Summary: His life was never simple, always struggling to survive from one day to the next. In a city such as Gotham, he was lucky to not have been corrupted by the darkness that surrounded him every day. However, a simple push was all it took for his entire life to change. For the world around him to become more complicated than ever before. Book 1 in the Injustice: The Path to Hell series.
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13271747/1/Injustice-Book-1-A-Journeys-Beginning
Word count:182k(BOOK 1 COMPLETE)
Chapters:25
Chapter I - Desperation
Injustice: The Path to Hell.
Chapter I – Desperation.
Hello and I'm back with a new story. Yep, a new one. I know I keep on doing this, but I always have a habit of getting inspiration for a new story and end up losing interest and inspiration in my old ones. It's a possibility that I may get inspiration for those stories again, but to be honest I'm not making any promises.
Now a word of warning this is a DARK, Dc Superheroes, and Naruto Crossover. It will take a gritty look at the world and Naruto will see some pretty gruesome things. He will be a serious anti-hero that is willing to fight against heroes just as much as he is to fight alongside them.
So far, I have five arcs set out and these are.
Arc I – Black Mask:
Chapters 1-5.
Arc II – The Court of Owls:
Chapters 6-10.
Arc III – Hunting Days:
Chapters 11-12/13?
Arc IV – Arkham Assault:
Chapters ?-?
Arc V – Deathstroke:
Chapters ?-?
The chapter lengths of arc 3-5 are unknown as I'm still planning out the Court of Owls arc, but besides Arkham Assault is short and will be no more than 2-3 chapters in length. Now I will be setting up a poll on whether this should be a harem story and it will be up for the remainder of Arc I and I would love to have people who have an understanding of the DC comics provide me with your account name or email so that I can contact you with questions because right now, I'm pretty much using the Internet to find information.
Also, in this story, Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) and Naruto are both sixteen with Dick Grayson being thirteen. Just to help clear up any problems you might have and begins a year before the Young Justice timeline begins, which will only follow Young Justice Season 1-2 before it diverges completely. However, there will be differences in the 2nd season.
Other than that, let the story begin.
Edit (29th June 2020):
Right so I first want to say that I'm blown away by the amount of positive feedback I get on how I planned to go with this story in the future so thank you so much, it means a lot. Second, I will be naming this Book 1: A Journey's Beginning. A bit cliché but oh well, the title says exactly what this book is. It shows Naruto's journey and how he is first introduced to the wider DC world.
As you may have noticed, it is now a Batman comics crossover rather than a Young Justice crossover and that's because this takes place pretty much solely in Gotham with a few exceptions here and there.
Now for the future, these earlier chapters will follow the same thread as before with only a few grammatical changes here and there as well as improved dialogue, reading through parts of it I cringed at how bad some of it was so I'm changing that. However, most of these chapters will be the same besides an additional scene which will be common in pretty much every chapter, except a few like this one that has maybe one or two additional scenes. Though some will not change at all. But each chapter will have extra details in some scenes.
I'd also to thank my Beta, Afatlesstale for helping me with this chapter. He helped a great deal in making this chapter flow much better.
Anyway, let's begin.
"Normal Speech."
'Normal Thought.'
"Demon Speech."
'Demon Thought.'
"Other Speech variants."
Location/Time.
Friday 2nd, January, 22:30.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Gotham City, a city that many believed was beyond the borders a utopia and beyond the hope of ever becoming one itself. A clear reminder of the indescribable gap between their American dream and what reality was like.
Gotham City stood as the definition of crime and corruption with danger around every corner. The city just waiting to make an orphan out of its future generation. However, there was a utopia that stood as a clear contrast, called Metropolis or the City of Tomorrow. And unlike them, their justice was not blind but was instead as strong as steel.
He was held as a symbol of hope.
The police took bribes from the various crime families and so the city stayed as a haven for those wanting to live a life of crime, and a living hell on earth to the good people of Gotham. That changed, however, arriving soundlessly in the dark of night came a new form of justice-seeking to punish all those who would poison his beloved city.
A man, a myth, a legend. Appearing as if he were a bat the prowled the streets of Gotham seeking his next victim. Victims that extorted the innocent and committed crimes not because they needed to, but because they wanted to.
In the span of a few months since his emergence, the crime bosses that once ruled Gotham had their influence vastly reduced as the people of Gotham were finally given a symbol of hope to believe in. Everyone called him a lie, a false messiah, some a hero, others a vigilante. They all believed that he could not save them, could not bring them true salvation from the corruption of their city.
But there was no denying that Batman was Gotham's silent protector, maybe even the hero they had all longed for.
Yet the bitter reality still stood despite his best efforts, Gotham stills stood as the symbol of crime and corruption, still, the dystopia it had been for so long. It was an aspect of the city that had been so deeply ingrained into the very fabric of its being that the question was raised if there was no crime, would it still be Gotham?
The cities criminal element having seemingly licked their wounds has grown smarter and more dangerous the longer and harder Batman fought against them. But again, the question was raised. What good was fighting the symptoms, when the host was still infected.
It could be said that for that reason alone, most rarely ventured forth into the most unsavoury underbelly of the decayed City. Said to be all but certain death after the night sets in, hiding their sin from view. But could that be true or had they, in their conformity, created their demons? After all, why struggle for an unknown outcome that may never come when you could live a relatively safe yet monotonous life? The crime around you growing while you kept your head down and continued, pretending it didn't exist.
That may be the case for most, however, Barbara Gordon, niece, and foster daughter to the current Commissioner James Gordon was not one of those people. Walking down the street with grace like a gazelle, nimble yet hiding a surprising amount of strength. She was a beautiful young woman with bright red hair, enchanting green eyes, and a figure that while still developing, drew the gaze of many men. Each of them making any sound possible to gain her attention.
Still, Barbara ignored the unwanted gestures. Long ago she had found the comments, whistling, leers, car horns and vulgar gestures that came her way uncomfortable and worrying. Now she viewed them as far beneath her, unwilling to even dignify the actions with her acknowledgement. Many viewed it as simple arrogance on her part and many would agree, she was beautiful, but there was only one person's attention she wanted upon her.
She did however speed up a little at the sight of a familiar apartment building, paying no mind to the men that were still, fruitlessly trying to gain her attention. Nothing could keep her from coming, not the long commute, the grimy rundown building, nor all the numerous men and women doing drugs and various over chemical substances. Each of them trying to reach a high that would make them forget the cruel reality of the world they live in. She moved past them all on the way up, never discouraged with a faint smile on her lovely lips that seemed to grow the higher she got. Coming to a stop in front of room 666, the irony of it sadly lost on her.
Pulling out a small key, she unlocked the door and entered the apartment making sure to place her bag on the kitchen countertop and took a moment to look around. It was bare and if it wasn't for the dirty dishes in the sink. Ramen she would guess however faint it might be the smell still clung to the room. She could even see a few 'adult' magazines - some featuring cosplays of certain heroines and villainess's - as well as several young childish comics about ninjas. You wouldn't even believe someone was here, it looked abandoned, if not for the recent mess.
Her eyes did stall slightly as they looked at the few pictures on the walls, they were wonky and looked to be on the verge of falling off. Most were of her and her childhood friend, Naruto and even a few of her uncle and foster father, James as they grew up however, there were two that caught her attention the most.
They were the smallest of the pictures, but they were by far the most important to her and Naruto. Her parents had died when she was young, only five and while she didn't remember them very well, she did miss them. Over the years she had lived in Gotham, James had gone from being her uncle to become her father, but part of her had always wanted to know what it was like to have a mother.
But she did.
Naruto had been her childhood friend and his parents Minato and Kushina had always treated her kindly. While he might have seemed a bit wimpy and girly at first glance, Minato was like the kind and fun uncle. Kushina on the other hand had not only been a doting mother to both her and Naruto, but she had also been a cool older sister that she had looked up to. Both beautiful and strong with a penchant for pranks that Naruto had inherited.
Their deaths had been difficult to bear, for everyone. Even now she would think of them in fondness, the impact they left still ringing strong, be it good or bad.
Moving forwards, Barbara twisted the pictures, one of Minato and Kushina at their wedding, both smiling happily in a small chapel and the other of tired but smiling Kushina, Minato and a sleeping baby Naruto. It always brought a smile to her, he looked so adorable as a baby.
Turning to the wall beside it, she took a deep breath having noticed the bloody handprint on the wall near the bedroom door. Her chest tightening up the more she looked at it, even now she wasn't able to properly deal with him getting hurt, nor was she truly able to confront him over it.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and saw her childhood friend trying and failing to patch up the cut on his side.
Naruto was the same age as her, sixteen with shaggy blonde hair and the brightest shade of blue eyes she had ever seen. His face was slightly plump in the cheeks and while he was certainly in good shape, the clearly defined muscles serving as proof, there were still hints of baby fat here and there. Not that she thought it detracted from him as he was in far better shape than most guys their age.
Shaking her head before thoughts reached deeper hidden feelings, Barbara moved forward, convincing herself that she was unaffected by the handsome and half-naked teen in front of her. "It's honestly amazing that despite how many times you injure yourself, you're still hopeless when it comes to applying first aid." She said as she took the cloth filled with disinfectant and threw it into the bin, but not after shaking it in his face irritably. "Too much disinfectant, idiot."
"My bad." The blonde chuckled as they moved towards his unmade, single bed and sat down upon it as Barbara applied the correct amount of disinfectant and began dabbing his wounds. "Ow." He flinched away as he felt his wounds sting.
"Hush, you big baby." Barbara scolded him, a small frown of concentration on her face.
"It stings." The blonde protested. "You'd think that after the number of times I've injured myself, that I'd be used to it by now," Barbara said nothing as she meticulously applied a sterile plaster over the cut, but her frown deepened. She knew full well what he had been doing despite the various lies he told her about what he did.
When he was younger, he had been sent to juvenile prison several times for stealing. He had stopped thankfully, only for Barbara to soon learn that he had started doing something far more dangerous, street fighting.
They were dangerous simply because there were no rules except no guns. And while weapons were frowned upon, there were several times that knives were pulled out and Naruto had the scars to prove it. It seemed that when it all came down to it, nothing mattered so long as you won, though who truly won was another story. Only those who pulled the strings came out on top, they made sure to find value in fighters even when they could no longer fight.
What were a few missing organs when their families needed to eat? Falling deeper and deeper into the hole, with no way to get out. Of course, that was only known because of who she truly was. Her secrets only coming to light under the cover of darkness where no one could see.
Pulling away, she gave his upper body a once over for any more injuries, running her hand down a particularly nasty scar over his chest as she did so, spending a few moments longer than necessary to feel him up. "It's getting so difficult to tell the old cuts and bruises from the new ones," Barbara whispered, concern evident in her voice. "Why do you do this to yourself, Naruto? You know my dad offered you home, you can come live with us."
Naruto simply smiled sadly and took her hand in his. "I can look after myself, besides, I like it here." Barbara just stared at him, not convinced in the slightest by his words. And even if she were, she wouldn't want him to stay here alone, wanting him to be with her, however that ended up being.
"That'd be almost believable if it wasn't for the fact you've told me on numerous occasions that you hate it here and how you want to travel the world." She said, pulling away as the two moved into the main room, with Naruto going straight to the couch to watch TV while Barbara poured him a drink of water. "Here."
Naruto's hand shot up and caught the bottle of pills she threw at him before they hit his head. "What are these?" He asked while looking at the information printed on the side.
"You say you can look after yourself, but you're constantly working different jobs to try and pay rent, but for some reason always go to those street fights and come back looking like you've been put through a meat grinder." She moved forward and sat down beside him, giving him the glass of water. "They're painkillers. Things I've been telling you to buy, but you never do. So, go on, take them."
"I'll do it." Naruto went to put the bottle down, but Barbara stopped him before he could. She made sure that with one hand she held the glass of water steady out towards him, while the other pushed his hand holding the bottle back towards him.
"I want to see you take the prescribed amount and you will take them." Naruto's eyes narrowed and Barbara's did the same.
"Tch." Clicking his teeth in annoyance, Naruto opened the bottle and downed two pills, making sure to take a large gulp of water to assist in swallowing the pills. "Happy?"
Barbara smirked and rested her head on the back of the sofa. "Very." The two sat in a comfortable silence as they listened to the sound of the TV playing. Neither said anything as Barbara looked up at the ceiling, her thoughts unknown to him, while Naruto found himself staring at Barbara. Yet again unable to keep his eyes off her.
She had always been his first friend. Ever since they were kids, they had been the best of friends. Even after his parents died and had been moved to an orphanage, – one he kept on running from, including every foster home he was taken too – before eventually going out and living on his own, she had always been his best and only friend. The one constant in his life, the one person if he were being honest, he couldn't do without.
True, they were an odd pair if he thought about it, yet she completed him unlike anyone currently on this planet. Those words rang truer than he could know.
Barbara, even when they were young, had always been kind and innocent. Always seeing the good in people and willing to befriend everyone. He had been much the same way until his parents died and after that, he locked himself away, but never from Barbara. She could be just as stubborn as him and she wasn't willing to leave him alone, even when he acted like an asshole to her for a little while. But Barbara stuck by him, able to see that Naruto was in pain and alone.
Even now, in Gotham Academy – a school he only just managed to get into because of a sports scholarship – Barbara was one of the most beautiful and popular girls around. Guys and girls lined up to be her friend and in the case of the former, more than friends. Yet somehow, Barbara still wanted to be his friend, an orphan from Gotham's slums and Gotham Academy's very own delinquent.
Still, it didn't change the fact that she wasn't wrong, he was struggling. Money wasn't exactly easy to come by, especially around these parts, not without resorting to crime. Outside of the slums, it was even harder to find jobs because of the slums notoriously high crime rate, even with Batman interfering.
Every week he would be fired on some half-assed excuse by his bosses, and he would have to find a new job to ensure he could pay rent, school tuition, and make sure that he had food. Not to mention trying to pay off his parent's debt, which only seemed to be growing as he was constantly behind on payment.
And every single time he resorted to Gotham's Underground Fighting ring. A barely legal institution that had on many occasions been shut down by Batman but would constantly appear a few months down the line due to Batman's attention being drawn to the chaos caused by Gotham's many supervillains.
He had been awful at it, usually going in to fight men twice his age with biceps the size of his head and every time he would be beaten within an inch of his life. But with every fight, he got better and better. He could react almost instantly to people's wild and untrained attacks and respond with brutal punches to carefully targeted weak points.
Was he a master fighter? Hardly. He simply knew how to use the basics with great efficiency. Most of his opponents fell into one of two categories, they were either all muscle or no skill, believing that just because they were buff that they could beat everyone. Or guys who had taken maybe one or two lessons and suddenly thought they were Bruce Lee.
To call him a master would be like saying, he hasn't thought of Barbara in a Batgirl costume re-enacting some of his more male-driven fantasies.
Without meaning too, Naruto snorted in amusement at that thought. Yep, he wasn't a master, but he sure as hell wouldn't go down without putting up a fight.
"What?" Barbara asked, her head turning to look at him and Naruto simply raised a brow in questioning. "You've been looking at me this entire time and you just snorted. Cute sound by the way."
"Welllll…" Naruto scratched his cheek, which was stained slightly red with a blush. "Your kind of distracting." Barbara sat up and stared at him, this time it was her that had one brow raised in questioning, though he was thankful to note that there was a small dusting of pink on her cheeks. "I-I mean, that well…you're distracting, in, in a g-good way…" He trailed off with an embarrassed chuckle while scratching that back of his head in embarrassment, an act that made Barbara smile at the familiar and adorable nervous tick.
"Distracting in a good way?" Barbara questioned with her smile widening as the blush on her cheeks darkened. Thankfully, she had turned away so he couldn't see, or she'd be even more embarrassed.
"Yup," Naruto said as he leaned back on the sofa, turning to look out the window. It was then he noticed the time on the wall. "Eleven o'clock. Is your dad picking you up?"
Barbara shook her head. "No, I'm staying over at a friend's house tonight. We and a few others have been talking about having a sleepover for a while now and her mum will be here in a few minutes."
"Oh." Naruto hid the disappointment he felt at her leaving so soon after her arrival. "Have fun I guess." Barbara smiled, likewise hiding the sadness she felt, hating having to lie to him about what she was doing. But she couldn't tell him that she was going out and fighting crime as Batgirl, he'd act like Jim if he found out and freak out. Naruto had always been protective of her, trying to hide her from the harsh truth of the world and on numerous occasions had gotten into fights both in and out of school due to guys not understanding the meaning of 'no.'
It was equal parts flattering and frustrating because at times she felt like Naruto didn't trust her to protect herself. Yet at the same time she understood why he did it, as far as he was aware, she couldn't protect herself. He didn't know that she had any form of defence training besides that one time he taught her to punch when they were twelve and she hadn't exactly told him otherwise.
"Yea, I will do." She responded, getting a more genuine smile from him, though it was still strained. "Try not to kill yourself this weekend."
"I'll try." He chuckled and Barbara took his hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze before getting up and leaving.
Monday 12th, January, 07:58
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Academy.
Naruto walked calmly through the corridors of the prestigious academy of Gotham. A school that until recently, only catered to the richest and wealthiest families of Gotham City. That had changed when Bruce Wayne had begun supplying a sizable, annual fee to the academy under the condition they offer scholarships and reduce the tuition fee to those from poorer families.
It was a generous offer from the otherwise billionaire playboy, but one thing he had forgotten to consider was the number of assholes that usually took up the vast majority of children that entered Gotham Academy. Or at least that's what it appears as.
Naruto himself ignored the occasional jeer and insult that came his way from a bunch of jocks. That's all they did, insult him from afar. They had learned the lesson that you never start a fight or even invade Naruto's personal space and insult him at the same time. If you did, we'll let's just say you were more than likely to end up headfirst in a nearby wall.
Fights between Naruto and the jocks had been a common occurrence in his first year at the Academy. His very presence in the Academy and position as the only guy that Barbara Gordon had shown an ounce of interest in was a threat to their ego. It had gotten so bad that the teachers had threatened to expel Naruto and anyone who got involved in fights on school grounds, but all that did was mean that the fights usually took place outside of them.
However, that all changed when one particular jock had come to the school late having gotten drunk with his recently graduated friends and pulled a knife out on Naruto. That particular fight had ended with the boy going to the hospital with numerous broken bones, fractures, and dislocations. The teachers had to practically pry Naruto off the unconscious student.
It was safe to say that Naruto had sent the students of Gotham Academy a message that had destroyed any attempts of him trying to make friends. Not that he was interested in the first place, the struggle he had with affording everything meant he had barely any spare time. Though Barbara always found a way to make sure that they spent time together.
Entering the classroom, Naruto sat down at the desk and allowed his head to drop onto his crossed arms, intent on catching up on the sleep he had missed out on last night. That was his plan, but it was never to be as a hand slammed down onto his desk jolting him into an upright position.
"Barbara?" He questioned following the hand up to the face of his childhood friend. "What the hell?!"
"Class starts in a minute; be thankful I woke you up before the teacher does." She said haughtily, though both of them knew she was simply doing this as an act. "Besides, I needed to ask if you've done the work that was in for today, the work I specifically reminded you to do all week."
"Oh, shit." Naruto's head collapsed onto the desk. "Fuck. I forgot." He looked up and saw Barbara staring down at him, one hand on her hip that was cocked to the side, her face set into one of disappointment.
"Why do you do this to yourself, Naruto?" She asked. "I mean, we both know you're not the smartest guy, but you sure as hell can be determined and willing to learn. If you put half of the determination you have into beating up guys in a ring, then you sure as hell can be one of the top students in the class. But you don't."
Naruto just sighed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to quell the impending headache he knew would come when the teacher came in. "Look, I've just been really busy, haven't had time to do the work."
Barbara shook her head and took a seat at her desk next to Naruto's. "He's gonna tear you a new asshole." She snarked and Naruto shot her a dirty look, which she returned by maturely sticking out her tongue.
"Yea, well he can shove it for all I care." Naruto scoffed while crossing his arms. "He's a stuck-up prick, maybe if he wasn't such an asshole, I might be willing to learn some of the shit he teaches us." This earned a short laugh from Barbara.
He turned to look at her and raised one eyebrow in questioning. "Please, we both know that you hate school and the only reason you come is that I force you." She responded. "It wouldn't matter if he was a stuck-up prick or not, if I didn't make you come to school, you wouldn't bother learning at all."
Naruto simply smirked at her. "Maybe, who knows." It was Barbara who raised one brow at him this time, obviously not convinced.
However, before she could say anything the door opened and in steps the teacher. Something which made Naruto give her a smirk at getting the last word before she turned to listen as the teacher did a roll call. Naruto, on the other hand, went back to resting his head on the desk intent on catching up on some sleep.
Monday 12th, January, 15:00.
New Jersey
Gotham City
Gotham Heights
It was a surprisingly nice day for January, which resulted in large crowds of people bustling down the streets to get to their intended destinations. For the most part, everything was normal, a large change for the people of Gotham. No crime, no supervillain wreaking havoc upon the city. It was calm.
Currently, Naruto and Barbara were walking through the crowds in their school uniforms and coats to keep warm, making their way towards Barbara's home. A usual routine for the two as Naruto would stop by the Gordon household whenever he could. Thankfully, today Naruto had no shifts allowing him to spend time with Barbara, something they were both pleased with.
Laughing, Barbara clutched Naruto's left hand tightly in both of hers as he dragged her through the particularly large crowd of people. "Naruto! Slow down a bit!" He just shot her a cheeky grin over his shoulder and tugged her out of the crowd into a small backstreet that acted as a shortcut to Barbara's home.
"What's wrong, Barbie? Can't keep up?" He taunted and Barbara smacked him on the arm, getting him to mockingly rub his arm as if soothing the pain.
"Don't call me that, asshole." Despite this, neither could wipe the grin off their faces, never once letting go of each other's hand as they came out onto another street. It was still busy, but nowhere near as busy as Gotham Heights main street. "Still can't believe you got detention on your first day back after the Christmas Holidays."
"Yea, me either." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Wasn't even trying to get detention, but that guy was being a dick." Barbara shook her head and stepped a little closer to Naruto.
"Yea, well try not to get into trouble anymore." Naruto just gave her his signature grin. "I'm being serious, Naruto."
"Yea, yea." He waved off her concerns. "I'll try my best, mother. No promises though."
"Whatever, not like I care," Barbara replied, sticking her nose in the air. Seeing this, Naruto jabbed her in the side with his free hand making her jump away with a yell of shock, only to slip and fall to the ground.
Naruto burst out laughing as Barbara stared at him in shock before her eyes narrowed, slowly and menacingly raising to the ground. Though her messed hair, red cheeks and the smile that twitching of her mouth as she tried to quell her smile greatly diminished the look.
"Naruto!" Continuing to laugh, Naruto raised his hands in mock surrender as the occasional person walking by either smiled or rolled their eyes at the two students. "Stop laughing! This isn't funny, you jerk!" She smacked him hard in the arm, but this only had the opposite effect as they finally continued their walk back to Barbara's home, with the young girl finally joining him in laughing.
Finally calming down, Naruto wiped a tear from his eye and looked to see his friend smiling while looking ahead. "I'm sorry, how are you feeling?" He finally apologised, reaching over to wrap one arm over her shoulders. At an impressive height of 5"9, Naruto was over five inches taller than Barbara's own 5"4 and so her head quite easily and comfortably tucked into his chest.
"I'm fine, a little sore from where I landed, but nothing life-threatening." Naruto nodded his head, as Barbara felt her cheeks darken at the fact Naruto showed concern for her over the simplest of things. It was sweet and was just who Naruto was, he may not make friends easily, but those he did have he was very loyal too.
Slowly, she closed her eyes, trusting Naruto to make sure that she didn't walk into something as she leaned closer into him.
"Good, good. Wouldn't want that now, would we?" He asked rhetorically as they walked in comfortable silence. That was until Naruto tensed up as he noticed two well-dressed men leaning against a building, smoking, and watching him and Barbara intently. He looked down and noticed that Barbara had looked up, having felt him tense up.
"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, her eyes scanning the area. Instantly her senses honed as Batgirl picked up on the same two men Naruto had. They may not be looking in their direction, having noticed Naruto staring right at them, but they may as well have been wearing a neon sign saying, 'We're wannabe gangsters.'
"It's nothing." He gave a reassuring smile, but while Barbara outwardly pretended that she bought it, inwardly she knew that this had to do with the part of Naruto's life he kept secret even from her. "Can you, erm." He looked around and his eyes landed on a small coffee shop just a few buildings back the way they came. "Can you wait for me in that coffee shop, while I make sure that I'm not just being paranoid?"
Barbara frowned, wanting nothing more than to help Naruto, but at the same time, not willing to give him any clues about her life as Batgirl or at least she told herself. "It's probably nothing, I can come with – "
"No!" He quickly interjected, his voice louder and more forceful than he had intended if the look on his face was anything to go by. "No." He repeated much calmer and gentler than before. "No, I'll go myself, it's like you said, probably nothing and I'd like some coffee. So why don't you get us something to drink, while I just settle my nerves?"
"But…" She cut herself off this time as she watched Naruto's tense frame become even tenser, his eyes narrowing as his stubborn nature reared its head. Barbara felt her stubborn nature also rise but beat it down into submission and narrowed her eyes right back at him. "Fine."
Crossing her arms, Barbara turned on her heels and stopped at the entrance to the coffee shop, checking the board outside with a list of all the prices. Well, that's what it looked like, but she watched as Naruto stared at her for a few moments before continuing to walk the way they were heading and pulling into a back alley. The guys she had been watching, waited until Naruto passed them, putting out their cigarettes and following after her blonde friend.
Taking in a deep breath, Barbara fought internally with herself on whether she should go and help her childhood friend before deciding to trust him. If it came to a fight, she knew he would be alright, he had taken out bigger and worse guys than those two thugs.
Monday 12th, January, 15:15.
New Jersey
Gotham City
Gotham Heights
Naruto came to a stop in a small alleyway, his eyes locked onto the three walls surrounding him, the onto way out being the way he had just come. Turning around, he faced the two thugs that rounded into the alleyway at the same time, their frames filling the only exit in a poor attempt at intimidation.
"Nowhere to go now, kid." The tall lanky one on the right said, his hands shoved into his pockets. Naruto scoffed and folded his hands across his chest and allowed the two thugs to try and poorly invade his personal space. But it was obvious that as they got closer, they realised that he wasn't just some skinny kid.
At the height of 5"9 and a build of a professional American Football player, Naruto cut a far more intimidating figure than a tall lanky man and his fat partner. And the blonde used this to his advantage by stepping up into their personal space and officially showing them how to intimidate someone.
It worked as the two men grit their teeth, as they took a step back. "If you're gonna try and intimidate someone, make sure that you know what you're doing next time." Naruto snarked, a smug smirk on his face that disappeared into a blank mask as the fat thug pulled out a gun and pointed it right at Naruto's face.
"You think you intimidate us, you little shit!" He shouted out, spit coming out of his mouth.
"Calm down, T-Dog." The lanky and smarter man of the pair said sternly.
"T-Dog?" Naruto questioned with a chuckle, wiping the spit that had landed on his face. "That's a real black name for a white guy." This only made 'T-Dog' snarl, even more, his gun slowly lowering to point at the ground. "So, what's you want?"
"You know exactly why we're here." T-Dog snarled, and Naruto simply smirked at him before turning to face the more reasonable of the two.
"You're late on your payment." He answered, ignoring his near rabid partner. "The boss wants payment in full by the end of the day." Naruto tensed up. "Or we'll look for other ways to get the money."
'Shit!' Naruto cursed internally. 'Fuck! I thought I had longer, he usually lets me have an extra week if I'm late. Why the fuck is he changing it up now?! I don't have the cash to pay him yet and there are no fights today, the next ones are tomorrow!' He never allowed any of his internal conflict to show on his face as his blue eyes bore into the lanky man's own brown eyes, who soon began to shift uncomfortably.
"Here that, you little shit!" T-Dog spat out. "Pay up by the end of the day or maybe we and a few boys might pay a visit to your little girlfriend and break her in a little. Pretty sure the boss would be glad to have a babe like her as a prostitute on his payroll. What you think, maybe he'll be kind enough and just fuck her himself."
Naruto's eyes zeroed in on the fat man, his blood boiling as his heart pounded in his ears. 'This fat fucker dares!' His fists clenched at his side.
"It'd be unfortunate, but the boss did say we have to make the money up in other ways and there are plenty of guys out there who would love to get a piece of ass like that." The fat one continued, completely oblivious to Naruto's rising anger.
'I'll fucking kill him!' His fist shot out quicker than either of the two thugs could react and collide with T-Dog's face and there was a sickening crunching sound that signalled his nose had been broken. Even then, as the fat man fell backwards into the wall clutching his bleeding face and crying out in pain, Naruto's leg went with the momentum and crushed the man's head against the wall.
Now, this wasn't the movies where the man's head would split open like a grape. But his skull did cave in, pieces of bone piercing the man's brain killing him instantly as he slumped to the floor, a bloody stain left behind on the wall.
Meanwhile, the lanky man fumbled to get his gun out, but Naruto stepped into the man guard and landed five consecutive punches to his stomach, followed by a vicious uppercut that sent them to the ground unconscious. When all was said and done, Naruto stood there breathing heavily in an attempt to calm his anger.
It took everything he had not to kill the second guy, but he knew that if he killed both of them their boss would take this as an act of rebellion. That was not what Naruto wanted at all. Though that wasn't saying much, regardless of his reasoning he still killed one of the boss's boys. It could be said that one or two more wouldn't make a difference, he was already doomed, he just didn't know it yet. Looking back on this moment, Naruto would realise that this was the turning point.
Once he had sufficiently calmed down, he exited the street and noticed that no one had stopped to pay attention to what had gone on down in the alley. It was to be expected, even with Batman, people still followed the old rules put in place by the crime bosses. Keep your nose out of their business and don't play the hero or you get killed.
"Naruto!" He looked to the left and saw Barbara walking towards him with two cups of coffee in her hand.
"Barbara!" He replies and moves towards her, taking his cup of coffee from her hands with a thank you.
"Are you okay?"
"Yea, I'm fine. Just me being patronised after all." He answered with a smile and a short laugh, Barbara smiled at him. "Shall we cross the street?"
"Okay." She nodded her head, though once Naruto turned away her smile grew small as she spared a glance to the alleyway Naruto had just come out of.
Tuesday 13th, January, 22:16
New Jersey
Gotham City
Location Unknown
His breathing was heavy. His heartbeat pounding in his ears. His blood pumping throughout his body as adrenaline-filled every cell of his body. Sweat and blood fell from his body as he moved on pure instinct. This was who he was; this was what he lived for. The rush one gained as they fought against a strong opponent.
Naruto ducked underneath a wild hook and parried numerous jabs and crosses from his opponent with practised ease. His blonde hair displaced by the air produced by the force of each punch of his opponent, his blonde eyes alight with childlike excitement and a confident smirk on his face as he easily responded with a palm strike to his opponent's solar plexus.
Hopping backwards to put some space between him and his opponent, Naruto calmly bounced on his toes. Never once stopping to catch his breath as he allowed the adrenaline to keep him standing.
His opponent on the other hand – a large bulky man with some measure of skill and fighting experience from his boxing background – stumbled backs, almost dry heaving as a result of Naruto's devastating strike. While the fight had lasted no longer than ten minutes, it had mostly consisted of Naruto on the defensive, allowing his opponent to exhaust himself and occasionally responding with devastating counter-attacks.
And it showed.
Naruto besides the sweat and blood – his opponents, not his own – was completely unharmed. His opponent on the other hand was equally sweaty with a busted lip, broken nose, swollen left eye and bruises forming around his stomach.
Despite, the man's experience and background in boxing, Naruto had taken numerous moves he had seen from videos on YouTube and the instincts he had honed from his many fights to create a unique style. It was wild and unpredictable, with no set pattern making it very difficult to defend and counter against. That, plus Naruto's greater speed and stamina compared to his opponent's strength gave Naruto the ultimate fighting edge.
The fight had ended before it even began, just like every fight Naruto took part in. He had been fighting his entire life and knew his limitations and constantly strove to surpass them. His opponent on the other hand was looking for some quick cash.
He had never come across an opponent that was like him. Someone who fought for a living and it almost made him desperate to test himself against the likes of Batman, Batgirl and Robin to see how he stacked and how far he had to go. But he wouldn't, it was stupid as neither of the three would spare the time to fight a fan and the only way to get them to fight him would be to commit a crime big enough to warrant their attention.
His opponent charged forward, and Naruto would give him props for his self-control, it was obvious he was getting annoyed by the blonde's smirk and nonchalant defence, yet he never let his anger cloud his judgement.
"And Tony charges in once more!" The crowd cheered loudly, but Naruto paid them nor the commentator any mind. "What will our champion do against this never-ending onslaught by the newcomer?"
Naruto's smirk widened as he reached his opponent and this time, instead of repeating his defensive stance, he instead leapt into the air. Caught off guard by this sudden change in the pattern by the blonde, his opponent only managed to raise a hasty guard that broke easily under the powerful roundhouse kick that slammed into it.
The force behind it not only broke the guard but sent Tony to the floor. However, he masterfully rolled to his feet, mitigating the damage he took. This was for nought as Naruto was upon him in an instant with a fast and dangerous onslaught of punches and kicks. There were no fancy flips, just straight-up powerful punches and kicks that tore down every defence Tony could put up and deal ever-increasing amounts of damage to the burly boxer's body before he eventually was sent careening to the ground unconscious.
"And there we have it!" The commentator screamed into his microphone. "While the newcomer put up a good fight, it was not enough to overcome our undefeated champion, Naruto!" He could hear the cheers of those who had no doubt bet on him to win and even see a few grumblings as they had no doubt bet against him. But Naruto cared very little, he was getting paid either way.
Tuesday 13th, January, 22:45
New Jersey
Gotham City
Location Unknown
Rolling his shoulder, Naruto walked out of his changing rooms in a pair of jogging pants and a plain, white t-shirt, with a bag slung over his shoulder. His blonde hair was still wet and not as wild as it usually was, it was still drying from the shower he had just taken.
He passed a few of the female servers, scantily clad as part of tonight's additional entertainment. He ignored the way their eyes roamed over his figure as even though some of them were old enough to be his mother and he was only sixteen, it was nothing more than a number to them. He could argue back that jail was only a room, especially in Gotham. But Naruto liked to think that he was strong in the face of temptation.
Especially with women like Batgirl, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman and the list went on.
"Naruto!" The young boy in question, looked up to see the owner/commentator for Gotham's Underground Fighting Arena. "How are you, my boy?" He was a sleazy looking man in his forty with his black hair already greying in places.
"I'm doing good, John," Naruto replied shortly, never really liking the man for the way he had a habit of picking young and helpless girls off the streets and forcing them into prostitution. The thought made him remember the threat the two thugs had made towards Barbara earlier and it made him clench his fists in anger.
Going even further he remembers that a lot of his money troubles were because of him. John may not be the reason for his debt, but he hadn't made it easier to resolve it easier. All because of the simple fact that John oils to let him place a bet on himself winning, his reason for doing so unknown to him. But Naruto doubted it was good, nor did he think he would like it either.
"Good, good." He pulled out an envelope and held it out for Naruto to take. "Five thousand, for your most impressive showing tonight." Just as Naruto went to take the envelope, John pulled it away. "You know, I would be willing to double, no triple this amount every time you fought if you would work for me. It'd be far more profitable for both of us and far more stable."
Naruto stared at the man who was trying his best to convince him for what must be the hundredth time and poorly. "I'm honoured and thank you for the offer, but I'm gonna have to decline." While John frowned, he nonetheless handed him the envelope again and this time when Naruto went to take it, John didn't pull it away.
After a quick check of the envelope's contents, Naruto smiled at John. "Pleasure doing business with ya', John." He said before walking out of the building.
"As long as you keep winning me money, kid!" John called back and Naruto raised his hand in a short wave, never looking over his shoulder.
The walk to his apartment was short and not many people were out. No doubt due to the Joker and Harley Quinn currently on the loose with Batman hot on their tail. Everyone was waiting for something to happen, even the criminals and gangs kept their heads bowed down when the Joker was on the loose. There was a reason he was called the Clown Prince of Crime because everyone, even the hardest and most terrifying criminals were scared of the unpredictable element that was the Joker.
Quickly making it to his apartment, Naruto pulled out his key and as he tried to slot it into the keyhole, only for the door to open on its own.
Looking up and down the corridor, Naruto turned back to the door and pushed it open. It was dark, no surprise the sun hardly ever got into his room. "Barb, you in there?" Naruto called out, cautiously stepping into his apartment. "Barbara if this is a joke it ain't funny." He put his bag down on where he knew his kitchen counter would be and clenched his fists. "Seriously Barbara, I swear to god if you're gonna jump out at me, I'm gonna pissed."
"I can assure you, I'm not your little girlfriend." A deep, masculine voice calmly responded.
Naruto reached out to his light switch and flicked it on, his eyes squinting at the sudden light, but it did not stop him from seeing the figure sitting in his chair like he owned the place. He was a tall man, with a slightly busy figure wearing a well-tailored suit designed to fit him snugly and make him look bigger. But the more surprising thing about him was that where his head should be, was a black skull.
"Black Mask," Naruto whispered, fear evident in his voice as he took a step back. Naruto feared very few things, but Black Mask was one such thing. Ever since his father died when he was seven, leaving just him and his mother, Black Mask would constantly come round. The things he said and what Naruto learned of Black Mask from Jim, had left a deep-rooted fear in the child Naruto and while it had lessened over time. Naruto couldn't deny that Black Mask would always be someone he was scared of.
"Hello, Naruto." Black Mask said calmly, never once moving from his seated position. "Why don't we have a little chat like old times?" Before Naruto could do anything, he felt a bat collide with the backs of his knees sending him to the ground before something else hit his head.
For a second, he saw stars as he collapsed to the ground, his head spinning, barely registering the kicks that collided with his ribs. Meanwhile, Black Mask watched the beating unfold before his eyes with calm indifference.
"That's enough boys, we don't want to kill him." Instantly the beating stopped as Naruto moaned pitifully on the ground, slowly rolling onto his side as he clutched his ribs in pain.
"Now." Getting out of his chair, Black Mask walked towards Naruto and with his foot, rolled the blonde onto his back. "You've disobeyed me, Naruto. I'm usually quite lenient with you because I've known you ever since you were a little kid, but you've forgotten the fact that I own you."
Naruto groaned in pain as he felt his ribs protest under the pressure Black Mask foot applied to them.
"But you see, I'm getting quite annoyed with you constantly being late on your payment. At first, you were always on time, but recently it's been a constant thing with you, and I can't understand why?" Black Mask looked to his thugs. "Can you tell me why?"
"No, boss." One of them replied.
"See." Black Mask leaned down. "I own you Naruto and it's all because your parents incurred quite a lot of debt from me. Now I was quite happy to pay off the debt when your dear mummy was alive if she did me a few…favours." The drawl he used when saying 'favours' left no doubt in anyone's mind in what he meant. "But she didn't, she stayed loyal to her dead, useless of a husband's memory and as a result died, leaving you to pay off their debt."
"Now I like you, kid. You got some serious fucking balls on you." Black Mask chuckled. "Hard as fucking nails as well, I don't know many people who can take a beating like you just did and still stay conscious."
Naruto said nothing, just glaring into Black Mask's eyes, the hatred he felt for the crime lord even thinking about touching his mother far outweighing his fear.
"But my patience has run out." His foot lashed out and kicked Naruto in the face sending it wiping to the side, blood splattering across the ground. "You have not only been late on your payments for the last six months but then you have the fucking balls to kill one of my men." Black Mask snarled out, his hand pulling out a Bowie knife. "Now, mind you they were out of line threatening our dear old Commissioners 'daughter' and I can understand that you felt the need to protect your girlfriend." His voice was almost gentle and understanding, Black Mask's thugs looked at one another in confusion about where their boss was going with this.
That changed when Black Mask drove the Bowie knife through one of Naruto's hands, pinning him to the ground. A scream of pain tore from Naruto's lips, tears piling at the corners of his eyes, but it did not stop him from lashing out at his attacker.
Black Mask stumbled back into two of his thugs, who caught their boss as a result of a punch that collided against his face.
Rubbing his face, Black Mask chuckled as he watched his three other thugs kicking the downed Naruto, occasionally swinging their bats down onto him. "That's enough." He ordered sternly.
"I tell you what, kid. You've got one mean right hook." He chuckled once more. "But you won't do that again or I'll kill you," Naruto said nothing, just curling back into a ball to try and protect himself once more.
"You gotta earn my forgiveness, triple the monthly rate by next month." Black Mask did a show of doing internal math. "That's forty-five thousand the next exact month after you get out of the hospital. You fail, my thugs come back here beat you up and then we rape your little girlfriend in front of you, Commissioners daughter or not. You don't fuck." He kicked Naruto in the stomach once more. "With Black Mask."
Stepping back, and readjusting his blazer, Black Mask looked down at Naruto. "Boys, teach him a lesson." Walking towards the kitchen counter, Black Mask opened Naruto's bag and pulled out the cash inside, handing it to one of the thugs who followed him. Then the two left the apartment, not even paying attention to the sounds of the beating going on behind them.
Tuesday 13th January, 23:30.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham City Hospital.
Commissioner James Gordon entered the hospital room with a weary heart. The wrinkles he had developed over his long and stressful life became all the more pronounced as he took in the state of the two occupants.
The first and worst was Naruto Uzumaki, the child of his friend Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina Uzumaki. He had watched the boy grow up into the young man he was and had on numerous occasions tried to take custody of the boy, but for someone to always put a stop to it for reasons unknown to him.
'Minato, Kushina.' He thought sorrowfully of his two deceased friends as he watched their son cling to life in a hospital bed with the repetitive beeping of the heart monitor filling the room. 'If only I had thought harder for custody of your son, this could have been avoided, I could have done something.' Now usually, James was a man who was in great control of his emotions, he had to be due to his job and his unorthodox ally, Batman. But seeing a young man he viewed as a son in this state filled him with an all-consuming rage.
This rage was only fanned by the memory of what Barbara had been like when she had seen and heard of Naruto's state. She had been inconsolable, crying until she had no tears to spend and eventually falling asleep clutching his hand. He had stood to one side, unable to do anything to help ease his nieces, a girl that he viewed as not only his foster daughter but truly his daughter and the boy he saw as a son suffering.
Pulling out his phone he dialled a number, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up. "Bullock," James said shortly. "I need you to run a background check on Naruto Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. I want to know everyone they had contact and dealings with. Use your underground contacts if need be, but I want to know everything." He didn't wait for confirmation or the questions that would surely be asked and hung up.
Sighing, James rubbed his eyes tiredly and moved towards his sleeping daughter who was fast asleep. Taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around Barbara's shoulders who mumbled in her sleep.
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13271747/1/Injustice-Book-1-A-Journeys-Beginning