Fellowship

A Transposed Interlude

Oh! Written in the stars,
A million miles away—
A message to the main!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. Stop asking!

Summons... What are they, really?

A native animal with a chakra mutation, like human bloodlines? Or— something like a spirit or demon? Common knowledge states that we use chakra to pull them to our realm... or do we? Supposedly, Mt. Myouboku is present in our reality. That is, it should be possible to visit, if you know how to get there.

Then what does the Kuchiyose no Jutsu do with our blood and chakra? Is it just a way to facilitate travel? Chakra to fuel the transit, blood to tether it to the individual using the jutsu?

A space-time fuuinjutsu, then... Could that be the technique that inspired the Yondaime's Hiraishin?

"Hn."

Boar.

"You know, Sasuke, you're taking a significant risk." Kakashi-sensei states quietly— another half-hearted attempt to dissuade me. Much too late, as usual— I made up my mind well before the chuunin exams. Well before the first time I broached the topic with him, even. "You could just scour your family archives for a contract."

Dog.

My response is a stoic glare; we've had this discussion nearly a dozen times now. "Nothing useful there. I would rather have a true partnership or no contract at all. Besides, I barely managed to get leave for a training trip this time; I may never have the opportunity again."

Bird.

Sensei nods sagely, "Maa... I did always think you were the most troublesome of my adorable students."

Monkey.

"What does it say about your character that you want me as an apprentice, then?" A slight smirk, barely a twitch of my lips, "... Though I'm sure Shino and Ino appreciate the sentiment. Perhaps I should encourage both of them to try creating a summon contract, too? Also, please stop trying to distract me."

Ram.

It's past time for the real test.

My hands flow through the hand signs, gathering and shaping my chakra. I take a slow, deep breath to calm myself as I focus. I fly through the motions by instinct at this point; despite his disapproval of my decision, Sensei's had me practice until I could perform the jutsu in my sleep— just in case.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu." I intone quietly, releasing the chakra.

The world twists into a blur of color and noise; in other words, the experience is more than a little nauseating. The jutsu's effects are a mixture between a Kawarimi and Shunshin, but compressed and spinning, somehow. Transport seems to go agonizingly slowly, but... Thankfully, I manage to land on my feet and avoid a second meeting with my breakfast.

Of course my dignified landing is ruined completely when I land feet-first in a wide, slow-moving river, entirely soaking most of my clothes. "At least the atmosphere is breathable?" I murmur quietly to myself as I use chakra to slide out of the water, walking on the surface of the river to the closest muddy bank.

The area I've landed in is sparsely wooded, being dominated by large, sunny meadows. Beautiful... But also relatively empty of life. I can't sense anything large with a heartbeat nearby. "Hn..." I suppose the most logical thing to do is start walking. I'll dry off faster that way, probably. And so I do, choosing to follow the winding river, enjoying the blessings of sunshine on my face and a light breeze tousling my bangs, with neither duty nor other obligations hanging over my head.

"Ano... Who are you?" Comes a childish voice from somewhere to my right. The heartbeat I can sense from that direction is— interesting. Certainly not human. There are a handful of similar signals hovering just barely at the edge of my sensing range. "No wait, I know! You're a human, right?"

Pausing in my walk, I peer into the grass, "Hn?" A pair of large, bright blue eyes stares back at me, curiosity readily evident. "Uchiha Sasuke." A polite bow, "I am human, yes. And you?"

Childish laughter erupts from the rustling grass, "Of course I'm not! Humans don't live here. I've never even seen one before except in books. Only Mother has— although she said she probably won't anymore. Not for a long while."

"Hn?" And then, after a few seconds silence, when I realize the... child doesn't know how to interpret my query, "Why?"

"She said our contract was destroyed." A small form wanders out of the tall grass, still gazing up at me. "Whoa! You're tall, Sasuke-san. I won't be that big for ages and ages!" I stare back with equal curiosity; it's... a salamander, about the size of an ordinary housecat. It's mostly a uniform black in color, but its back is mottled with blue and green spots.

Oh. Hanzou the Salamander is dead, then. And Akatsuki must have found and destroyed the physical copy of the contract... Interesting, but not that surprising, considering their visible leaders' vendetta.

"I won't get much taller than this; maybe half a foot or so, if I'm lucky. I'll catch up to my older brother soon enough."

"Cool! I have older brothers too! And older sisters, but they're a little boring, you know? And few younger siblings hatched a while ago. Lots of cousins, too, which are like siblings anyway. I want to be super-tall and super-strong like Mother... Do you have a large family?"

"Aa..." My chosen family is growing, but— "I used to. Now I have my older brother, and my younger brother, my sensei and my two teammates."

"That's sad... What happened?"

"My clan was wiped out almost entirely. It wasn't entirely uncalled for, but the situation was... complicated. I'd rather not talk about it in detail, if you don't mind?"

"Okay. But that's really, really sad. You must be lonely." The salamander's coloration fades to a muddy green with the loss of his/her exuberance. "Well, I guess you seem cool, talking with me this much; most of my older siblings ignore me. Sooo— you can be my older brother! And if Sasuke-nii is my nii-san, then Sasuke-nii is family, and then Sasuke-nii has a huuuuge family again!"

...Don't I get a say in this, salamander-chibi? Which reminds me... "Shouldn't you at least introduce yourself first?"

The salamander squeaks, spots flushing bright neon green—in embarrassment, I suppose. "S-sorry! I'm Kuroi, and I'll be eight seasons old this summer! Call me Kuroi-chan, Sasuke-nii."

"Nice to meet you, Kuroi-chan." I offer a small, but genuine smile. She reminds me a little of Naruto when he was younger. Or maybe of Aburame Hotaru, although my sometimes-student isn't nearly this outgoing.

"Ne, Sasuke-nii... How did you get here?"

"...Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

"Eh? Really?! Does that mean summons can call on humans, like humans can call for help from allied summon clans?"

"Yes, though I think there are some limits to that. I don't know the exact details, myself." Shrugging casually, "Although... You could technically say I summoned myself."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Hn. How much have you covered about human society in class?" Kuroi-chan opens her mouth to reply, but I wave her off, having changed my mind already, "No, never mind, I'll just go over the basics. People that form a contract with a summons clan typically have extensive training with chakra."

"That means— samurai, monks, or shinobi." Retrieving a senbon previously hidden in my hair, I crouch beside Kuroi-chan, and begin to doodle on the muddy bank, occasionally adding a few notes, to further clarify my explanation. A cartoony-looking samurai takes form on my impromptu canvas. "Samurai usually show disdain for external chakra use. Instead, they use chakra to reinforce their bodies. A rare minority channel chakra through their weapons. Since the Kuchiyose no Jutsu requires channeling chakra externally to summon a partner, they rarely form contracts."

Beside the samurai, a figure in robes, brandishing a staff in one hand, and a ball of flame in the other. "Monks... also prefer to manipulate their chakra internally, as far as I know. I don't know much about their capabilities or fighting style, beyond the fact that they're infamous for their charka control and the ability to manipulate the elements in their rawest form. Many monks are former shinobi, either retired or discharged from the forces due to crippling injuries. However, monks live secluded lives, and avoid keeping ties to the outside world."

Finally, a third figure— a shinobi in a silly looking 'sneaking suit'. "You might have guessed by now, but shinobi largely shape their chakra externally, via ninjutsu and genjutsu, but also use it internally to a lesser extent. I'm a little biased, but I would argue that shinobi are the most versatile in their use of chakra of the three groups. Shinobi also tend to have the largest chakra capacity, which is necessary for summoning— so facing a shinobi that can summon is uncommon only because contracts are uncommon."

"...Nii-san, are you a sensei?"

It's my turn to blush. "Hn." I'm a little embarrassed to be caught giving an impromptu lecture, "I've taught a few classes, and you remind me a little of some of my students. Anyway, before I got sidetracked, you asked me to explain how I summoned myself, right?"

Kuroi-chan giggles, and nods.

"Like I mentioned, contracts between humans and summons clans, or even individual summons are relatively rare. So, the choices for those interested in summoning are to either hope someone they know is willing to help them form a contract with an individual summons or clan, or to attempt to form a contract themselves. Using the Kuchiyose no Jutsu without a contract tie theoretically delivers a person to the lands of the summons most suitable. Don't ask me what 'most suitable' means... Personality, skills, goals— it could be anything, really."

"Ne, Sasuke-nii. Does that mean that you're going to try and form a contract with my clan? Then we really will be family!"

"Hn. If your boss is willing, then yes."

"Awesome! Nii-san is going to be the coolest summoner ever!" Kuroi-chan bounces lightly in place, "Nii-san, if you let me ride on your shoulder, I'll take you to meet Ibuse-sama. I'm supposed to be doing that anyway, I think..."

"Alright." The salamander takes a flying leap at my shoulder and settles in, squatting in place, looping a strong tail around the back of my neck. I find myself vaguely disconcerted, despite her seemingly cheery and upfront manner, and thankful for the high collar of my chuunin vest.

"I'm ready! Just follow the river for now. Hey, in the meantime, can you tell me more about the human world?"

"Hn. What would you like to hear about?"

I give her a basic run down of the elemental countries— basics that a standard academy curriculum in any of the hidden villages would cover. Next, we discuss what I know about the hidden villages themselves, though I make sure to go into more detail about the minor villages before discussing the five superpowers, and limit my description of Konoha to match the other four.

The area we meander through eventually turns from flatland to rolling foothills, and Kuroi-chan directs me up a trail towards one of the taller hills.

"Sasuke-nii, wait here and I'll fetch Ibuse-sama, okay?" The little salamander hops off of my back, and scampers a few feet back down the trail before I can reply.

"Hn." Cute kid, I think. Crossing arms loosely in front of my chest, I settle in for a long wait. It's not as if I could actually be a danger to a boss summons— well, perhaps with genjutsu. How susceptible are summons to genjutsu, anyway? But that wouldn't require use of my arms. In fact, a more relaxed demeanor would keep any adversaries off guard, if the other summons were more inclined to hostility than Kuroi-chan.

I can sense them lurking just out of sight. Waiting.

Paranoid as usual, Sasuke?

"Kafufufufufu!" Booming laughter echoes, as a large form emerges from the earth. Despite the size of the hill, I am still below the eye-level to the giant, dark brown salamander.

I'm startled by the salamander's sudden appearance, although I think I mask it well enough. I do have to use chakra to cling to the ground— when Ibuse appears from beneath the ground, the earth shakes.

A few moments of staring, and the giant being speaks, its voice a deep contralto. "So, you are the trespasser Kuroi-chan found, hm? Who are you, boy? Introduce yourself!"

"Uchiha Sasuke. A pleasure to meet you, Ibuse-sama," I murmur quietly, executing a crisp, elegant bow. I am almost presentable. At least my clothes have finished drying from my brief foray into the local river. "Although I think Kuroi-chan has already told you my name." She's been away long enough to give a short summary of our conversation.

A small form I'd noticed lingering on Ibuse-sama's head flinches, spots on its back flaring neon green. "Eeek! Sasuke-nii's super observant and smart, like I thought..."

"Hn. But next time, Kuroi-chan, you should guide the conversation in a way that will get you the answers you're interested in. In other words, you should have tried to pry for details— my specialization, my loyalties, even though you would have had to do so in a roundabout manner. Instead you let me talk about something relatively impersonal; you didn't even ask which village I was from." After all, while you know a little about my family life now, you don't know anything truly useful.

Laughter from Ibuse-sama once again— "Kafufufu... She was right; you are a teacher at heart, even lecturing someone that was trying to subtly interrogate you."

"Perhaps. I've found I enjoy teaching, when my students are attentive... but my ambition will not give me the time required to be a jounin-sensei, I think."

"Oh? And what do you plan to do with your life, Uchiha?"

The answer is immediate, practically an instinctive reaction at this point. "I plan to protect my family."

A slow, deliberating blink from the building-sized salamander as it waits for me to continue.

"...My otouto wants to be a Kage; I have no doubt that he has the dive to get there. I will be the shadow's shadow. " As for my older brother, he needs someone to talk sense into him. Obviously.

"Hmmm. An interesting ambition. Well. I shall ask the questions my adorable daughter has failed to..." Kuroi-chan moans piteously at that comment, but otherwise remains silent. "Doubtlessly, you know our clan specializes in poisons. And what of you, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Arching a brow, I smirk faintly, "...Hn. If I had to name a specialization, genjutsu and iryoujutsu. The latter is probably what brought me to your doorstep; a poison specialist has to have superlative knowledge of the body and be able to concoct cures as well as poisons."

"Very good, boy. Not many people deduce that the Salamander Clan has superlative medics in its ranks." Then, in a more boastful tone, Ibuse-sama adds, "I would argue ours are even better than that goopy slug, Katsuyu... But you're known for something other than iryoujutsu, aren't you? More exactly, you're known for weaponizing medical techniques."

I suppose even relatively isolated summons maintain an information network in the elemental countries. Or people gossip with their summons.

A quiet chuckle, "Hmm... You are here seeking to form a contract? Very well. We shall have a trial period, of sorts, for one month. Kuroi-chan will accompany you during that time, and you will be able to call on clan members for assistance, if needed. If after that month you prove to have the characteristics we look for in a summoner, and the chakra to summon me, then we shall formally adopt you into the Salamander Clan."

"Thank you for this opportunity, Ibuse-sama." Another bow; it is only proper. Especially since the suggested 'trial period' is far more reasonable than the hoops Gamabunta-sama had Naruto jump through.

Kuroi-chan takes a flying leap from Ibuse-sama's head— I stagger back a few steps to catch her in my arms instead of with my face. "Yatta! Sasuke-nii, isn't it great? We're going to spend sooo much time together, and you can teach me about lots and lots of things! It's going to be so fun!" She turns back and waves at Ibuse-sama enthusiastically, "Thank you, Mama!"

...Did I just get volunteered to babysit a kid?

Well, at least it won't be boring.

Finally! I swear... this ficlet just refused to be finished. But, hey— now you know. And I can finally post the rest of the Transposed 'verse ideas I've been writing!