Hey guys, Neroreborn here with chapter 2 of my story. I'm honestly surprised at how well this is going, and I hope that you guys can support me in making this. I really want this story to be something that I can be proud of. The other members of the campaign will be added into the story in later chapters. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or D&D. The only thing I own in this story is the character Ithul'nir.

Naruko yawns as she slowly wakes up, tiredly snuggling into the warm, soft material covering her, softly stroking the feathers... wait, feathers? she opens her eyes, realizing that two large wings were wrapped over her. She freaks out a little, squirming until she sees that they are coming from Ithul'nir's back, both Ithul'nir and Zalia holding her in between them. A tear fall from her eye as she whispers. "It wasn't a dream... It wasn't a dream..." She nuzzles into Zalia, crying softly into her new mother's chest. Zalia wakes up, frowning as she hears Naruko cry, softly rubbing her back. "Is something wrong, Naruko?" Naruko looks up, wiping her tears away as she smiles. "Nothing. Nothing at all." Zalia smiles, softly stroking Naruko's hair, looking to Ithul'nir. "Ithul'nir, I know you're awake." Ithul'nir chuckles, opening his eyes as his wings retract into his back. He sits up, smiling as Naruko hugs Zalia, softly petting her head. "Let's get you some breakfast." Naruko's eyes light up, Zalia giggling as she takes Naruko's hand, leading her out of the room into a large dinning area.

Several spectral figures carry various plates of food towards the table, one of them setting down a large piece of toast with jerky and melted cheese in front of Naruko, the young girl niffing deeply, drooling a little. "It smells so good..." Zalia chuckles, brushing a stray hair from Naruko's face. "Go ahead Naruko. Eat as much as you like." Naruko smiles as she began to dig in, small moans of delight coming from her as she savored the flavor. Zalia smiles as another figure brings a couple glasses of cold milk, setting one down in front of Naruko. Zalia starts to eat her own breakfast, Ithul'nir stepping in, pulling his hood up. "I'm going to see if I can speak with Hiruzen again, iron out some details we couldn't go over yesterday." Zalia nods, lightly stroking Naruko's hair. "Go, I'll make sure Naruko is taken care of." Ithul'nir smiles as he starts walking out, Naruko waving to him. "Come back soon!" Ithul'nir chuckles, waving back to her, stepping out of the door.

The street is a little more lively than it was before, Ithul'nir gazing over the many people and shops, raising his head as he senses something, turning to his left as a figure appears, wearing a wolf mask. "The hokage wishes to speak with you." Ithul'nir nods, pulling at his cloak. "I was already on my way." He starts walking towards the tower, knocking on the door as he comes to Hiruzen's office. "Come in." Ithul'nir opens the door, making his way in as he sees Hiruzen grumbling as he signs several papers, a stack of them piled on his desk. He looks up, noticing Ithul'nir. "Oh, thank god. now I don't need to focus on this." He pushes the stack to the side, putting his full attention to Ithul'nir. "Ithul'nir, i'm glad you could come. I wanted to warn you of a few things, since the counsel will no doubt try something." Ithul'nir narrows his eyes as he takes a seat, looking at Hiruzen with a critical eye. "This isn't the first time I've dealt with a corrupted counsel. They can throw anything they want, I will counter it." Hiruzen smiles, before looking down. "In order for you to gain full custody of Naruko, you will have to go through a physical and a mental evaluation in front of the entire counsel, your wife will have to do the same." Ithul'nir grimaces, placing a hand on his chest. "... so be it." A figure lands on the floor, bowing to hiruzen. "Lord hokage, the counsel has requested your presence, along with... him." Hiruzen sighs, getting up from his seat. "Well, lets get this over with." Ithul'nir nods, following Hiruzen down to the counsel room.

The meeting room is a large half-circle, two different halves separated by a main seat for the hokage with a table below the main chair, three people sitting there. Ithul'nir looks over the room, easily figuring out that the left side was the shinobi side, noticing how each person was alert, ready to act at a moment's notice, and the fact that they were looking at him with more curiosity than anything else. He narrows his eyes at the other side, several of the members were either extremely fat, or had cocky smirks on their faces, but he raises an eyebrow at a pink haired member, noticing that she had a barely noticeable frown. He looks to the table, noticing the three elders, narrowing his eyes at the one at the far right, unable to read his intentions.

Hiruzen sighs as he gets up to the main chair, sitting down. "So, why has this meeting been called?" A fat civilian stands up, pointing a finger at Ithul'nir. "That man and his wife are being charged for the murder of four civilians and the assault on one other." Ithul'nir looks at him, noticing the last survivor of the attack last night to the side, his leg bandaged where his sickle had sliced him. The guy gets up, glaring. "That's him, he and his bitch of a wife killed all my buddies, with no provocation." Ithul'nir scoffs, letting his eyes glow slightly. "My apologies if I don't take too kindly to child beaters." The man growls. "She deserved everything she got, that lowly demon." Ithul'nir perks up, raising an eyebrow. "Lord hokage, I believe he just broke your law. I believe you said that breaking it was punishable by death, correct?" The civilian starts to sweat, realizing he made a mistake as Hiruzen nods. "Yes, it is." Ithul'nir gives a menacing smirk, lifting a small bell from his robes, ringing it once. The civilian gasps as his eyes roll into the back of his head, falling over dead. Everyone looks surprised, the shinobi analyzing what had just happened cautiously. Ithul'nir turns to the main counsel, placing the bell back in his cloak. "Now, to give full explanation, I only attacked them when they assaulted a child named Naruko. I gave them the chance to leave, but they chose to try and kill me and my wife. We only acted in self defense, to protect the girl."

Several members of the shinobi side smile softly, Ithul'nir noticing a small smile from the pink haired civilian woman, before several of the civilains cried out in anger. Hiruzen slams his cane down, silencing the room. "Enough, I have already spoken with Ithul'nir about this, and he has shown no ill intent, even going as far as to adopt young Naruko." The civilians cry out in protest. "But lord hokage, he will take her away." "He cannot be trusted." "He is not allowed to have her." The man on the far right, an old, black haired man wrapped in bandages stands up, looking towards Ithul'nir, the reaper getting on guard. "Lord hokage, due to several rule that we have implemented, he cannot take custody of our weapon." Ithul'nir growls, glaring at the man. "Lord hokage has already informed me of Naruko's burden. And if you ever refer to her as a weapon again, I guarantee that you will not leave this room alive." The man narrows his eyes. "Is that a threat?" Hiruzen calls for silence. "Danzo, Naruko is not to be refered to as anything but her name in my presence, and if you do it again, I will allow Ithul'nir to make good on his promise." Danzo frowns, but stays standing. "Regardless, he cannot take her in."

Hiruzen chuckles. "Actually, He can. He is not Konoha born, and he is not a registered shinobi. There is nothing stopping him or his wife from caring for Naruko." Danzo's frown gets deeper, until he almost smirks. "And yet, he cannot adopt her until he is registered as a resident of Konoha." Hiruzen sighs, nodding. "I was planning on us holding his evaluation now, since we are all here." He nods as two of the shinobi counsel come down from their side. The first is a woman with brown hair and tatoos on her face, a feral look to her. the second is a man with platinum blonde hair. The woman speaks first. "My name is Tsume Inuzaka. I will be doing your physical. Please take off your cloak and shirt." Ithul'nir looks at her, seeing no ill intent from her as he pulls his cloak off, setting it to the side. He unbuttons his shirt, letting it fall around his waist, several people gasping. His body is lean, his skin as pale as a corpse, a good eye could easily tell he was built for speed over power, but what shocked people was his back. There was a giant scar on his back, going from his shoulders down to his waist in the shape of a spider, almost as if it had ripped it's way out of him. There was another scar, this one seen on both his back and his chest, as if he was impaled by a large sword. Ithul'nir looks to Tsume, the feral woman staring at the scars. "H-How are you alive, no one should be able to survive wounds like these." Ithul'nir chuckles. "I made a deal with death."

Danzo narrows his eyes, slightly growling as he sees that Ithul'nir is in acceptable condition, before smiling. "Now, onto the mental exam." The blonde man steps forward. " My name is Inoichi Yamanaka. I will be looking through your memories to see if you have a strong enough will." Ithul'nir scoffs, looking at Inoichi. "I will warn you, you will see a lot that you won't understand." Inoichi forwns, going though some handsigns. "Mind transfer jutsu." He projects himself into Ithul'nir's mind, only to reel back, memories of fierce monsters, a hollow war, the loss of life, the pain of death flashing before him, panting as he returned to his own body. "How... How are you not insane?" Ithul'nir looks at him. "I have something worth fighting for." Inoichi gets back up, turning to Hiruzen. "Lord hokage, it is my evaluation that Ithul'nir has an extraordinarily strong will, and is able to keep calm at the most dire of situations."

Danzo frowns, reluctantly sitting back down. Hiruzen smiles, nodding. "Ithul'nir, you spoke of 3 other companions you had. When will you go looking for them?" Ithul'nir puts his shirt back on, placing his cloak back on his shoulders. "I would like to go looking for them as soon as Naruko's adoption is finalized. My companions are somewhat hard-headed, I have no doubt that Kvasir and Ailean have gotten themselves into some sort of trouble already, but they should be fine." Hiruzen nods. "Well, I see no reason you cannot have full custody over he-" Danzo gets up. "You forget, lord hokage, that there is a substantial fee that must be paid." Hiruzen growls, but calms down as Ithul'nir smirks, pulling the bag from his back. "A fee you say?" He tips the bag over, metal clinking against metal as thousands of gold and silver coins fall onto the floor, a small hill being made from the sheer amount.

The entire room is silent in shock, their eyes bulging out at the mountain of gold and silver, Hruzen most of all. "Sweet kami. that's more money than the entire village budget." Ithul'nir smirks. "You wouldn't believe how much treasure some monsters will hoard over the years from dead adventurers." He sighs, starting to scoop the money back into the bag, the small mountain somehow fitting inside as he hoisted it back over his shoulder. "I am not familiar with the exchange of currency here, but I do believe I have more than enough to cover any fees. Are you satisfied now, Danzo?" The old man grits his teeth in anger, seething at loosing his chance, reluctantly sitting back down.

Ithul'nir has a ghost of a smirk on his face, looking to Hiruzen. "Is that all for now, lord hokage? I would like to spend some more time with my daughter." Hiruzen nods, smiling. "Go ahead, we will discuss the exchange of money later. I'm sure she misses you already." The reaper nods, making his way back out of the tower.

Meanwhile

Zalia giggles as Naruko finishes her plate. "How are you feeling, Naruko?" Naruko smiles, blushing lightly at how childish she acted. "I'm alright... I've honestly never felt better..." She seemed to be struggling to say something. Zalia looks at her curiously, before realizing something. "Naruko... you can call me Zalia if you want." Naruko looks at her in surprise, Zalia chuckling slightly. "I understand if you don't want to call me mom. I mean, we only met yesterday, and I think you were just really excited yesterday that you didn't even realize you called me that." Naruko's blush gets deeper, nodding. "Thanks... Zalia... I just... I was so happy." Zalia smiles, gently hugging Naruko. "Well, young lady, I think I know what can help." Naruko looks to her curiously as Zalia takes her hand, leading her into a bathing room, the tub already filled with steaming hot water. Zalia smiles down to Naruko, kneeling to be eye level with her. "I think a warm bath will be just the thing to cheer you up." Naruko fidgets, blushing as she paces in place. Zalia chuckles, patting Naruko's head. "Come on, Naruko. I'll wash your hair."

Naruko nods, Zalia smiling as she helped Naruko get undressed, undressing herself as she picked Naruko up, sinking into the warm bath, some soap and oils laid to the side. Zalia is a little surprised when she sees that Naruko's skin is flawless, not a single scar, but she frowns as she sees just how skinny Naruko was, swearing that she could see a little of Naruko's lower ribs. Zalia gently washes the soap over Naruko's back and shoulders, making sure to rub off any dirt stains. She then started to wash Naruko's hair, the blonde girl blushing as she sat in Zalia's lap. "Zalia... thank you..." Zalia perks her head. "Hmm?" Naruko starts shivering in Zalia's lap. "Y-you and... Ithu-lir?" Zalia chuckles. "Ithul'nir." Naruko nods. "Yeah, you and Ithul'nir... you both are so nice to me... why do you even care? I mean... I'm just an orphan child. Why did you even bother with me?" She looks down, only to yelp as Zalia turn's her around quickly, staring into her eyes. "Naruko... I won't give all the details, but both Ithul'nir and I know how painful it is to grow up alone. We both know how much it hurts to be scorned by others for something we had no choice in. We both know that pain, and we refuse to let someone suffer in the same way." Zalia brushes a stray hair from Naruko's face, smiling gently to her. "Naruko, we care because we can't help it. If we were to turn you away now, we would never forgive ourselves."

Naruko nods, looking a little ashamed, before Zalia puts a finger under her chin, raising her head to meet her eyes. "Hey, there's no need to be sad. You were just curious. Now, why don't you give me a smile?" Naruko looks up to Zalia, before breaking out into a small grin. "Thank you... I... I needed that." Zalia chuckles, picking up Naruko as she gets out of the water, grabbing two towels to dry them off with. "So Naruko, do you have anything you have to do today?" Naruko nods, holding the fuzzy towel against her skin. "I have to go to the academy. I'm gonna be the best shinobi ever, believe it!" Zalia chuckles, patting Naruko's head. "I'm sure you will do great. let's get dressed, then I can walk you over." Naruko nods, running off to her room. Zalia goes to her own room, putting on her white battle dress, leaving her gauntlets on the table as she goes over to the main door. Naruko comes out in her orange jumpsuit, Zalia frowning slightly at how dirty it looked, before smiling. "Naruko, why don't we go shopping after you get back?" Naruko looks down, frowning slightly. "This... is all that any of the shops would sell me." Zalia frowns, before she smiles softly to Naruko. "Oh, don't worry Naruko, I'm sure I can... convince them to sell you more." Naruko smiles, Even more as Zalia takes her hand, leading her through the front door.

Zalia smiles as Naruko leads her down the street, frowning slightly at the glares aimed at Naruko, before she swings her arm out, catching a rock that was aimed for Naruko's head. A drunk villager stands there, stumbling a little, looking at Zalia in surprise. Zalia smiles sweetly, too sweetly. She grips the rock in her hand, a crunching sound coming from her gripped fist, before she extends her hand, opening her palm, the rock having been crushed into dust as it fell from her fingers. She suddenly glares, anger almost burning in her eyes. "If you, or anyone, try to hurt MY daughter again, I will pop your head like a cherry. GOT IT?!" The drunk scrambles back, running away as he dropped his bottle, almost soiling himself. Zalia scoffs, walking back to Naruko. " Sorry about that Naruko, but they need to learn that I won't tolerate them trying to hurt you." Naruko nods, smiling softly. "Thanks..." Zalia smiles, letting Naruko lead her the rest of the way to the academy.

They both come to a large school house, several children going inside after bidding their parents goodbye, the adults smiling as their children walk in, before looking surprised as Zalia walks up to the building, Naruko's hand in hers. She kneels down to be eye level with Naruko. "Naruko, how long will you be here?" Naruko smiles. "School goes about six hours." Zalia nods, patting Naruko's head. "Ithul'nir or I will be here to pick you up. Now, I'm sure you don't want to be late." Naruko smiles, tarting to walk to the academy, before turning around, jogging up to Zalia and hugging her. "Zalia... thank you." Zalia is a little surprised, but returns the hig, frowing at the shocked looks that some of the other parents were giving them. Zalia smiles, planting a soft kiss on Naruko's forehead. "Your welcome, Naruko. Now, get to class. We can talk later." Naruko smiles brightly, running off into the building, waving back to Zalia. Zalia smiles, waving to Naruko as she went in.

Back with Ithul'nir.

The reaper steps out of the counsel room, walking into the road. He looks around, before closing his eyes, concentrating. His red eyes open as he starts walking through the streets, soon coming up to the academy. He smiles as he comes up to see Zalia and Naruko hugging, letting them have their moment together. Naruko runs into the building as Ithul'nir sneaks up behind Zalia, hugging her from behind. She lets out a small "Eep!" turning around to see Ithul'nir, before relaxing a little. She playfully punched him. "You scared me." Ithul'nir chuckles, before he frowns. He looks over, seeing several teachers welcoming the children, but some of them glare as Naruko goes inside. He whispers to Zalia. "Go see Hiruzen. I'm going to keep an eye on Naruko. If the villagers are willing to treat her badly, I think the teachers here would do the same." Zalia nods, softly kissing his cheek. "Make sure she's safe." He nods, pulling a couple components from a pouch on his side, makin some gestures with his hands, casting a spell. He disappears, becoming invisible as he makes his way into the academy unseen.

Finished. This is honestly becoming a story that I am adamant in seeing finished, only because I really care about seeing the characters in my campaign get a happy ending. They have... seen some seriously messed up shit, and I want them to get the feeling that they will be rewarded for their efforts. As with before, The next chapter will come out sometime in the next 2 weeks, but i'm unsure of exactly when. Again, Any constructive criticism is gladly accepted, and will help me construct this story into a better work. So, as a last detail, I will be posting the stats of the Campaign characters in Each chapter that focuses on them, as with this one, I will post Zalia's. I hope you enjoyed, and I will see you guys in the next chapter.

Name: Zalia Yew'den Ear'wyn

Race: Wood elf.

Class: Barbarian.

Subclass: Path of the berserker(Modified)

Level: 15

Strength: 20

Dexterity: 16

Constitution: 20

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 8

Charisma: 6

Suffers from a major case of claustrophobia, but has been learning to deal with it for extended times.

Weapon: Ancient Gauntlets, A large pair of wooden gauntlets carved from the Petrified wood of the Spirit tree, Capable of shaping the earth to make a natural defense. Damage: 1D12 +8(+10 when raging)

Homebrew abilities:

Frenzy(modified): A barbarian can enter a frenzy, In which they may take a third attack per turn at disadvantage.

Anger issues: Barbarian no longer has disadvantage on her third strike.

Feed the rage: Barbarian gets an additional +1 on all attacks while raging.