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
Neverland, 40 years after Naruto was reborn as a fairy…
It had been a long time since Naruto had been reborn as fairy after being blasted away by the Grimm Lords and it showed – his grand quest to reunite with his first companions, still trapped in Wonderland had led him to come to interesting conclusions about the universe he was in. Wonderland was an alternate magical dimension to mundane England connected to it via the astral plane, in contrast with Neverland, which was physically located on the same mundane Earth but was a secluded microcosm, insulated in a veil of magic that was pseudo-sentient, meaning no singular path or definition for what Neverland was and how to get there was beyond the comprehension of humans.
Now all this sounds really complicated but Naruto only knew any of this because he was reborn as a fairy fully capable of generating a theoretically unlimited amount of blue pixie dust, meaning that he always had a basal understanding of the fabric of magical reality in Neverland. In combination with his Six Paths Sage mode (the augmented sensory abilities at least – he didn't ascend into his godly form lest his little fairy body exploded trying to contain the divine energy) he had basically gained a dumbed down version of the explanation above. He had become a fully matured fairy, coming into his new powers quite well (he had to lay low on the radar of the Grimm Lords after all) and with his human partner Tiger Lily, the two of them served as the second arm of Neverland's defense force (the first being Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys).
Naruto and his partner were more focused on staying in Neverland and protecting its inhabitants (which definitely pleased Queen Clarion, among other people…) and soon, the legends of Tiger Lily and her Guiding Star were on the lips of every man, woman and child – just as Peter and Tink became known as the spirits of eternal youth and adventure. Now given the time dilation difference between Neverland and the Mainland(England) – the former being an idyllic world where time only passed if it wanted to versus the uncaring march of time in the latter, it should come as no surprise that hundreds of years passed since Peter first appeared in Neverland compared to the forty years on the Mainland.
So given this massive information dump, our story now picks up in the most unlikely of places – with Naruto being pulled along for another trip to the Mainland at Tink's behest. While he didn't mind the journey per se, he was slightly concerned about leaving Tiger Lily behind (who had decided to age until she was eighteen years old – ironically a year older than his current human form as a fairy…) to potentially fend off Hook and his pirates as they had gotten rowdier given Lily's bombshell of a body. Combined with her spitfire attitude, the pirates threw themselves on her fists just to get her attention and Hook had been trying to make 'advances' as it were…yes, it was as awkward and gross as it sounded. However, he couldn't deny the need to regularly return to England to search for a nexus point to Wonderland (especially since Peter got a ship to ease the journey on the fairies' wings).
"So let me get this straight – Peter's just visiting the mainland for no reason at all? At least from what I understand, he's not exactly looking for any more new Lost Boy recruits…" Naruto said as he and Tinker Bell were sitting in a little alcove in the crow's nest of the ship that Peter was guiding to England (a small one that the Indian tribe gifted Naruto with), the woman enjoying herself as she reclined on Naruto's lap and chest with his arms around her waist, playing with his fingers as she did so (they had gotten quite close over the years, casually exchanging chaste kisses and hugging like this – she wanted more but respected that he needed to find his first loves first before starting a new affair with her).
"Hmmm…I don't really know myself. Maybe he really wants to look for an opportunity to get some new underlings or just cause some havoc…I really don't know what goes through that boy's head sometimes. He means well so there's that at least…" She said as Naruto chuckled at her unsure look before nuzzling his face into her golden locks, the woman humming in pleasure at his affectionate gesture.
"Look alive Tink and Naruto! We're coming up on London in just a few minutes!" Peter said the fairies roused themselves from their pleasant reveries before flying over to his side.
"Alright, so what's really going on here Peter? This trip has no precedent whatsoever…" Naruto said as Peter turned to him with an impish grin.
"Ha! Could it be that I, Peter can sense something the great Naruto can't?! Truly a momentous occasion but celebrations can wait. The short of it is that I can feel a strong source of belief from a house in this city – perhaps it could be another boy who wishes to escape the humdrum life to join my troops for a grand adventure!" He said as Naruto deadpanned at him before nodding. Little did he know that Peter, in his infinite wisdom, had lost his shadow (which was why they were going to England at night – Peter knew that Naruto would notice if they went out in broad daylight).
"Sure Peter, whatever you say…" Naruto said as he rolled his eyes before looking over to Tink(who smiled sheepishly at the one sided rivalry Peter seemed intent on pursuing).
Meanwhile, in a certain household in Bloomsbury London…
Mary Darling was always a dreamer as a child and this didn't change even as an adult – it was what led her to meeting her husband George as kids and some part of her always remembered that there was magic in the world, if you knew where to look for it. Perhaps some of this rubbed off on her children as her eldest, Wendy, was an ardent believer in the whimsical, regularly regaling her brothers John and Michael about the adventures of Peter Pan, Tiger Lily and their fairy partners.
Of course, just because she didn't mind her daughter's perpetual fascination with such 'childish' notions, her husband was of a different mind about all of this. Case in point, they were preparing to leave to attend a party (very high profile, all the big names would be there to hear George talk about it), only to have their preparations slowed down by Wendy and her brothers acting out a scene from Peter's adventures fighting against the pirates (Wendy was Tiger Lily and the brothers were squabbling about who should be Peter Pan). Their sheepdog Nana was also part of the fun, with Michael even riding her at one point.
"Enough of this nonsense Wendy! You are no longer a child and as such, you should conduct yourself with the manners befitting a young lady – no more of these childish tales!" George yelled as Wendy and her brothers looked away, not contrite in the least (they wanted to have some fun and who could blame them).
"Dear, don't lose your temper on the children – they are still young after all…" Mary said, putting a dainty hand on her husband's arm, only to have it shaken off as George continued his angry tirade.
"Speaking of which, Wendy – you are too old to sleep in the nursery with your brothers. I think it is time that you acted your age!"
Wendy was shocked at her father's behavior, her blue eyes wide in shock as she ran her hand through her lush brunette locks.
"B-but Father…"
"No buts! It's time I put my foot down in this house!" George said, marching out of the nursery to the foyer, not noticing that Nana was also walking in the same direction. Both man and dog collided, with George tumbling over and Nana yelping in shock as her forepaw was treaded on by her master.
"Confound it all…I fell over that mutt…don't worry, I am fine…" George said as he got up, only to be shocked to see his family comforting the dog instead.
"Nana! Are you alright?!"
"Dad's pretty heavy, maybe we should take a look at that paw of yours…"
*Woof**Woof*
"Alright! That tears it! Nana, you'll be sleeping in the dog house tonight!" George said, frustrated amd jealous that his ridiculous family cared more for a dog than him.
After putting the dog in the dog house, the animal looked up at him mournfully (she had never spent a night in the dog house before and it was winter…). George, now a little mellowed out, turned away from her to look at his wife, who had a reproachful expression.
"It's for the best Mary – the children are so attached to this dog, I fear they think of themselves as puppies themselves! Besides, dogs should be where they belong, in the dog house and not in a naursery with children…" George said as Mary looked up to the second story window, where Wendy and her brothers were presumably sleeping.
"But dear, are you sure we should be leaving the children like this? Wendy mentioned something about catching Peter Pan's shadow the other night. Don't you think we ought to stay in case he comes back for it and takes the children along with him?" Mary said as her husband looked at her like she'd grown another head.
"C-caught a shadow?! What poppycock! No wonder Wendy's acting out and has all these crazy fantasies – you're as bad as she is!" He said as he walked away, grumbling to himself as his wife followed, giggling at his irate look all the way.
Later that night…
Wendy was sleeping peacefully in her bed when she was startled by a rattling noise, followed by the sound of a window opening and closing. Getting up whilst rubbing her eyes, she walked over to the playroom section of the nursery and was met with a strange sight. Peter Pan, the actual Peter Pan was in the room trying to reattach his shadow to his feet while two glowing lights flew around him – one blue and the other yellow. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that his implement of choice was…a bar of soap? Odd selection nonwithstanding, she thought it was best that she introduce herself to one of her favorite legends of all time.
"H-hello there Mister Pan, my name is Wendy. Do you need some help getting your shadow attached to your feet?" She said as she curtsied slightly before giving the boy a quick once-over. He looked exactly like the stories described and she was quite eager to get to know him.
"Oh! I didn't know I woke the people of this house up with my entrance…at least you recognized me for who I really am. My legend really can't be contained!" Peter crowed in pride as Naruto flew over to the flabbergasted Wendy to try and smooth the interaction over as much as possible while Tink was snickering at her charge's attitude.
"You'll have to bear with this little lady, Peter really enjoys being praised…" Naruto said as he scratchedhis head in second hand embarrassment while Wendy's eyes bugged out in surprise, recognizing Naruto from her story books.
"Oh! You must be Naruto, Tiger Lily's partner! How come you're here? I thought you'd be with her on Neverland…" She said as she bit her lip, thinking about a certain part of his legend that was of particular interest to her.
'I wonder if the stories about Naruto being the only fairy able to grow to the size of a human is true…I cannot lie, I always wondered if Tiger liked her fairy more than the books mentioned…I wouldn't blame her if she did. He's gorgeous!' Wendy mused as Tink buzzed over to her and pulled her hair, angrily gesticulating and making her namesake noises (Naruto could communicate with humans just fine but other fairies couldn't – even Peter couldn't speak fairy, only understand their body language).
*Oh no, I know that look! Back away from my man you hussy!* Tink said as Naruto rolled his eyes at her antics before pulling her off of Wendy before patting her head consolingly, Peter grinning in amusement at the drama(perks of being an eternal kid – he couldn't really understand love and all its silliness, something Wendy would soon learn…).
"I-I don't mind his behavior Naruto…besides, I couldn't just ignore his plight - I mean, a bar of soap is no adhesive after all…" Wendy said, scratching her cheeks in thought as they all looked towards Peter (who was at his wits end trying to fix his shadow to his feet).
"Damn it all! Come back to me this instant! This isn't funny anymore and I want you back!" Peter said as his shadow jeered at him, putting its thumbs in its ears. Now more than a little incensed, Peter then drew his dagger at his shadow, who was merely egging him on with its arms crossed.
"Why you…no one makes fun of me and gets away with it…" Peter said, advancing towards the shadow, only to be held back by Wendy.
"Hold on there Peter, I am sure he's just teasing you. Why don't you both calm down and I'll help you with your problem. Let me just get my sewing kit and I'll be right back!" Wendy said as she retreated to the dresser in the room, leaving Peter to the two fairies. Tinker Bell was having the time of her life watching the comedic interaction while Naruto was having some déjà vu since the show reminded him of some of the stuff his shadow clones used to do to drive him nuts (yeah, since becoming a fairy, cloning himself wasn't so simple anymore – his energy was too unstable to mold without a conduit which was either a moonstone or a human's belief).
"So, you sensed some belief here huh? Really clever of you Peter – you even came here at night so I wouldn't know about the situation with your shadow right?" Naruto asked as Peter looked away from Naruto's knowing gaze, the tittering of Tinker Bell turning his ears a bright red.
"S-shut up! It was a good plan – fooled you until the end didn't it?!" Peter said as his shadow danced a merry jig on the walls of the nursery.
Wendy then returned with her sewing kit and quickly pulled out a needle and some thread. Upon seeing the needle though, Peter became a little skittish.
"H-hey what are you going to do with that needle?" He said, backing away from Wendy as she approached him with a bewitching smile.
"Oh don't worry – I'll just sew your shoes to the shoes of your shadow. That way you won't feel a thing! I am not so cruel as to actually sew your feet together!" She said, watching Naruto and Tink fly over to her.
"Yeah… Peter doesn't really have a history of having pointy things around him that weren't wielded by people trying to kill him so give him some slack." Naruto said as he alighted on her shoulder, his legs dangling off it as Tink sat next to him (she was still wary of Wendy after all…).
"Oh, I can certainly imagine that! Captain Hook must really be a menace then I am afraid…well, how about I tell all of you some stories to pass the time!" She said as she began telling them tales ranging from simple fables to grand legends from all over the country.
Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by Naruto as he took another gander at Wendy, wondering if she could help him with his quest to find Wonderland. As one might expect, his close scrutiny of the poor girl was misconstrued by his fairy buddy, who harrumphed in indignation before grabbing his arm possessively and sticking her tongue out at Wendy behind his back.
Peter enjoyed the stories but noticed that Wendy had a wistful look in her eyes as she told them. Curious as to why that was, he questioned her about that.
"Oh, I didn't think you noticed that…sorry for being a downer during storytime, it's just that my parents told me that I have to grow up by tomorrow and that I would no longer be able to sleep in the nursery with my brothers anymore…" Wendy said as Naruto's eyes lit up when he realized something important.
'That's it! The key to Wonderland is through the whimsical dreams of children wishing to escape their ''perceived'' cruel realities! Too bad we had to wake her up with our entrance though…" He thought as Peter (now with his shadow firmly bound to him) rushed over to Wendy and grabbed her hands excitedly.
"Well if you don't want to grow up, then you never have to! Come back with me to Neverland – children never become stuffy adults there and we can have lots of adventures together! Naruto here can even help introduce you to Tiger Lily – she's a tough gal and can definitely show you the ropes!" He said as Naruto nodded at Wendy from his perch.
Wendy, on her part, was ecstatic at the offer –granted it was mostly due to the crush she had on Peter Pan (before she knew about Tiger's adventures of course…she switched her affections to Naruto then when realizing that the spirit of youth would never truly mature both physically and mentally).
"That is a splendid idea! I'll go make preparations to leave immediately!" Wendy said before she balked at Peter's dismissal of her plans.
"Oh you don't need to any of that! Just come with us to Neverland – you won't need anything from home there!"He said before he was interrupted by Naruto.
"I think we were a little too loud – Wendy's brothers are now awake and they've heard what we've been talking about…"
And he was right – John and Michael had been roused from their slumber and were now clamoring to be allowed to go to Neverland as well. Always willing to get new recruits for his merry band of followers, Peter also allowed them to come to Neverland.
When the topic of transportation came up though, Naruto was quick to interject, seeing that Peter was about to talk about the whole 'way to the Second Star to the Right' which was a bunch of poppycock in his humble opinion (fairies all had an innate ability to find Neverland after all). A quick application of pixie dust to prevent potential fatal falls overboard and the Darling children were then guided to Peter's modest ship.
Taken in by its quaint design, Michael then asked how Peter got the ship and if he could get one of his own.
"Oh, this beauty isn't mine. It's actually a gift from the Red Indian chief to Naruto as thanks for training his daughter. Well, at least, that's what he said. We all know this is a dowry – hey Naruto! When are you finally gonna admit that you like Tiger – in her new body, she's even got the pirates eating out of her hands!" Peter said as Tink pouted a little watching Naruto blush faintly before smacking Peter upside the head.
"Quiet you! It's not like that!" He said as Wendy hid a small smile at the news, her suspicions about the two being confirmed before her eyes.
And so, the children got on the ship and after bidding adieu to Nana, embarked on a voyage to Neverland, where they would soon learn the price of idyllic stagnation.
Meanwhile, back in Neverland…
Deep in the darkest parts of the island, there were secluded natural docks formed by the harsh curve of the cliffs on the southwestern side of Neverland. While nothing really ventured to these places out of its own free will, Captain Hook and his pirates made it their homebase, docking their ship there when they weren't terrorizing the island (well, with Naruto and Tiger around, it was more like they were being a general nuisance). Captain Hook was currently in his quarters, discussing his plans to take down his nemesis with his first mate, Mr Smee.
"I have had it Mr Smee! I have waited long enough – we've been stockpiling resources and weapons for so long and now it's time that I get my revenge for what that brat did to me!" Hook said, looking at the stump of what used to be his hand. After Peter chopped it off, he got a cruel looking golden hook (fitting given his name) to fill in the gaps. Gone was the captain's sly demeanour, now the man was a twitchy mess, calm one second and downright psychotic the next – the hook didn't help this, in fact, it made his episodes downright lethal as he loved getting stabby.
"Yes sir, I believe it is time to get your revenge – he really crossed a line when cutting off your hand like that…" Mr Smee simpered as Hook grumbled agreeably, walking over to the ship deck as his crew member followed.
"Indeed – to add insult to injury, he even fed my beautiful hand to a crocodile and now that accursed beast won't stop hounding me to finish its meal! I know I am a delicious hunk of man meat but the only person allowed to sample my goods is Tiger Lily and not some reptile…" Hook said as Mr Smee nodded, rubbing his hands together.
"A marriage between you and Miss Tiger would also make you the chief of the Indian village so we really have nothing to lose!" He said, a lascivious glint appearing in his eyes as he fantasized about the princess's seductive body. A rap to his head was quick to kick him out his fantasies though, as he looked to see Hook with a grumpy look on his face.
"Oh I know that look – if the men and you feel randy, then you can ravish the other tribeswomen when I take over the tribe. The princess is mine though – I just need to find a way to catch her off guard, when she isn't with her fairy partner. That little menace scares me sometimes with the incredible powers it has…" Hook said as Mr. Smee shuddered, remembering how much power Naruto gave Tiger when they partnered up.
"Well Captain, you'll be glad to hear that the men and I have obtained the poppy flower extract you wanted. With it, you can…"
As Mr. Smee was talking however, he was interrupted by the sound of a ticking clock as Hook yelped in fear, running behind his first mate.
"It's back! Tick Tock the crocodile is back! Where is it?! Where is it?!" Hook screamed in fear as the two men saw the crocodile pop out of the water to grin demonically at Hook before crawling onto a rock nearby. There the beast then began licking its chops, looking at the captain predatorily.
"There it is! Mr. Smee, get it away from me!" Hook said as Mr. Smee nodded at him, pulling out a flintlock pistol and firing a few rounds at Tick Tock.
Sufficiently disgruntled, the crocodile then skulked away as Hook heaved a sigh of relief. However, the quiet was broken yet again when the pirate in the crow's nest yelled out for his Hook.
"Captain! Flying ship sighted off our starboard side – it's Peter again!"
"He's back?! All you dogs, head to the cannons! Full battle stations – shoot that glorified canoe out of the bleeding sky!" He said as the ship's cannons slowly turned, training themselves on the flying ship.
"FIRE! FIRE!" Hook said, watching gleefully as the cannonballs flew towards the ship.
Meanwhile, with Naruto and the others…
Naruto was busy cuddling with Tinker Bell when his ears picked up a faint whistling noise. Turning to look at the source, his eyes widened in shock before he pulled Tink to her feet and rushed over to Peter.
"Peter! Evasive maneuvers pronto – we've got cannonballs coming in hot!"
"Ah – little Hooksy thinks he can shoot me out of the sky does he? Well, watch this guys!" Peter said as he turned the ship's wheel with a flourish, the small ship deftly weaving between the cannonballs with nary a scratch to show for it.
"Yeah! Go Peter – the stinky old pirate's got nothing on you!" Tinker Bell said as Naruto chuckled next to her (he was glad she was no longer shooting Wendy death glares as she had been mollified by their little cuddle session).
Wendy and her brothers were simply taken aback by the whole ordeal, as they could hardly believe their eyes (they were ACTUALLY in Neverland and their adventures started immediately!). Either way, the shootout was nothing too incredible – Peter deftly maneuvered them out of the firefight unscathed, all while crowing in triumph as Hook bit a hand kerchief in overwhelming shame and anger.
"Damn it all! That brat escaped once again! When will I ever get my time to shine?!" Hook yelled as Mr. Smee walked over to him, gently holding a purple bottle as he did so.
"Never mind Peter now sir – here's the poppy extract. Now all we have to do is add this to the lake where she normally takes her morning swims and she'll be a docile kitten in your hands!" He said as Hook smirked, taking the bottle and holding it to the light, the sickly purple color glowing as sunlight filtered through it.
"Yes…it's all coming together! If I can capture the princess and drug her to finally submit to me, then her fairy protector will have no choice to surrender to me!" He said, a maniacal laugh bubbling out of his throat, his crew also joining in to create a cacophony of noises best described as a group of hyenas laughing together.
Back with Peter and the others though, they had finally arrived at Peter's base – a giant dead tree affectionately called Hangman's Tree by Peter (Naruto always thought that name sounded too ominous for what basically amounted to a little boy's club but he wasn't calling the shots around here so no skin off his nose he figured…). There they met Peter's Lost Boys – six boys all around the ages between six to eleven years old.
John and Michael were quickly roped into an expedition to the Indian tribe by the boys, who were delighted to have new comrades to share the island with while Wendy decided to stick close to Peter and Naruto (to Tink's not-so-secret chagrin).
This decision would soon set into motion events that would threaten to unravel the reality of this tranquil island, with Naruto finally unlocking his powers in his diminutive form…
And that was chapter 32! A whopping 4500 words(to put in perspective, my average is around 2.5k). I tried to cover as much of the movie as possible in one chapter so the pace could speed up a little (I will be very busy this week so I put this chapter out so you guys have a nice meaty chapter to read this week).
If you'd like to support me you can find me on Patreon on the 'search for creators' bar under DudeWithaMac to read up to 50 chapters ahead (I only get free time on Sundays since money's extremely tight-details on Panacea chapter 14). Alternatively, you guys can follow this link: p#at#re#on.#com/DudeWithaMac (remove the hash tags). Reviews and comments are always welcome!