This is the first in a brand new series I have decided to call Konoha Kaidan. :D The latter means "ghost story" if anyone didn't guess.

The legend of the Snow Woman is one of many popular aspects of Japanese mythology. As such I have immensely enjoyed the well-known anthology film Kwaidan (1964) and The Snow Woman (1968); the latter is both an expansion of the story of the former as well as a retelling at the same time. Essentially they are the same.

All in all, both adaptations are from the story "Yuki-onna" by Lafcadio Hearn in his book Kwaidan, released in 1904. So were the other three stories in the 1964 anthology.

Now I bring this story based off of Hearn's tale and the films. :D Rated for non-explicit, non-sexual nudity and mild sensuality, some swearing and intense situations.

Chapter title translation: "myths and realities".

I own neither Naruto, the Yuki-onna or any of its related adaptations.

Chapter One

Shinwa to Genjitsu

Long ago, in a village called Konoha which was slowly coming of age into the modern era to become a larger place, where there was much snow in winter, there circulated among the people who lived there a legend of the Snow Woman - yuki-onna in their tongue.

It is spoken around the campfires or in the sanctuary of the bed, one evening and during a snowstorm, the spirit of snow turned into the terrible yuki-onna and roamed the mountains and plains. And if a man accidentally spied her, the snow woman immediately took possession of him.

Common villagers believe this legend; however there would be those who were skeptical and would nonetheless be surprised and horrified...

~o~

Konoha Village was slowly becoming something larger than a mere village as it had been over the last century. Two decades of wartime left it nearly in ruins that reconstruction had been underway. But on this night will be spoken of two woodcutters from this broken town.

The first was an old man who appeared rather young for his years, which was unusual in these times. Spiky white hair tied back in a ponytail, a well-built frame and fair skin. Red lines traveled from beneath his eyes and ended at the jawline. His name was Jiraiya, hailed as the sculptor of Konoha following the Second Great War. He served in the imperial forces and survived unlike many.

The other man, who was a lad of eighteen, was Naruto. Blond hair spiked and vibrant as the sun, eyes broad and clear as the cloudless skies, and an exuberant air that didn't seem to go out even if things were gloomy. He was the adopted son of the old man who was also a guardian of both of his parents, therefore he was considered a non-blood grandson.

It was during the day that these two ventured out into the forest near the base of the mountain and traveled north for some miles, where they cut down wood for a living and sculpted the best statues. After a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky, the snow littering the ground and covering everything except the bodies of water they would sometimes stop to drink from, and the young man would help the old man up the high slopes of snow since he wasn't as young as he still appeared. The fallen flurries of white had reached them to the middle of their calves, so it was often difficult to hike. But cutting down wood was what they did for a living.

And besides, snow was beautiful even if it killed everything in its path so something new would grow in the next season. There were icicle crystals dripping, naturally formed that handmade would just destroy them.

It wasn't long before the men arrived at the sight of the tall tree they came all the way out here for. It was none other than a happy accident. The tree that was going to give them something beyond their wildest dreams. And it looks so much like a living human being! Naruto thought excitedly.

"Indeed, kid," old man Jiraiya agreed, eyes shining, "because it stood long since before I was even born myself. It's a miracle it survived the wartimes."

Just before night fell and after a kneeling of prayer for the good fortune, it was decided that the tree would remain as it was because it was so special, but at least they knew where it was now; both Jiraiya and his apprentice were going to head back down to Konoha to request permission from the legal officer himself, but it was then that a great snowstorm overtook them and stunted their travel back to the village. They couldn't even cross the bridge of the great river because sometimes that thing would be taken away by the powerful waves. And who was stupid to go swimming in this weather?

There were a few collection of huts they came across that Jiraiya insisted they stop for the night and get a fire going so they didn't freeze to death. And boy, was he glad they could for the night until this blizzard died, but that also meant they would have to keep the fire alive, taking turns or something. Right now...

"It's very happy despite this rotten luck," the old man who was like his grandfather all these years was saying, "that we found that splendid matter which many searched for so long. People had been talking about it since the village was built, but something always happened that it was never discovered and cut down. It's like destiny, Naruto. And that blizzard...I'm starting to think it's a call for celebration."

Naruto, who had been stirring up the porridge, grinned cheekily and held up his small cup to his master's. When the bailiff heard about this, they were going to get the permission to cut it down as soon as possible. Either way, Naruto was so excited that he would finally begin the work that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. And the old man couldn't be happier that this work of his - or theirs - would include their names and be known to the people for a long time to come.

That was one of the biggest dreams a person could have: to be known and respected for something so special and made all the difference.

The goddess Toreransu carved by their hands would be around for probably a thousand years, no jinx intended. She wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last.

Jiraiya then decided it was time to lay down for the night, cuing Naruto to pick up a thermal straw blanket and laying it over his mentor so he didn't freeze. If he would take the brunt of the icy night, he would.

It wasn't long before he, too, fell asleep to the warm fire which flickered with additional air that seeped under the door...unaware of the misty white figure that appeared from the darkness and slowly faltering storm, towards the hut where the two men were slumbering.

~o~

He wasn't sure what woke him up, but it wasn't just the cold. Damn it, the fire went out. Some snow showered his face and his body. Naruto grimaced and sat up, relieved his body wasn't frozen - yet - but when his attention fell to the door, at it open, he was dismayed that it wasn't strong to stay in place, and he had to estimate that it was in the early hours of the morning. The absence of a window was another relief, but it was short-lived because of what was going to happen if he didn't get up and close it...

...but something - someone - present in the hut kept him glued in his current place.

There stood a woman - a woman in white - or should he say from head to foot she WAS white, save for the long, sleek black hair that framed the sides of her face? He didn't see outlines of a kimono or any garment, but she was naked. Oh, man, if I could freeze to death and die happy from seeing a naked girl...

However, her curves were seen, but everything sensitive was blurred or something, sparing him trouble. Her face was the only thing he could see as she came closer and closer into the room, snowflakes trailing in after her. The howling of the wind was heard as a haunting melody for her entrance.

Suddenly, the entire room was covered with frost from top to bottom. Icicles dripped overhead from the wooden beams.

The door slammed closed behind the mysterious woman who now caused Naruto's heart to turn to ice, especially when he looked into her eyes. They were pure white just like the rest of her body. Like pearls. She then started forward to where Jiraiya was still sleeping, her eyes unblinking, and she knelt down beside him, her face lowering to nearly touch his...and her breath blew across his face, the white puff seen...and then the old man's face was shimmering and frosted like real ice. His expression remained peaceful and devoid of pain, like hypothermia claiming him.

Naruto could only watch, his throat dry, as the strange woman froze his teacher and grandfather figure to death before his eyes. Now he realized who and what she was; why hadn't he realized it before?

The Woman of the Snow.

Now he remembered the spirit said to roam the mountains and plains in times of snow, like tonight, and no man would be lucky to flee from her. How could he and Jiraiya not have known something like this would happen?!

Now the snowy woman's eyes were back on him, ready to have him next. My short life is flashing before my eyes! He didn't have it in himself to scream, because who would come to him for help all the way out here? And it wasn't like anyone would make it in time. Whimpering breathlessly, he drew his comforter up to his mouth, covering it, while he was sure his eyes showed his emotions.

The specter regarded him without even a hint of expression, as she finally knelt before him, resting on both knees, and leaned closer only to stop. In his horror, he could make out the details of her face up close. Though it was dark, the snow illuminated enough for him to see hints of lavender in the midnight hair, which had bangs above the featureless irises, her face heart-shaped...and then those lips without a shape formed a soft smile when she regarded his face the same way.

They were thinking the same thing as him: beautiful.

And when she spoke, he had no idea how to describe her voice, but it was soft as the snow, sweet as the fresh air, yet hard as the icicles and the raging winds. "I intended to treat you as the other man...but you are so young and so beautiful that I can't help but feel pity for you."

Naruto didn't blink, too enchanted by her face and the sound of her voice to feel relaxed that she decided he was going to live - but with a catch. "But in return, since I'll spare your life, you must never tell anyone about what you've seen now. Not even your most affectionate ones like your parents, wife and children. If you so much as breathe one word, I'll know it...and I'll kill you. Will you honor your word and swear on your life?"

He thought she was going to break her word when he didn't reply; he broke like one of those ice pieces above.

"...yes, I swear on my life," Naruto finally choked out, nodding so hard that he thought his head would roll off his shoulders.

She was gone then, out the door which once again slammed behind her, and the snow within the hut vanished with her to the outdoors. But Jiraiya remained frozen solid. Dead. And Naruto wasn't sure if it was only a dream or if it really happened - but he was sure the old man who raised him as his own, taught him everything he knew, was gone. He wept that night and his tears turned to ice on his skin.

About the Snow Woman from Wiki in terms of her appearance we just saw:

"Yuki-onna appears on snowy nights as a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair and blue lips. Her inhumanly pale or even transparent skin makes her blend into the snowy landscape (as famously described in Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things). She sometimes wears a white kimono, but other legends describe her as nude, with only her face and hair standing out against the snow. Despite her inhuman beauty, her eyes can strike terror into mortals. She floats across the snow, leaving no footprints (in fact, some tales say she has no feet, a feature of many Japanese ghosts), and she can transform into a cloud of mist or snow if threatened."

Based on this, the nude form, sans sensitive parts, with the face and hair shown was ideal and different from what I saw in the movies and read in Hearn's story.

Review please. :D I love detail besides simple love and just asking for an update. Begging for more is a waste of time. NO FLAMES.