.
"Thank you very much. I'm pleased to meet you, miss …" DJ said, waiting for a name.
"Oh! I'm sorry. My name is Ayame. No need for the miss." Ayame greeted.
While they were getting acquainted, Hiruzen was silently watching the interaction. Both Teuchi and Ayame don't seem to have a problem with DJ. His interaction with Naruto looks to have been enough for him to be accepted by them.
"So DJ, how did you come to staying in Konoha?" Ayame curiously inquired.
At that moment, everyone saw DJ wince when that question was asked. He looked down and started to explain his circumstances.
"I came here with the representative from Kumo two days ago. I was only here for appearance sake while they tried to get the Byakugan. It failed and Kumo abandoned me. Now I'm here in my new home… hopefully."
"What do you mean by 'hopefully' DJ?" Naruto asked.
"It's because since Konoha and Kumo don't get along and I'm from said village, the people aren't really going to tolerate my presence here." DJ murmured.
*Bam* Naruto slammed his fist on the counter shocking everyone.
"That's stupid! If no one else will acknowledge you, then it will just be us that will!" he yelled.
"…" DJ was speechless after Naruto's proclamation. He looked around and saw everyone around him give him a nod of acceptance. "T-thank you. Thank you very much!" DJ cried while wiping some tears away.
"Ok! To commemorate DJ's first time here as well as his acceptance with us all, the ramen will be on the house!" Teuchi announced while bring over each order.
"Itadakimasu!" all three chorused before digging into their meals.
While everyone was eating their respective meals, DJ began to ponder about what his will be like now. For now, he would have to stay at the orphanage until he got adopted (which he highly doubted) or until the Hokage came up with an alternate solution. His thoughts turned to Naruto who was wolfing down his food like he hadn't eaten in days. He had this aura that could pull people toward him one way or another. The only question DJ really had was: Where will my life in Konoha take me now?
OK, first chapter complete. I'm a little nervous about writing, but if you guys can work with me I'll work with you. To anyone who's wondering, DJ is male. He is based on a character I created from Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology. I have an idea on how the second character will start, so it will probably be out in a week or less.
This has been DJexe and I'm jacking out. (I swear please no sexual innuendos)