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A Sage's Story	By : yolotengo Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1517 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series or any of it's characters and do not make any profit from my writing.

Chapter List
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Peace in mind and body to be at one with nature. That is the first step to becoming a Sage.
A teenage boy, age sixteen, with windswept blond hair sat alone near a small pond with only the frogs, insects, and fish for company. It was the next step in his training and one that had become increasingly frustrating; despite his best efforts he could not hear the wisdom of the amphibians around him, only their croaks.
It had been like that for several months, every time Naruto meditated, he could feel nature’s energy moving around and through him, he was connecting to the undying life of the land but no matter how hard he tried, he only heard animal cries.
Focus on what is now; the future and past will only cloud your mind.
Bright summer sunlight filtered through the canopy and made his hair and monastic robe glow with vibrant colors as the young man sat comfortably on a mossy rock with his legs folded and his hands resting comfortably on his knees, palms up to accept the wisdom of the animals. If things worked like they should, he would have seen an Overseer by now and be able to do simple things. Instead he slept restlessly with visions of an odd fox plaguing his dreams, it was maddening.
He opened his crystal clear blue eyes a crack and spotted a green frog sitting peacefully on a leaf, it was brightly colored like a poisonous frog with big red eyes and blue toes. Maybe if he cheated just a little bit and focused on a frog he could see instead of on all the frogs that might be around him.
The frog turned its head and looked at the tanned young man who was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and attracting the most appetizing insects and croaked curiously before leaping onto another leaf and out of sight.
“Oh come on!”
“Don’t get frustrated so quickly Naruto. You’re still learning after all.” Jiraiya sat comfortably on a nearby rock in the same position as his son, taking the boy’s training as an excuse to do his own daily meditation. He didn’t even flinch as a flock of birds hastily flew out of the surrounding trees in fear from Naruto’s sudden outburst. “You should take a break, cool off under a waterfall; it’ll help clear your head.”
“Why is this taking so long? Dad, when you were my age you already had frogs telling you about the weather. I can’t even hear them mumbling.” Naruto stood up and stretched his legs, he’d been sitting so long that they’d gone from feeling tingly to having no feeling at all and he was sure that walking in a straight line was going to be a challenge all the way to the little waterfall.
He trudged up the dirt trail to the sacred waterfall, it was said that if you cleansed your mind and body in its waters that you would be able to see the purest truth about yourself. Its waters were crystal clear and very cold which was perfect for that time of year.
He stripped off the triple robe all aspiring young Sages were required to wear and stepped into the cool water. He ran his fingers through his hair, letting the water wash over his scalp and let it soothingly roll down his back. The sun played off his toned body and the blond shivered pleasantly, his lean muscles contracted from the cold. If only life were always this refreshing, he could probably stand not being able to--
Something splashed and the blond opened his eyes to see the fox from his dreams sitting by the riverbank with one paw in the air. It was just sitting there like it belonged there with its two tails resting comfortably curled near its rump and licking its red fur just like it had in his dreams. Its golden brown eyes watched him peacefully and Naruto stood there speechless, he hadn’t thought that any real fox had more than one tail.
The two looked at each other for a moment before the fox trotted down the path Naruto had climbed less than a minute before and the blond rushed out of the sunlit pond. It couldn’t have been a coincidence; foxes didn’t live in that part of the forest. He ran down the trail while pulling his robes on and the fox stayed just out of sight, all he could really see was the white tip of its tails bouncing down the next bend.
Halfway to the small clearing where the Toad Sage was probably still meditating, Naruto lost sight of the fox completely. Its footprints disappeared in a rocky patch of ground and no matter how hard Naruto looked he couldn’t find any new tracks or patches of fur to tell him where his dream fox had gone. Unless it had bolted off the trail through some thorny shrubs and down to the temple which meant there was a good chance someone had seen it.
Jiraiya opened one eye as he felt the energy of the blonde returning and raised an eyebrow curiously. “Back so soon? I figured you’d at least need a bit more time to calm down.”
Naruto glanced around the small clearing for any sign of the fox and did his best to hide his disappointment. Ever since the little red furred animal had disappeared the blond had wondered if he’d really seen anything, the waterfall was known to show you things so it was possible he had imagined the whole thing.
“Did you see anything run this way, like a fox or something fox like?” He regretted asking almost immediately but if anyone could figure visions out it was his father.
The older man’s other eye opened as well to join the first and a familiar unsettling feeling washed over him instantly; like an icy bucket of water. “A fox? Naruto… are you saying you saw something like that?”
Dread overtook his body. It was too soon… He couldn’t lose his boy yet…
“I don’t know if I even saw it, not for real. I was bathing under the waterfall and when I opened my eyes it was just sitting there licking itself. If you didn’t see it then maybe I imagined it, that waterfall is known for letting you see things on occasion right?” Naruto really wished he’d kept his mouth shut; his father looked like he had seen a ghost or something.
“Naruto, if you saw something, don’t take it back now; I can tell you’re trying to make me feel better but…” Jiraiya paused and sighed in defeat before gracefully standing and made his way down to his son. “I need you to tell me everything you can about this fox you saw. Have you seen it anywhere else?”
“In my dreams…” the blond couldn’t look at his father. When he was little he swore there were monsters hiding in the shadows of his room and more than once he had begged the Sage to stay with him to keep the nightmares away. Maybe this was just something he had to overcome to be a sage.
The white haired man knew there was more to it than that and he regarded the blonde with a careful eye. “Come on, Kiddo; you’re not telling me everything.”
“The fox in my dreams isn’t normal, it has two tails. Just like the one I saw by the waterfall.” The young man looked at his father quickly to see how his statement had been received. If foxes were rare to have nearby than one with one too many tails would seem impossible.
It was just as he thought. Jiraiya knew the day would come sooner or later and he was really hoping it would have been later. Heaving another sigh, the Sage placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and guided him toward their home in the temple. “You’ve done enough training for today… There’s something you need to know.”
Naruto felt his heart sink, so telling his father about the fox had been a bad idea. He should have kept it to himself and returned to his meditations instead of daydreaming about fanciful creatures. As bad as he felt about telling his father about a daydream, it didn’t compare to whatever it was that was coming next. The old Sage sounded so tired and a bit resigned when he said ‘something you need to know.’
His body kept moving but his mind was racing in circles as it chattered about what it should have done and what was going to happen. He took a breath and tried to still his thoughts and his heart, whatever would happen was going to happen, he didn’t need to obsess over it until he knew more.
Once Jiraiya had led the teen into the sitting area of the main house, he gestured for Naruto to sit down before he took a seat next to his son. “This is going to be hard to say… But it has to be done and I want you to realize that I will always love you, even if you don’t believe me after this…”
Not getting a response from the boy, the old Sage prepared himself as best as he could before placing a hand on the smaller shoulder once more. “Naruto, I’m not your real father…”
“W-what? You can’t be serious; of course you’re my father. You’ve always been there for me and you’ve taught me so much about being a man and about being a Sage. You have to be my father, there’s no other way.” Naruto shook his head and leaned back, this couldn’t be real, and it didn’t feel right. All his life he knew who his family was and Jiraiya, the greatest Toad Sage that ever lived was his real father. No one could make him think otherwise.
Jiraiya felt the lump in his throat form at those words but he held his emotions back. It wouldn’t do any good for either of them. “You have to believe me Naruto; your father’s name was Minato Namikaze. He was one of the five leaders of this nation and a very close friend. He asked me to be your Godfather just before you were born and I accepted… Only a year later, he was taken and his wife, your mother, was killed. As your Godfather, it was my obligation to take you in but of course I was more than happy to raise you as if you were my own. I’m just sorry you had to find out like this.”
Naruto stared at the man sitting next to him and shook his head, this was too much, and it was going too far. He knew as a kid that his mother was gone and he had wondered for a long time why she hadn’t come back before he understood what death was. Then he envied others for having mothers and his father, Jiraiya, had done everything in his power to make sure he was happy. Who was this Minato person that was supposed to be his father? No one in the village went by that name and there weren’t any Namikaze for that matter.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” He felt anger rising in his stomach to replace the lost and confused feelings he had. How dare this man keep such a big secret from him for so long especially one as important as this? “Just when did you plan on telling me all this? When I was too old to do anything about it? Too old to care?”
“I understand you’re angry right now and you have every right to be. But you have to believe me; I did it to protect you… I had to keep you hidden.” Jiraiya stopped short and looked away. He had already said too much and was sure the blonde didn’t miss his words.
“Protect and hide me from what? Relatives I don’t know about, or from whatever enemies Minato managed to get? Nothing’s ever happened to me and nothing ever will!” The blond found himself standing and nearly screaming in Jiraiya’s face.
“Naruto, calm down and listen!” The older man stood as well, towering over the teenage boy. “Your father entrusted your life in my hands; I wasn’t about to risk that by telling you everything before you were ready.”
Naruto leaned back and away from the man that had raised him, even if Jiraiya wasn’t his real father the old man was all he could remember. The old Sage never raised his hand or said anything unkind, not even when it might have been okay to say something. Looking at his mentor now, seeing him being upset like that but still in control of himself touched something inside the blond and he was able to keep his feelings from washing him away “When would that have happened? When I failed to be a Sage entirely or when I’m old enough to be considered an adult?”
Jiraiya sighed and sat down once more, his fingers raking through his long white hair. “I knew I would have to do this soon. I could see the struggle you were having with the training… I just wasn’t sure how or when to tell you.”
He gently pulled the blonde down on the bench once more and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “And you haven’t failed at becoming a Sage, Naruto. You just haven’t found your proper Overseer yet. Your father was able to master several different kinds of energy so I can’t tell you which one you’re destined for but… This fox you’ve seen may be trying to tell you something.”
“How do you know that this fox I saw was good news?” Naruto looked at a spot on the wall and stared at it until his vision started to blur. It was so strange, he should still be mad at being lied to but it was just disappearing like water from a poorly made bucket. His father looked so much older and frailer than the blond had ever seen him.
“I can’t say for sure but I do know that becoming a Toad Sage is not your proper path. Maybe someday you will be able to master it, but for now, you must find your true Overseer.” The Toad Sage paused and his eyes became sad. “I think it’s time you leave here, Naruto… only for a little while. I want you to become a proper Sage, and to do that, I must let you find it on your own.”
The tanned young man felt his mouth drop open as he looked at his father with disbelief and dawning realization. He was going to be sent away, not because he had seen a fox or he got mad and shouted at his father. He was being sent away because he wasn’t able to take his training to the next level. “But I don’t want to leave the temple or the village; I want to stay here with you. If I try even harder I know I can talk with the toads, I know it. Just give me time, I’ll do it right. Then I can do the advanced lessons and…”
“No Naruto, it doesn’t work that way.” Jiraiya’s hand moved from Naruto’s shoulder to his son’s unruly hair. It didn’t matter if the boy wasn’t biologically his; he had raised the teen from infancy… he would always be his son; which was why it was so difficult to let him go. “I don’t want you to give up this opportunity just because you’ve never left home before. I can send you on a caravan leaving next week into the the city. I can contact an old friend of mine to take you in for a bit as you find your way. Naruto… please, I want you to be able to have that connection with your Overseer as I do with mine. I want you to have that chance and you can’t have that if you stay.”
“I don’t want to go alone.” The teen felt like his world was spinning uncontrollably and he wanted it to stop.
In a moment of emotion, Jiraiya pulled Naruto against him in a tight embrace. It wasn’t getting any easier but at least it seemed his son wouldn’t need much more coaxing. “You know I’d never let you go completely alone. The caravan runs all the way to the city and I’ll make sure that my friend takes good care of you. Kakashi needs something to kick his lazy as into shape these days.”
Naruto retuned his father’s embrace and buried his face in the old Sage’s robes to hide the tears that were threatening to overwhelm him. As much as he wanted to stay, his father was making it very clear that he had to take this journey. Maybe that’s what it meant to have seen the fox by the waterfall. It had been comfortable sitting by the water licking itself clean but when it saw something strange and new it took off on a path you couldn’t see the end to. “Why the city? There can’t be many animals in a place like that or that could survive unless you count birds.”
Pulling back from the embrace, the older man let out a breath. He wasn’t sure if it was relief or exhausting but at that point, he knew the hard part of convincing his son to take the right path was over. “You’d be surprised how many Sages are in the city. Not only that, but most of those who do live there are able to utilize multiple energies. That’s why I’m sending you there. Fox Sages are few and far between just on their own, but there are many in the city who might be a Fox Sage among having mastered other animals as well.”
“Oh…” The blond thought about his father’s words and felt a trifle embarrassed that he hadn’t realized that cities would have any Sages in them but wherever people went there, certain animals would follow. It even made sense that they would learn how to use many animals in a place like that. “If you think finding another teacher will really help me then I’ll go, even if going to a city is a bit scary.”
Relief washed over Jiraiya's face. He knew it wasn't over yet. He knew his son was going through denial, trying to shut out what he had just told him and it was completely understandable. He just hoped someday, the blonde would understand. "You still have a week. Until then, we can spend as much time together as you want."
Naruto smiled weakly at his father and pushed everything from his mind that and been thrown there, He didn't want to think about any of that stuff right now and he certainly didn't feel like talking it out at the moment. That together time with his father sounded like a little slice of heaven. "Right now I want to get something to eat with you."
Jiraiya just shook his head, not blaming the blonde for wanting to change the subject. There was time still.
He stood and headed toward the door, Naruto right behind him. He was going to make the most of the next week; who knew when he would see the boy again?
~*~
The week passed all too quickly for the old man and he looked on with a heavy heart as he watched his son load up his belongings onto the wagon that would run along beside the caravan as they walked through forest before catching a ferry to the main city.
"Are you sure you have everything?" Jiraiya knew the day would be a hard one for both of them but his resolve never wavered; it was still what his son needed to do.
Naruto fidgeted and picked at his clothes, he had packed more things than he thought he would need. or wanted to in some cases but the old Sage knew more about travel than the teenager did so he suffered being sent on a journey with more than he could carry.
"I have more than I should have a need for." he looked at the wagon and tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach, now that it was time to go he didn't know if he even wanted to.
Picking up the last bag, Jiraiya placed it in the cart and pulled the blonde against him in a tight embrace. "You need this Naruto... Trust me; it'll work out for the best."
The tanned young man leaned against his father and let himself be comforted. There were just a few things he had to ask before he left the village. "How did you know Minato and do you know if he's alive? you didn't say that he was dead when you mentioned my mom."
The Sage stiffened at those questions and carefully pulled back, regarding his son cautiously. "I trained him.... He was one of the best students I'd had. As for if he's dead; I think you should leave that alone for now Naruto."
"Okay. Do you know what his first animal was?" Naruto watched the caravan get ready to move out and swallowed the lump that had been growing in his throat. It was almost time for him to do the most terrifying thing in his life and he had to be strong if he wanted to succeed.
"I'm not sure, he knew a couple before I started to train him. But the fox was one that he already knew." The white haired man appreciated that Naruto didn't push the issue of his father being alive any further. That would have opened an entire new can of worms that didn't need to be opened at that time.
He looked up as the leader of the group gave a two minute warning. "It's time. I know you'll make me proud Naruto... you always have."
Naruto looked at the caravan leader and shifted his weight. There was so little time left to ask about what kind of man Minato had been and he respected his father’s request not to ask about certain things.
The blond fingered his knapsack and felt tears threatening to spring free with the Toad Sage’s last words of encouragement. "Thanks. I want to keep making you proud."
"You better get in the group... don't want them to leave you." Jiraiya felt his own tears well up and he ruffled the boy's blonde locks before he grinned, distracting himself from the sadness. "Kick Kakashi's ass into shape for me..."
"Yeah." the young man quickly wiped his eyes dry on a sleeve and shot the man he'd known all his life a big smile, no need to feel sorry for himself now when he was about to go on a big adventure. he had to be strong and go through it as well as he could. "I'll give him a special kick with your name on it."
Jiraiya chuckled and patted the boy on the back. "You better."
He looked up as the leader made his final call and the large group began to move. "I know it sounds sappy but... I love you Kiddo..."
"I love you too Dad. I promise I'll come back and show you everything I've learned!" the blue eyed man turned and started walking with his wagon. It felt like he was watching the scene from outside his body and he watched as someone who looked an awful lot like him waved farewell to his father.
The older man waved back, the smile still on his face. There would be time for tears later, but he had to be strong at that moment for his son. It wasn't as if the boy would be completely alone on his journey, he had instructed a very special stowaway to report back to him regularly on Naruto's progress; one of his more faithful toads.
Naruto turned his back on the village and took calming breaths as he walked, his father had told him the first leg of the trip would be the hardest because it would be so easy to come back home and that if he wanted to become a Sage he would have to resist that temptation.
Temptation was the most dangerous thing for a Sage to succumb to because you wouldn't be aware of its corruption until it was too late to do anything about it. You could turn rogue with the best of intentions and still kill people to get what you wanted or choose to do nothing and let terrible things happen.
His father’s words ran through his head and gave him strength to not look back at his childhood home like it was a refuge, but as a starting point. He could look back at his friends and smile at them with the knowledge that he wasn't leaving forever, it was just temporary and he'd come back with stories for them to beg him for.
~TBC
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A Sage's Story