Disclaimer: I certainly don't own Naruto, Disney or any of its affiliated properties. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this now would I?
"The connection of our hearts…" : Speech (Bold for yelling ,Bijuu, or massive creatures)
'The connection of our hearts…' : Thought
Unnamed village in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh, India…
It was a quiet morning in the village – time had flown (ten years to be specific) since Shere Khan's rampage and the villagers had recovered and restored their homes. True to his word, Naruto had remained in the village, helping the people get back to their feet – he became the de facto chief, with the only reason he didn't take the position of official leader being that he spent a lot of time exploring the jungle. Naturally, a reasonable question that one may ask would be why he left the village so many times when he had to protect the settlement from the augmented Shere Khan. The answer was quite straightforward, if not a little strange – he was honoring the wishes of two mothers who wanted the best for their children.
Flashback, the morning immediately after Shere Khan's attack on the village…
Naruto and Anjali were travelling through the forest at a measured pace since Anjali was having trouble retracing her steps while Naruto used his enhanced senses and tracker experience to guess exactly what happened to baby Mowgli(it was decided that Tiger would remain in the village to look after Messua and infant Shanti since the recently widowed mother was still shell shocked with her loss). They roamed the undergrowth for a few minutes before Naruto found some familiar looking trees and flattened grass that led them to the bushes where Anjali left her son in his basket. Since it was day time now, one didn't need keen eyes to see the pawprints in the area (thankfully, they were smaller than a tiger's but the fact remained that they belonged to a big cat, something which worried Anjali to no end) so they simply followed them to a secluded grove where a small cave could be seen.
Feeling more than a little wary about magically juiced up jungle beasts, Naruto went forward to scout it out, only to come upon a strange sight. The cave was empty with the exception of a she-wolf taking care of her pups. That in itself wasn't weird but upon closer inspection, he saw a baby boy (Mowgli presumably) sucking from the teats of the she-wolf as well! The human child was nestled into the furry side of the grey wolf, nursing peacefully with four other wolf pups, who didn't protest the newcomer's presence in their den. Now more than a little confused on how to proceed, Naruto turned to call for Anjali, making sure not to startle the wolves lest they hurt the baby.
Anjali was facing her own difficulties however, since just a few minutes after Naruto left her in a thicket, she was quickly found by a black panther. The animal was calm and composed, curiously looking over the shivering woman with a meaningful gaze (he couldn't speak human after all…but he did recognize the familiar scent the woman carried as the same one the baby he rescued). The two were locked in an impasse, neither sure how to proceed with Anjali scared to even move a muscle lest the panther attack her while Bagheera (yes, that Bagheera) was trying to figure out how to communicate to the mother of the baby he found the previous day.
When Naruto reappeared, the two of them turned to regard the man, with Naruto quickly picking up on the tense atmosphere. He noticed that the panther was not aggressive at all and decided against simply killing it. However, he also knew that if he didn't do something to defuse the situation, Anjali's frayed nerves would lead to complete chaos – a quick burst of the meager embers of Six Paths Chakra that he was allowed to bring into this world granted the humans to understand the language of the animals.
"Hey there…what's going on here? Who's this guy?" Naruto said, walking over to Anjali and putting an arm around her shoulders, easing the fears of the woman as she calmed down a little.
Bagheera, shocked to hear this human speak the Common Tongue of the Animals, did a double take before addressing the strangely colored human (to be fair, he had never seen a peach skinned blonde human before – he was an Indian panther, through and through).
"Hail human – my name is Bagheera the panther. I came to check up on the child I rescued last night." He said, noticing the woman's eyes light up with a hopeful glint.
"A baby? Was it a boy by any chance?! I left my son in the jungle yesterday to save him from a tiger that was chasing me after it killed my husband!" She said, crouching in front of Bagheera, who slowly retreated from the over excited woman before nodding at her.
"Yes, the child was male – I can understand your actions. It was only a matter of time before Shere Khan returned to this jungle as he bears a great vendetta against your kind. He comes and goes as he pleases, terrorizing your settlements before leaving when opposition gets too intense for him…regarding your child however, I left him with the she-wolf Raksha as she just had pups of her own. She would have been a good surrogate mother for your child but since you're here, I suppose you can collect your son and be on your way!" Bagheera said, smiling genially at the two humans as Naruto laughed before patting the panther's head, smirking at the shocked and bashful look on the otherwise composed cat.
"Thanks old chap! You're a real sport – very well spoken too! I wonder if animals also have an education system like we do – the way you talk reminds me of how Grimhilde speaks!" Naruto said as Bagheera huffed at him before nudging Anjali forward, guiding her to Raksha's den.
When they got close, Bagheera hailed the cave's occupant before they entered. Upon their entrance, Anjali noticed her son nursing at the wolf's teats and had to restrain herself from rushing to him.
Raksha was a charitable host – far be it for her to turn away visitors, even if they were humans. After introductions were exchanged, the two mothers were soon chatting away like long time friends while Naruto and Bagheera looked on feeling a little left out(they knew that letting them talk was for the best – no matter the species, girl talk was girl talk after all). When Anjali went to retrieve Mowgli however, something strange happened – her baby suddenly started wailing and the wolf pups began whining. Putting the baby back with Raksha fixed the issue and that was when Naruto proposed a peculiar child rearing program.
Essentially, Mowgli would have two mothers, one human and one wolf and in the same vein, have two lives. This meant that the two mothers would take care of the child in turns, necessitating the regular travel of Anjali (and Naruto – she couldn't go into the jungle alone after all). This was a weird arrangement but given the new camaraderie between the mothers, it seemed to go well for a decade (Mowgli would have to return to a pure human life at some point but the two females decided that giving him a well rounded childhood wasn't too bad).
Flashback end…
Naruto was sitting on the roof of Messua's house, watching the sun rise as he sipped on a warm cup of tea, his breath coming out in warm puffs in the cold morning air. The ladies were all asleep(yes, even Tiger Lily – the Indian jungle was a quiet and peaceful place when man eating tigers weren't terrorizing the populace, go figure) and Naruto wanted to take in the quiet of the early hours of the day before either Anjali or Messua roped him in for some parental duties. Honestly, it wasn't too bad taking care of two children (he considered it good practice for when he had his own brats) but dealing with their wildly differing demeanors could be exhausting at times.
Mowgli was the classic boy, brash, bold and a wee too big for his britches. Given his two doting mothers, he grew up to be a relatively capable young lad, comfortable in the jungle and competent in the village. He quickly gained a reputation as the coolest kid in the village, with many boys following him as their leader while being the heart throb for the local girls (he was ten so he thought they were icky but the fact remained, he was the village's most eligible boyfriend material). All this, in combination with the fact that his little hands allowed him to be a big help in his wolf family and that neither hide nor hair of Shere Khan had been seen in the jungle in over ten years meant that Mowgli was more than a little proud, believing himself capable of taking on any threat.
Shanti on the other hand, was an entirely different story. While both children were aware that Naruto was not in fact their real father, they took the news in different ways. While Mowgli had a 'father' in the form of Akela (Raksha's mate), Shanti had no such father figure, only Naruto. Upon learning the exact details of her father's demise, Shanti gained a general disdain for the jungle and its denizens, deeming them too savage for her tastes. She also swore revenge on Shere Khan, a vow shared with Mowgli, who also wanted to make the tiger pay for making his mother a widow (he appreciated the fact that Naruto seemed to make his mom happier though – Tiger Lily and her husband were a godsend for the otherwise inconsolable women). Unlike the other girls in her village though, she didn't think Mowgli was the gods' gift to women, in fact she didn't like that he preferred the jungle life over village life, thinking him a 'traitor' for that (she respected his skills but didn't like his lackadaisical approach to life).
She typically spent her days taking care of her mother and learning combat techniques from Tiger Lily (who enjoyed the change of pace – being a instructor instead of a student was a welcome change) and occasionally going out with Naruto on his patrols in and around the village. She valued Naruto to the point of borderline worship (she wasn't alone in that aspect too – everyone who witnessed Naruto's fight with Shere Khan had already blown the tale of the encounter to legendary levels, with some most people still believing that he was a demigod) and took every chance to learn under him. She noticed that his wife was used to the general reception her husband got from the villagers and even when Anjali and her mother 'made eyes' at him, she was unfazed. While Naruto never followed up on their flirtations, Shanti did like that he didn't take advantage of the women and only took care of them (there were some other reasons she was glad he never canoodled with anyone but Tiger Lily but that is a tale for another day).
Naruto's musing was interrupted when he heard Shanti's voice calling out for him. Leaping down to the front of the hut they all lived in, Naruto looked at Shanti, who appeared to be a little miffed with something.
"It's Mowgli again Naruto – he spent another week in the jungle again! Honestly, making Anjali spend so much time away from her son – truly heartless!" Shanti huffed as Naruto smiled at her hidden worry for her adoptive 'brother'.
"Never fear Shanti – I have Bagheera watching over the boy. He'll keep him in check and notify me if anything happens. Besides, since Shere Khan has been gone for ten years now, I think he may have met a sticky end…tigers don't live for that long right?" He said, sitting down on the front porch as Shanti jumped into his lap so he could braid her hair.
"A vile creature like that doesn't die quietly. I think he's still around – by the way, Tiger said I could come with you on your patrols so don't just disappear as soon as the day starts!" Shanti said with a hidden pout that only worsened when Naruto ruffled her hair with a merry laugh.
And so, another day in the village began but the peace there was not to last, as the very threat Naruto dismissed was returning, except this time armed with the greatest weapon of all to be competent with the new powers he got all those years ago.
Knowledge.
And that was chapter 47 – the Jungle Book arc won't be long. It's hard to make a tiger a proper antagonist with Naruto around and considering the setting, Shere Khan wouldn't get too much time to create too much suspense(especially since both Mowgli and Shanti are wizened up, so to speak).
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