Hey~! So my muse for this story has really invaded my brain - here is the second chapter :) Hope you like it


Chapter 2

Jiraiya and Naruto stared after the girl's small frame as she walked quickly away, her white blonde hair rippling down her back with each step she took, and waited for her to disappear into the house of her friend.

"Hmm," Jiraiya thought aloud.

"What?" Naruto asked. He was excited and ready to continue onward – home was just a few more days away and he was eager to see everyone again…one pink-framed face in particular.

Jiraiya turned towards his student, "Just a little thought. Our little friend was quite interesting."

"Kinshi?" the blonde asked. He seemed to think about something for a minute then continued, "I guess – I think your pervyness scared her away though."

The white-haired sage gave Naruto a quick slap upside the head, "Come on – I want to snoop around town a little."

Naruto groaned, "Please no more research – I just want to get home."

This comment earned him another slap upside the head. "A different kind of snooping," The sage muttered, "Something seems familiar about that girl and I want to find out what it is."


I washed dishes for Linita in her sink, helping her out and offering the middle-aged woman a silent ear to release her built-up gossip reservoir onto. As she stirred meat that was stewing in a large pot, she turned to me, "So I heard that that hooligan, Pochino has been harassing you lately." She gave me a concerned look as she kept stirring.

I shrugged and continued on with my task.

Her stare dropped to her hands as she spoke, "Is that why you're leaving? Because if he's giving you trouble, I don't mind putting you up for a bit – the house'll be crowded but one more person shouldn't be a problem. And I wouldn't mind the company." She offered me a small smile and set down the wooden spoon she'd been using to stir the stew.

I shook my head at her and dried my hands on the stomach of my dark green tank top. I turned to face the kind woman and started scribbling away on my scroll. He's not the reason, I wrote, I just want to move on – don't like to stay put for too long and I've already been here a month.

Linita gave me a soft smile after reading my words, "I know, you've told me before – you're just a wandering soul…but I feel bad seeing you all alone."

I touched her arm gently and she pulled me into a warm hug, "Well, if you're ever back in the area, drop by – I might have some of my noodles that you like so much."

I smiled and pulled slowly out of her arms. I nodded in reply, knowing full well that I would never be back here again. When I traveled, I went forward and never looked back. There was always something new to find up ahead, some new adventure awaiting me – what was the point of going backwards? Behind me was the past – nothing but countless places I've already seen, adventures I'd already had, and things I'd already experienced.

I gave Linita a small wave as I turned and headed out, stepping out of her house and into the late afternoon sunlight. The thought of leaving and getting back onto the proverbial road made my heart light and giddy. My quick steps were accented with small bounces as I hurried back up the dirt pathway towards the town so that I could cross into the woods on the other side of Kikkiyo where I had my small camp set up.

When I traveled I usually set up a campsite a little ways out of town – most of the time amidst a forest or some other clearing surrounded by nature where I could keep to myself and enjoy the beautiful solitude of the wilderness.

I let my thoughts wander as I walked, mentally listing all the things that needed to be done in order to pack up and debating with myself whether it was smart to leave today even though in a few hours the sun would start to set, or if I should set out tomorrow morning and travel when the world was still drowsy and serene.

As I reached the main road of Kikkiyo, familiar footsteps surrounded me once again. I had been so lost in thought that I'd failed to notice the not-so-sneaky movements of Pochino's posse. I cursed myself for forgetting one of the ultimate rules of the road that I'd learned over the years.

Always be aware of your surroundings.

But my excitement at the prospect of traveling had overruled that fundamental, and now I was surrounded by goonish faces, all smiling warily at me.

I didn't like those smiles, but I liked the one on Pochino's strongly jawed face the least. Said gang-leader suddenly stepped in front of me, blocking my path to the main road and keeping me right in the mouth of an alley between a butcher's shop and an abandoned sake bar that reeked of rot and stale alcohol.

"So – we never got to finish our conversation, Kinshi." Pochino ran a dirty finger down the side of my face. A disgusted shiver ran down my spine at the unwanted contact – in mere moments the guy had ruined all of my previous excitement.

Before I could stop myself, I slapped his hand away from my face.

Usually I wasn't so stupid, but I guess my judgment was a bit off that day.

My response seemed to be exactly what Pochino had been waiting for, and as a few of his gang ooh-ed at me like silly children watching their friend get scolded, Pochino's rough hand grabbed me by the neck and threw me backwards.

I hit the ground on the small amount of padding that my butt provided and skidded backwards away, using my already scraped up hands to keep my upper body balanced upright. I felt the skin on my palms tearing further on rocks that stuck up from the hard-packed dirt alleyway and groaned inwardly as pain stuck my hands like billions of tiny needles.

I brought them to my stomach, holding in the sounds of pain that I desperately longed to release, when other hands grabbed me from beneath my arms and slammed my back into the decaying wall of the abandoned pub.

Notabi's stony face was the culprit this time, pinning me to the wall by the shoulders. Pochino's laugh came from behind the second-in-command, as the grip on my body was released and I was allowed to slide down the wall in pain. I dropped to my knees and eased my stinging hands against my flat stomach.

Now in addition to my hands hurting, my back also prickled with soreness.

Pochino moved closer and stood right in front of me, towering over my kneeling figure as if he were a King and I a lowly servant who'd disobeyed a command, "Now, Kinshi – are you going to show me this power you've got hidden up your sleeves, or are you going to make me beat it out of you? As much as I like your pretty face, I won't hesitate to add a few more scars to it." Pochino's grin had widened and he brought a kunai knife out of the waistband of his pants.

My stinging hand brought a finger to the dirt and I drew out a small and clumsy message: Nothing to show.

Pochino laughed again, "You're still sticking to that story? Don't lie to me, bitch – I can see that strange chakra flowing through your body. I've never seen anything like it. So either show me what it can do, or I'll beat you until you're left with no other choice."

In a split second I took stock of myself and realized I still had my satchel hanging at my hip. I had to suppress a smile as I realized what was hidden in one of the side pockets.

Slowly I staggered to my feet, careful not to anger my back anymore than necessary, and forced my eyes to meet his. They were a muddy green that reminded me of dirty river water. I spat at his feet in response to his threats.

He smirked at me and made to strike me with the kunai's pointed blade.

The moment his arm moved, I ducked beneath his blow and thrust my heels into his stomach. I managed to get enough force into my double punch that I knocked him back a few steps, leaving me free to escape.

Unluckily, my easy escape was suddenly blocked by Notabi's threatening figure. My stinging hand plunged into my satchel's side pocket and found what I was looking for. As the large man readied himself for a blade or weapon of some sort that he believed I was reaching for, I made my second move.

I eyed the gap between him and the wall of the butcher's shop, and threw down the small object I'd retrieved from my bag.

Thick purple smoke suddenly clouded the area and enveloped us all in a haze that let in little to no sunlight.

I quickly used my memory to slip through the gap between Notabi and the brick wall of the butcher's shop and ran as fast as my skinny legs could carry me. My heart was pumping fast, and my adrenaline was up, but at least I hadn't panicked.

If I had, there was no telling how much damage I could have done.

I coughed out the last of the purple smoke from my home-made smoke bombs, and for the first time in a long while thanked Rekki for the few good things that came out of my childhood.

But this was no time to be thinking of the past – as I darted through town, oblivious to all around me but the path that would take me to my campsite, I forced myself to concentrate on what I could pack in a hurry so that I could get out of town in the next few minutes.

The purple haze left by the smoke bomb would only last a few minutes, and by then the guys would have figured out that I'd gotten away. I was sure they'd knew the general direction of my campsite if not the specific placement of it, so I had to get packed and ready to leave before they could get there.

Urgency raced through my veins, as I pushed my legs to run faster than they were capable. I would definitely be sore in the morning, but what was a little soreness compared to being caught, cut, and bloodied by Pochino's gang?

My feet knew the pathway through the forest well, weaving instinctively through trees and around boulders and protruding tree roots. Birds sang happily from above me, oblivious to the troubles facing me. I could hear them rustling about in the treetops and twittering to each other.

Eventually my small camp came into view. It was nothing more than a shabby tent decorated with small trinkets I'd either bought in town or found out in the forests. Feathers that I'd found in the forest and dyed vibrant colors hung off of the tent-posts, painted glass shards and beads were sitting out on spare rags to dry, animal skins were draped across low tree branches, a small fire pit was surrounded by a few pans and dishes that I'd accumulated, and my lucky walking stick was propped up against the side of the tent's canvas. For the past month, this had been my base. I would make my trinkets, paint my beads, and put together cheap jewelry so that I could sell them in town, mostly to fellow travelers like myself or younger children who'd gotten a little money to buy a treat or new toy.

It had been a nice place, situated in a small clearing surrounded on all sides by low-branched trees. There had even been a small freshwater stream a few minutes away that was perfect for baths and washing clothes. As much as I wanted to admire it a little more before taking off, I had to pack quickly.

I ducked into my small tent, and after wrapping my hands in clean rags, I grabbed my folded travel pack that I usually used as a pillow. I unzipped it and started throwing my few articles of clothing into it in a frantic hurry to get done and out of there. I knew that not all of my things would fit in such a short amount of time so I threw in all of my beads, feathers, dyes and paints, my tarp that I used for my tent cover, the closest animal furs that I could grab, my thin bedroll, and a few other necessities that I would need for living in the woods.

Satisfied with what I had, I zipped up my pack and threw it onto my back, almost throwing me out of balance. My bound hands grabbed the straps that clung to my shoulders and I started to head into the woods to find a place to throw Pochino off my trail.

But today was not turning out to be lucky for me, as I saw movement from the side of the clearing that led to Kikkiyo. I knew what it was, and yet, the heavy pack on my back weighed me down too much to dodge it.

A kunai came flying from the trees to the west of my clearing and sank into my upped thigh.

I bit at my lip to keep myself from screaming out as blood trickled down my right leg. As my bound hands reached down to pull the enemy knife out of my leg, a barrage of footsteps flooded into the picked over campsite I had been trying to leave.

"That was pretty sneaky, Kinshi – but it won't happen again," Pochino stepped into the clearing after his men and ordered, "Take her bags from her and check her for any more surprises."

Two of his goons were suddenly at my sides, tearing off my travel pack and satchel. As I struggled to keep my stinging hands pressed down on my bleeding thigh, I felt large hands trailing down my body, feeling for weapons – or that was the excuse anyways.

I shot a hateful glare at Pochino as he swaggered forward.

One of the phantom hands tracing my curves grabbed at my arms and yanked me to stand upright, pulling my hands away from my wound. Blood now soaked the once-clean rags I had tied to keep the dirt out of my scraped up palms and trickled down the mocha-tanned skin of my legs.

It took all of my self-control not to cry out in pain as the second goon gripped my other arm with fingers that felt like a vice clamping down on my thin arm.

Pochino eyed the walking stick I had left lying propped against a tree and took it into his hands with a smile. He tested its weight by lifting it up and down and banged its end against the ground a few times. As he walked slowly closer, he brought my once-lucky walking stick up in a position ready to strike.

I clenched my teeth as hard as I could as he said with a smirk, "Hold her still."

The vices on my arms somehow seemed to grip tighter, and I forced my emotions so solidify. I knew what was coming next, but unless I wanted to kill these men and anyone within a three mile radius in a horrible fashion, I couldn't scream. I couldn't even utter a sound if I didn't want to become a mass murderer.

The walking stick in his hands finally came down and connected with my injured right leg. Horrible pain shot through my entire body, and as the hits kept coming – all centered on my legs – my mind screamed in pain. My stomach heaved and my throat begged to mercilessly scream out.

Amidst all the pain and urges to vomit and scream bloody murder, I felt a familiar burn start up behind my eyes. It was then that I really started to panic.

Pochino must have seen the activity in my chakra because he stopped hitting my battered legs.

I cursed myself – I had been so concerned with restricting my voice that I'd loosened my hold on the power that usually remained dormant inside of my body.

"I think I'm finally going to see something interesting," Pochino mused aloud. He propped himself up on the bloodied walking stick and watched me with eager eyes.

My eyes felt as if they were on fire, and a piercing heat seemed to bubble inside of my brain. The fearsome Tenshi-Hikari was past the point of no return – the only solution I had was to get away from here.

I clenched my teeth tighter as the burning pain behind my eyes doubled, and soon boiling tears leaked from my eyes and fell down the scars on my face that had formed due to previous tears of the same nature.

As I looked up, hoping to find a way to escape and put a little distance between me and these men, I saw Pochino watching me with a face akin to childish excitement. "Your eyes," me muttered in awe.

I knew what he was seeing – and if my eyes had already reached that stage, there was no way I'd be able to get away in time to give them a chance to live.

Suddenly, cries and a few small explosions rang out from around me. I watched a few of Pochino's goons fall to the ground after taking kunai to the chest, and a tree falling on a few others as a paper bomb went off and brought it down into the clearing.

A familiar head of blonde hair dropped down from the treetops – but due to the pain in my eyes I must have been seeing double. There were two heads of spiky blonde hair, and in the hands of one a spinning ball of angry chakra formed.

As Naruto let out a small battle cry, he pressed the ball of chakra into the wide chest of Notabi, who was sent flying into the woods to Naruto's right with a large wound where the chakra connected.

If I had any doubts that he was a real ninja, they were dispelled now. I watched from my place on the ground – Pochino's goons had let go of me in fear once the explosions felled that tree, and I had collapsed to the forest floor – as Naruto single-handedly took out all of the goon's in Pochino's gang.

But Pochino was too focused on me to care about his henchmen.

The blonde came from behind and sent a kick into the distracted gang-leader's spine, knocking him to the ground a few yards away from me. As Naruto came to my side, presumably to check on me, he stopped dead in his tracks.

His blue eyes creased in confusion as they met mine, "Weren't your eyes brown before?" His head cocked to the side.

Suddenly, the Tenshi-Hikari released itself and a familiar but excruciating pain exploded behind my eyes. It felt as if my eyes had been replaced by hot embers. The heat in my normally brown eyes began to expel itself into the area around me, and soon a glittering orb filled with golden light filled the air around me.

It took all I had not to scream.

I focused my eyes on Naruto, whose blonde hair matched the golden light almost flawlessly. He was staring in wonder at the light that was expanding, and took a small step so that he was within the orb of golden light that was streaming from my eyes.

I gave him a pleading look and pointed towards the trees. If he wanted to live, he needed to get as far away from me as possible. As beautiful as the light seemed, it was dangerous and completely lethal. No one had survived it yet, and though I'd never tried it out on a ninja, who probably had a better chance at doing just that, I really didn't want to test out my theory on the nice kid who'd bought something from me.

I tried to mouth the words "Run" and "Go", but he wasn't looking at my lips.

I saw a relaxed smile spread across his lips, and I knew what the Tenshi-Hikari was doing.

Soon I felt the light sucking at all the chakra in the area and pushing it back into my body. The light seemed to taste the natural chakra in the woods and air, and the chakra from the goons who'd been knocked out from Naruto's attacks, but kept coming back to the blonde for more.

As the light pushed the absorbed chakra back into my body I could tell that it was very excited. I felt the light sucking the life from Naruto's body as quickly as it could. The boy had a surprising amount of chakra welled up inside of him, but the golden light couldn't get enough of it. More and more of it was leaving his body as the light ate it with gusto – but Naruto could only smile as more and more of his power and energy was ripped away from his body by the light's absorbing hands.

As his chakra transferred to by body, it felt thicker than most others as it integrated itself with my own chakra.

I wanted to stop it. The power was killing him.

But I had no control.

Once my power had been let loose, there was no restraining it until it was finished sucking the life out of everything nearby.

As quickly as it came, the golden orb of light pulled itself back into my eyes with burning pain and settled down inside me, taking on its normal dormant state. I clenched my eyes shut in relief that the pain was gone, but after hearing a muffled thump I dreaded opening them again.

I knew that the sound had been Naruto's body collapsing to the ground beside me, and I was afraid to open my eyes and see his unmoving body lying there beside me. I was afraid to see him lying dead like all the others in the past – dead because he had happened to be too close to me.

My body felt sluggish – Naruto's chakra was taking a lot of energy to digest, so to speak. My own chakra was trying to assimilate it into itself, but the boy's chakra was much thicker than what I was used to, and therefore much more troublesome to work with.

My eye lids grew heavy, which gave me all the more reason not to open them.

Salty tears came to my eyes – ones that weren't boiling this time. I knew what I'd see if I opened them.

He had only tried to save me from Pochino, and I'd just killed him.

I'd just killed someone who had saved me.

I could do nothing but sob without sound as I let my body lay in pain on the forest floor.

That was until a voice stopped me.

A small internal groan came from mere feet away and a familiar voice followed, "Wha – what was that?"

I froze; the sobs that were racking my rib-cage ceased. Even my tears stopped halfway down my scarred face.

My eyes suddenly snapped open, fear now forming where guilt once was as I thought I had heard a ghost.

But no.

Naruto was on his hands and knees as he shook his blonde head back and forth. Once he stopped this motion his blue eyes came to mine. Once again his head cocked to the side in confusion, "Your eyes are back to normal now…"

I stared in shock, praying that he wasn't just a ghost or figment of my pain-altered imagination. I wanted to poke him, test to see if he was solid, but I could tell by the shadows and the way his fingers left marks in the dirt as he struggled to get to his feet that he was real.

He was alive.

I felt my jaw drop and hang open.

Just to be sure I reached out my blood-stained hand and pressed it against his arm.

My fingers touched the course fabric of his black and orange jacket and pressed hard into his bicep.

He was definitely solid, and not a ghost-image from my warped brain.

Naruto was alive, and it was then that my body decided to give out and my brain finally gave into the invitation of unconsciousness sent to me from the horrible pain in my legs and the depletion in my energy because of the Tenshi-Hikari.


So hope you liked it - feel free to review, tell me what you think and what-not. Also, please tell me if you spot any major mistakes (spelling is kind of the bane of my existence of a writer lol so any help spotting the runaway spellings would help me a lot)

Also, thought you'd like to know Kinshi means "Gold Death" in Japanese (according to Google Translations lol) but her family name (which she hasn't mentioned yet) Shiawase means "Happy" lol so her name basically means Happy Gold-Death xD or maybe Happy Death of Gold lol not quite sure