Hello and welcome to Mommy's fairy tale hour ^^ I don't want to chat for a long time, enjoy reading.

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Chapter 1: Misery


The sun burned mercilessly from the cloudless sky on the dry roads.
Dust was thrown up by the people walking around, stuck to their sweaty skin and made the whole scene look shabby.
The burning disc moved further and further into the sky and the higher it rose, the more grueling the stifling heat became.
If the streets were still quite busy at the beginning of the day, in view of the persistent drought, they were now just as deserted.
The few street vendors who lingered around in their shabby little stalls were noticeably decreasing.
A few individuals tried more badly than right with rags to shield their stands from the sun and thus the unbearable heat.

This agonizing drought had lasted far too long, not a drop of rain had fallen for two winters.
Most of the people in this country were starving because they could not till their fields sufficiently. The peasants could hardly keep any of the harvests for themselves, the princes of the fiery kingdom demanded their tribute from everyone.
Those who could not afford enough taxes were at the mercy of the aristocracy.
The men were tortured in the most brutal way and the rest of the family was dependent on the mercy of the respective prince.
Far too often women had to render their services to the ruler in every respect.
The young boys fared no better, they were lucky when they were hired as stable boys, shoeshiners or gardeners for the estates.
Most of the time, however, they were simply rejected, abandoned in the slums on the edge of the forest or sold to the traveling people.
In such a case, however, it was the young girls who were worst hit.
All too often they were led into the forest at the foot of the Norowareta yama to be exposed to the demons to serve as sacrifices.
The nobles promised the farmers that these sacrifices would protect them from attacks and attacks by demons and bring the rain back into the country.
But after all the time that had now passed, the population had split into two camps.
The folk legend has been around for decades that it was the aristocrats who destroyed the seal to the gate of the demonic world centuries ago and thereby irrevocably opened the passage.
Starting from the slums, small resistance groups had formed that revolted against the human sacrifices and the rulers' leadership.
They no longer believed the words of the nobles and chiefs.
The others continued to trust the words of their rulers unconditionally and did everything possible not to fall out of favor with them, they were blind to the truth.
Driven by the hope the promises had awakened in them, they trusted that everything would be better as long as they complied with their leader.
Nevertheless, there were many complaints in the villages, people were suffering from the heat and many of the wells had long dried up.
Only a few of the slums on the forest lines still had water at the bottom of their wells.
This fact became the undoing of the residents of these small, isolated and run-down housing developments.
The princes sent soldiers into the slums with orders to procure water and supplies for them.
The protest of the people was loud, they treated the soldiers with savage insults.
Some of them attacked the troops with the courage of desperation and bare hands, but they fell one by one.The soldiers struck them down with their swords and the dry ground was soaked with the blood of desperate men and women.

A good week had passed since then and the people in the slums were afraid of the next attacks by the soldiers.
In one of these very slums, which was called Konoha, a young man strolled through the heated streets.
His skin was deeply tanned from the sun, he was sporty and his brown hair, which was almost on his chin, he held out of his face with a worn forehead scarf.
The sleeveless shirt was wet to his back, his knee-length linen trousers were tattered and his bare feet were completely filthy from the dust of the street.
A leather strap hung over his left shoulder and led to a water hose on the right hip.
A knife was hidden beneath it in his belt, and another was tied to his left ankle with a leather strap. Hidden under his shirt was a leather knife belt on his sweaty chest, in which ten slim, handy blades were stuck.
Tired from the heat, he shuffled on for as long as he could remember, he had never experienced such a drought in his 18 years and that was slowly worrying him. Finally the Inuzuka turned into a shady back alley and ran towards a shabby pub.
One of the few people he counted among his friends worked in this filthy tavern. That crazy whirlwind had been the first to offer him his hand. It was through him that he found his way into this slum eight years ago.
His mind wandered, to days long gone, when he was picked up by a blond boy in the woods, completely exhausted.
He had brought it here to Konoha and taken it to the orphanage, where Iruka had taken care of her. When he arrived at his destination, the brown-haired man leaned exhausted against the cool wall and closed his eyes for a moment.
Dull footsteps came from the back room and approached the shabby wooden door.
"At the foot of the Norowareta yama? Not a particularly good idea, this is demon land".
At the sound of his voice, the brown-haired man quickly opened his eyes and looked at the entrance door of the pub.
A head of blond hair appeared in the doorway, followed by an ash gray one.
When the blond's blue eyes spotted him, a grin crept onto his face.
"There you are Kiba".
Stressedly casual, the addressee walked up to his friend and inconspicuously eyed the man who had followed the blonde outside.
"You can go now? What's wrong with the old man, no customers in the heat?"
The brown-haired man slowly took a few steps towards the blonde, without taking his eyes off the stranger behind him.
Despite the incredible heat, he was wearing a heavy, long leather coat which, to top it all, he had closed up to the collar. This kept the lower half of your face hidden.

"You got it".
Caught up, the blue-eyed man scratched the back of his head, laughed gleefully and gave the Inuzuka a sign that he needed a moment.
At a suitable distance he stopped and watched the conversation partner of his friend as inconspicuously as possible. There was something about this man that kept the brown-haired man from looking away.
"As I said, setting up camp at the foot of the Norowareta yama is not a wise decision. The demons rule there."
The blonde took up the conversation with the older one.
"You and your people should better set up camp closer to the edge of the forest, it is far safer there."
The gray-haired man seemed to think for a moment, then a smile fell on his lips, which could only be guessed at behind the high collar.Only the sound of his voice betrayed it.
"Thank you so much for your advice young friend, I'll take it to heart. Goodbye Naruto".
The stranger twisted to leave, but after a few steps he turned back to the two young men.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Kiba".
The stranger fixed the Inuzuka with an indefinable look before he finally disappeared from the small alley.
"What kind of strange guy was that?"
The wolf boy looked after the gray-haired man in irritation for a moment while he asked this question before searching his friend's eyes.
"He belongs to a group of minstrels who have set up camp at the foot of the Norowareta yama. He came to the pub around noon and asked about the prince of these lands".
Kiba shook his head in disapproval before he put it on his neck and put his hands on his hips.
"Do you know whether he and his group want to pay their respects to the princes from this part of the fire kingdom?"
The brown-haired man's voice sounded slightly tense, for good reason.
When the soldiers came to Konoha to raid their supplies, many members of the resistance movement revolted and fell in battle.
The losses in their ranks weighed heavily on and hurt the wolf cub, since he was an integral part of this small group.
"Although he asked about them, he didn't say a word about whether they wanted to make their way to the Princely City".
Exhausted, the brown-haired man ran a hand over his face while he resumed a normal posture.
"Do you think you can find out what their plans are?"
For a moment he looked at Naruto questioningly before he took the leather strap from his shoulder and handed the blond his water hose.
"Drink here".
The Uzumaki gratefully smiled at his friend, uncorked the hose and took a few long sips before answering.
"Well, listen, you almost pretend you don't trust me!"
Played offended, he turned his back to the brown-haired man while he again led the water hose with the refreshing liquid to his mouth.
"Idiot. I just want you to pay attention and not do anything rash".
The wolf boy grabbed the blond's shoulder, turned him around and looked at him intently.
"I'm worried, is that so strange after the last few incidents?"
The blonde poked the Inuzuka on the right arm, then handed the closed tube back to his friend, grinning cheekily at him.
"Don't worry unnecessarily, I'll take care of myself".
With furrowed eyebrows the brown-haired man took the drinking vessel and slung it over his shoulder again.
Naruto had always been like this, he had found him too trusting since they had met.
They both shared a similar fate, but in contrast to the Inuzuka, the fox cub had not completely lost his faith and his trust in the people of this country.
For now, Kiba wanted to let the topic rest. He knew that his request would not fail to have an effect on the blonde, even if one did not necessarily expect it.
"Let's get out of the heat, I have the feeling the sun is burning my skin