((Here's my first attempt at a Naruto FanFic. My disclaimer is in the summary.
"talk"
Biju talk
"Summon talk"
'thought'
'Biju thought'
jutsu
))
He was a proud beast, only second to his king in power. In one fell swoop though, he was captured, leaving his king unprotected. Able to hear everything from within his Jinchuriki, Hachibi no Hachiryuu learned of his king's fate, sealed as he'd been within a newborn child. His despair was deep as he mourned the fate of his benevolent king.
Kuroiryu sat on a rock beside the road enjoying his lunch. He wore form fitting black cloths, black chest armor and arm guards, black gloves and shoes. A white mask sat a top his unruly mop of black hair. His dark blue eyes had a laughing quality to them.
A man dressed like a kabuki actor with a long mane of white hair strutted passed Kuroiryu before he stopped, turned and stared quizzically at the black clad man on top of a rock beside the road. It wasn't so much that it was a man sitting on a rock so much what the man was wearing.
"Can I help you?" Kuroiryu asked, his lunch forgotten.
"Are you by chance a ninja?" the man asked.
"Depends on who's asking" Kuroiryu said.
"Jiraiya of the Sannin" the man said.
"Then I am a ninja," Kuroiryu said.
"To what village do you belong?" Jiraiya asked as Kuroiryu joined him on the road.
"I was born in the village hidden in the shadows but I have traveled to many of the other hidden villages since I was nine. I consider myself a ninja of my clan rather than a village. Much like you, Jiraiya-sama" Kuroiryu said. "Though I know you side with Konoha rather than a clan, you travel where you desire. I am called Kuroiryu."
"Well met Kuroiryu of the Shadows. What inspires you to travel?"
"I've spent the last ten years looking for someone at the behest of a friend."
"And who does your friend seek?" Jiraiya asked
"A child" Kuroryu said.
"Does this child belong to your friend?"
"How comes your next book, Jiraiya-sama?"
"I'm on my way home to do some research" Jiraiya said. "It'll be my greatest book yet. So do you read my books?"
"They've been very insightful" Kuroiryu replied truthfully sighing inwardly at the near miss on the reason behind his travels.
Be careful, Kuroiryu said his caged companion. Jiraiya-sama is a sannin for a reason. Don't expect talk of his books to divert his attention every time.
"Which is your favorite book?" Jiraiya asked.
"Definitely Paradise" Kuroiryu said. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't your fellow sannin, Tsunade, the inspiration for Violence."
"You are definitely well versed in the world of ninja."
"I had a run in with Tsunade-sama about five years ago. If not for a friend, I'm sure I'd still be in the hospital."
"What did you do to piss her off?"
"She's quite sensitive about her age" Kuroiryu said. "I called her an old hag when she accused me of cheating a dice roll."
Jiraiya laughed whole-heartedly. "You're one lucky man."
They spent the night in an inn, though Jiraiya was expected to be out until the early hours of morning.
After Kuroiryu was sure Jiraiya was gone, he ran through several hand signs and a very intimidating young man appeared from a cloud of smoke. He looked like he could be related to the man that summoned him.
"Are you sure it is wise to travel with this man?"
"It might not be the wisest choice, Hachi-dono, but it's the safest way to get into Konoha without question."
"Very well" Hachibi said. "If it is the best course to follow to find my king, I shall follow it."
"We've been to every other village, Hachibi" Kuroiryu said. "It seems that our initial guess on the fate of your king was wrong. They had to have kept his Jinchuriki in Konoha."
Hachibi shook his head with a smirk. "Did I not tell you that king is the title for our leader? Did I also not tell you that the title is applied to both male and female leaders?" His tone was joking, showing the great beast wasn't angry.
"What an interesting friend you have there" Jiraiya said from the window.
Hachibi hissed.
"How much did you hear?" Kuroiryu asked.
"Most of it" Jiraiya said. "Don't try anything, Hachibi-dono, you'll regret."
Hachibi paused in his steps. "What can you do to me?"
"Force you back inside your Jinchuriki."
Hachibi grumbled but stepped back next to Kuroiryu.
"Now, how about we all sit down and you tell me what's going on."
Seeing no other option, Kuroiryu and Hachibi sat down on Kuroiryu's futon.
"Now let's start with how you two came to be together and then we'll discuss why you're looking for the Kyubi no Kitsune."
Hachibi glared at Jiraiya. "Tell him only what he needs to know" the biju growled before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Well?" Jiraiya prompted.
"Hachibi came to my village almost twenty years ago. The village claims he attacked indiscriminately but he had a purpose for his attack. To make a long story short, a hero stepped forward and sealed the beast within the only child born that day, me.
"My father, the Dragon of the Shadows, protected me from the villagers until I was nine. He trained me from the age of three so I left the village as an unrecognized ANBU.
"It was with my father's death that Hachibi spoke to me for the first time. That was how I found out why Hachibi came to my village. Hachibi was the bodyguard of the Kyubi no Kitsune, the king of all demons."
Jiraiya sat quietly through the story. "So, do you plan to free the Kyubi?"
"If the Kyubi could be free, she would be free now. The seals used to contain her obviously do their job well. The closest to freedom she can hope for is what you saw with Hachibi."
"Someone needs to rule the demons even though most are quite benevolent."
"It wasn't a benevolent creature that attacked Konoha twelve years ago."
"There are techniques out there that can change the nature of a creature. The Kyubi suspected someone resided in Shadow and sent Hachibi to take care of the suspected threat.
"Six years after Hachibi was sealed word spread of the attack on Konoha and the defeat of the Kyubi."
"Who was the threat?" Jiraiya asked.
"Hachibi refuses to tell me who he was sent to kill. All he will say is he's sure his target instigated the attack on Konoha."
"Do you know what the Kyubi's Jinchuriki looks like?"
"Hachibi trusts his ability to find his king."
"Let's hit the sack, if we start off early enough, we should reach Konoha in time for dinner.
Kuroiryu didn't argue.