Home Is Where The Heart Is || Naruto Fanfic

Chapter One

Naruko used chakra to boost her speed. "I'm almost there, Kurama...!" She exclaimed breathlessly, her face scrunching up at the burning in her legs. She hadn't stopped ever since she'd left Konoha and she sure as all hell wasn't about to. 

"Good, Kit. Once you're there you can get that seal you started on finished." Kurama suggested, watching through his host's eyes as she flew through the trees. 

"Right. Although, Uzushio is the Uzumaki clan's home land, right?" Naruko said, panting heavily from the huge workout she was doing - she had, after all, been running at nearly full speed for about half a day and her small body was screaming at her to stop. 

"Yes, that's correct. Why?" 

"Well, doesn't that mean that there should be scrolls and stuff on sealing and the Uzumaki Chains, as well as any other clan techniques?" Naruko voiced her thoughts, narrowing her blue-and-violet eyes when the scent of saltwater invaded her sensitive nose.

"There should be - this is the Uzumaki clan village, after all. Considering who the Uzumakis are, there might be some kind of seal, or something. I don't know." Naruko snorted lightly at the fox within her, then stopped on a branch when some ruins appeared in between the trees. 

"Kurama, is that...?" She trailed off, looking at the stone ruins. At the nod Naruko felt in her mind, she stepped forward slowly, as if she was about to step onto sacred ground.

Walking forward, Naruko seemed to hesitate in stepping onto the soil of her home land. Taking a deep breath, Naruko stepped onto the land through the gate and, as soon as she placed her foot down on the soil, immediately felt one with the land. She could feel all the movements and life on the ground. She could feel the small vibrations as certain large chunks of stone grated against each others as gravity slowly but surely took its toll on some of the larger and heavier chunks. She could feel every insect and creature moving about. She felt the ants that moved around, felt a small squirrel's feet patter on the ground, scurrying off. She could feel the life that was here, and the life that was not. 

Naruko took a deep breath in, the feeling of knowing where everything was calming her. A smile crept onto her face and she simply stood there for a few minutes, just feeling every creature and plant that thrived in and on the land around her. However, one thing made her frown. It was the lack of one certain type of presence - the lack of human presence. Naruko felt the missing presence of the villagers and that threw her off-balance. She didn't like the feeling. Why did she feel so...off?

"I don't know what it is, but it's either a seal or a technique that's specific to the Uzumaki clan. It's supposed to let all Uzumakis feel people's and things' chakra, or something. I don't know the specifics but I think the reason you feel so off is cause this was supposed to let anyone with Uzumaki blood know what and who is where at any given point in any part of their land, but it hasn't been used or done its job in years, so the effect of the lack of another Uzumaki presence for decades could be coming back to you stronger, especially considering the fact that you're part of the main family." Kurama explained softly and quietly, not wanting to annoy his host, who was quite scary when she was angry. 

Thank you, Kurama. I'm gonna look around. 

To Naruko, speaking here seemed like something immoral, or wrong at the very least. She didn't want to speak on the ground that was basically a cemetery for her ancestors. She began walking forward, breathing in the air that belonged to her home village. Her blue-and-violet eyes looked around at the stone ruins, some mouldy wood, and gave a soft, sad smile. I've got my work cut out for me.