Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Italics- Tsuki' "speaking"
Previous Chapter- Mikadzuki smiled at her antics. "If you don't let me heal it, it won't mend properly." He placed two fingers on the arm again and used his powers to make it heal. He drew a picture of the sun and moon in a circle on her shoulder. Rui looked over at what he was doing. "Whoa! Pretty!" she gasped.
"Doing this marks you as one of my clan. In other words, I adopted you."
Rui only understood the first bit, but was overjoyed. "So, like, you're my dad?"
Mikadzuki nodded, before Rui launched herself at him wrapping her arms around his torso in a hug. He affectionately ruffled her hair before asking, "What do you want to be, Rui?"
Rui's face turned upward to look at him, serious. "I want to be a ninja."
I want to be a ninja.
It had been two years since Rui uttered those words. Who knew they could be so life changing? Mikadzuki had taken her with him to Hinansho, the god's land. Upon arrival, Mikadzuki had given Rui a sandy colored wolf, as a companion and mentor. "His name is Tsuki. He can change shape like me. He can also speak to you in your head."
Rui had seen Mikadzuki around in the hallways. He always had attendants rushing after him with paperwork. Even though Mikadzuki was always busy, he always managed to send presents on her birthday. Like the time she made a contract with wolves on her seventh birthday, or the time when he gave her a god's blade called Mizarī on her eighth. He always made time for her, and they established a brother-sister bond.
In Hinansho Rui was always plagued with dreams, which started upon arrival. The dreams always contained a huge black wolf with ten tails wreaking havoc on towns and villages. After mentioning it in passing to Tsuki, he said he wanted to show her something. Curious, Rui had followed him to a wall mural, near the training grounds. It depicted a huge black wolf, with ten tails growling at what appeared to be tiny stick figures. Upon closer inspection, Rui saw that they were gods, wielding chakra blades and sealing scrolls.
This a mural of all the war gods against the Ten Tails. Needless to say, the Ten Tails nearly wiped them out. Then Hagoromo, our Lord came, and sealed the Ten Tails in the Daemon Wolf Statue using the Howling Wolf Sealing Technique. After, he gave the statue to an elder. Nobody except the elders know where it is now. Howling Wolf Sealing Technique kills the user, but really, it's one of the seals powerful enough. I think the Jūbi's chakra is affecting you. You could be his jinchūriki, you know. Like, one of those ones that come along in one millennia. If a wolf could look worried, Tsuki looked worried. Rui would've laughed at his expression, if she didn't know what it meant. The seal was weakening.
In the mornings, Tsuki would teach her the geographical locations and history of the 5 major hidden villages as well as ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijustsu, kenjutsu and fūinjutsu. In the afternoons, she explored Hinansho with Tsuki, or trained.
On one of these expeditions, she met a skilled metalsmith who, kindly enough, allowed her to stay watch him make a katana. Kajiya was his name, and he made all of the god's katanas, shields and armor. He took liking to Rui and sometimes gave her kunai and shuriken, made of magnalium, a metal that was virtually indestructible.
On nights when the moon was visible, Tsuki would transform from a grey timber wolf, much like Mikadzuki had done. During these transformation, Tsuki would spar with Rui, often leaving the latter with scratches and bruises. Rui trained hard to improve her skills and techniques, and after a year and a half, she could spar more or less evenly with Tsuki. She had even gotten to the point where Tsuki had taught her a change in chakra nature because there was nothing else to teach.
Two years had passed in Hinansho, and Rui decided that it was time to leave. She had learnt all she could, but decided that she needed experience. Rui promised to stay in contact with Mikadzuki, and with Tsuki and Mizarī as her companion and blade respectively, she left Hinansho. She teleported to where she first met Mikadzuki, on a lake. It was winter, and everything looked the same as when she left.
Rui. Let's go to the Valley of the End.Tsuki's voice snapped Rui out of her reverie. "I've always wanted to see the waterfalls! And statues. Can't forget the statues." Rui acted like the eight year-old she was, excited at prospect on going on a journey.
Rui had no idea how it had happened. After a day of traveling, and an exhausting training session with Tsuki, she had settled down in her sleeping bags ready to sleep. Then BAM! three people, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, knock Tsuki and her out. Then, when she regained consciousness, she realized she was back in Hinansho, only to realize that her limbs didn't do what she wanted to do. She looked down realized she was chained down to a huge stone slab of some sort. And Tsuki was nowhere near her. And that the Five Elders where around her, chanting and making hand seals, moving their hands too fast to make out. Then Rui was mercifully knocked unconscious again, head spinning with information. Then the pain came. It was like boiling tar being poured on her back, melting her alive. It came in waves, an unstoppable force. Deadly. Dangerous.
Suddenly, the pain disappeared. In a flash of light, many images began appearing, many of them pictures of the ten tails, destroying villages and killing countless shinobi. Unable to do anything but watch, Rui could only pray that it would be over soon. Her body functions, overwhelmed by the assault on the senses, shut down, leaving her in a comatose state.
She was briefly aware of being sent back to the shinobi world, of Tsuki licking her face, and calling her name, and then nothing.
Cliffhanger! Hope you enjoyed. Review and tell me what you think of it!
Next chapter hopefully out around 26th July.
