Maru's Awakening (PRIVATE)

The 4 year old artificial creation Maru Kaguya breathed in and out calmly as he floated in his tank filled with green liquid inside the abandoned lab of the deceased scientist Fujinaro Hojo. He had numerous wires hooked up to him and a breathing apparatus which had a special elastic band to hold the mask in place by having the band wrap around the back of his head. His eyes were closed, indicating he was asleep. He had no idea how long he had been asleep and he had no idea if someone had found him by now, considering he was inside a hidden laboratory room that the ANBU, who had investigated the lab, did not find after they captured and killed Fujinaro.

Kurai, who'd been recently keeping watch over the area, felt a faint spiritual presence as she passed where the lab was hidden. "Hm?" She paused as she backed up a little, trying to follow the spiritual trail. Eventually, she came to a dead end. A brick wall. Huffing slightly, she gave it a well-deserved kick, which caused it to change shape and reveal a door on the other side. Being curious, she opened said door and travellled downstairs. The area was dark, the only light was the eerie glow coming from Maru's tank and now the light that flooded in from the outside. Kurai saw the boy and instantly took pity on him. He must've been in here for years. Carefully pressing some buttons on the machine, she slowly drained the fluid from his capsule.

Maru's body twitched as it floated down to hit the bottom of the tank. As the tank's glass case was pulled electronically up into the ceiling, Maru's eyes fluttered open as he pulled off the breathing apparatus and pulled off the wires on his body. His pale black hair was flattened against his head thanks to the wet liquid in his hair and his strangely colored fiery orange eyes looked around the dark, dimly lit lab blearily.

"Poor thing..." Kurai whispered as she ripped a strip of cloth from her cloak, using it to wipe the debris from his hair and body before taking off said cloak and wrapping it around him to cover him and keep him warm. "It's ok," She told him as she smiled sweetly at the boy. "I'm here to help," She ran her fingers through the boys hair, feeling her maternal side kick in. Ever since she was young, she'd been good at taking care of kids. So with a little luck, she hoped that she'd be able to get this kid back on his feet soon.

Maru felt someone wipe the liquid from his hair and felt something that felt like a cloak wrap around his body. He rubbed his orange colored eyes to get rid of the blurryness and looked up to see Kurai. Maru, who was obviously very shy and nervous, shuddered under her stare. When Kurai spoke up, he smiled brightly, albeity very hesitantly before he blinked and looked around the room. He walked around the room until he pulled a loose floorboard out of the floor and dug his hand in to show he was taking out a dusty but otherwise very well taken care of teddy bear. He hugged the bear tightly as he looked over at Kurai with a bit of fear in his eyes.

She smiled gently when she saw the teddy bear and gently took it from the boy. "Hold on a second," She told him as she gently patted the teddy bear, knocking the years of dust and debris off of it. "There we go, much better," She said with a nod of approval as she handed the teddy bear back to him. "Now, let's get you out of here and get some food in you," She said to the boy as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, steering him towards the stairs. She emitted a kind, caring aura. She was certainly nothing for young Maru to be afraid of.

"A-Alright" he stuttered nervously in the typical young, high-pitched voice of a child as he grimaced slightly when she touched him but let himself be lead out of the lab by the Yukikage.

"You can trust me," She said as she gently lead him up the stairs and into the daylight. A few villagers stopped to look, but a warning glare from the Yukikage was more than enough of a warning for them. She began leading the boy through the village, towards her residence. She pointed to a big, rather regal building at the end of the street and smiled. "That's my house," She told the boy. "Now, before we get some food in your stomach, can you tell me your name?" She asked him as she ruffled his hair affectionately.

He bit his lip as he squinted his eyes to help get them used to the daylight. "M-Maru. Maru K-K-Kaguya" he stuttered out as he seemed to shrink shyly underneath the stares of the passing villagers. The young child obviously had confidence and emotional issues going on.

"Well then, Maru, lets go get warmed up," She smiled as she finally managed to lead him up to her Kage household. She opened the door and ushered him in before any more villagers could stare at the poor boy. The inside was lavishly furnished, but it was also spotlessly clean. She did most of that herself, hiring maids and things of that ilk wasn't her thing. Leading Maru through to the kitchen, she pulled out a chair at the table for him. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to eat?" She asked him, tilting her head to the side. "I can cook quite a lot of things,"

"No. Anything is-is good" he stuttered as he hugged his teddy bear tightly as he stared up at her with wide, chibi orange eyes as he shifted from one foot to the other.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. You can sit down if you want, there's plenty of room for you," She chuckled as she decided that a good proper meal for the boy was nessecary. Bacon and eggs would probably be good. She nodded, deciding on that and getting the needed things together. Soon, the kitchen was filled with the smell of frying bacon and Shia sat in the doorway, trying her absolute hardest not to salivate. Kurai hummed to herself as she cooked but it was easy to see that she was only making enough for one portion. She wasn't hungry herself, this was all for Maru.

Maru bit his lip nervously as he sat down in the nearest chair, looking around the room as he nervously fidgeted in his chair.

"Ah, that should do," Kurai said to herself as she plated up Maru's first meal. Placing the plate in front of him with a glass of water, she went back to the kitchen worktop to wash the frying pan she'd been using. "Just eat as much as you can. You don't have to finish it if you get full, Maru," She told the boy as she smiled at him patiently over her shoulder. "You're perfectly safe here, don't worry," She added in at the end when she noticed how nervous he was. "You can stay here for as long as you'd like. Consider this as your safehouse," Her words were meant to help the boy settle down. She wanted him to feel secure.

He looked at the food before looking up at her. "I-I-I'll stay on one-one condi-dition. Can I call you....momma?" he asked her.

Turning away from the sink and looking at the boy, she felt a spark of surprise within her. Momma? Out of all the things she thought he would say, that was definitely not one of them. She thought about it for a moment before smiling gently and walking around the table to where the boy was sitting. She bent down and gently kissed him on the forehead. "Of course you can," She replied as she ruffled his hair again. "Now eat up before it gets cold," She knew that it was a bit strange to take in the boy right away but he was helpless and she didn't want to turn him away. Besides, having him around might be nice.

His eyes lit up brightly and he gave her an incredibly large smile. He then started eagerly digging into the food.

The sheer speed in which his attitude changed was extraordinary. She was glad he was happier now, though. "Oh, and while we're at it. This is Shia. She's my friend. She'll help me look after you," Kurai told him as Shia padded up beside the boy, wagging her tail and nuzzling him gently with her nose. "Welcome to the family, kid," The shewolf told him with a wolfish grin before sitting at Kurai's feet, who then began scratching her companion behind the ears. This little 'family' Shia was talking about was indeed very strange but who cares if things are strange if you're happy with them? That's what Kurai thought anyway.

Maru shrieked comically when he saw Shia and heard her talk and with amazing speed that could rival most Jounin, he appeared behind Kurai and looked at Shia from behind her back. "Th-The wolf talked" he stuttered as he shook.

Kurai chuckled slightly and put a hand on the boys head. "Don't worry. Shia's been with me since I was a baby. She's nothing to be scared of," She kneeled down beside him and gently took his hand, placing it on Shia's fur. "See? She's harmless," Shia stood there patiently, being surprisingly quiet for such a mouthy individual. "It might take a while to get used to her, but I'll always be here when you're around her till you feel better," Kurai assured the young boy as Shia nodded. "Don't worry, kid. We all gotta look out for each other here so that means I'm gonna help look out for you,"

Maru hesitantly pet Shia, feeling how soft her fur was. "O-OK, if you say so" he stuttered out to Kurai as he gave the talking wolf a shaky smile.

She nodded as Maru slowly began to unwind a little around Shia. "See? Things might be a little weird in this house but you'll get used to it," She laughed as she looked at Shia again. "Shia, go down to the tailors and get some clothes for Maru. Tell them to put it on my tab and I'll pay it off later," The shewolf nodded. "Right, I won't be long," And with that, she was out the door at an incredible speed. "What else...Would you like a bath? I'm sure the warm water would be good for you," Kurai suggested as she cleared up Maru's plates. It looked like she was a true mother figure in the making.

"I-I've never had a bath before. That tank would usually clean me off" he said as his stuttering seemed to lessen a bit.

"Well, you should probably have one. It'll help you relax, trust me," She told him as she walked through the rather large first floor, finding the first floor bathroom. Again, lavishly furnished, the bathtub was more the size of a jacuzzi than anything else. "Besides, since you're small you might even be able to swim in it," She laughed, shaking her head. "No, I kid, but would you like a bath, Maru? I could run you one if you'd like?" She asked the boy in a motherly tone. She wasn't sure what memories he had, or even if he had memories at all, but she was going to help him form some new, good memories now that he was awake. She'd try and be a good 'mother' to him.

Maru looked at the bath with wide eyes and turned to face Kurai. "Alright, I'll try it out" he said as he smiled hesitatnly.