Chapter 2 (Summoning Scroll)
Bored after our battle on the 1st Hokage's head Naruto and I made our way back to the village.
"Man, I'm starving! Let's go get somethin to eat!" Naruto said to me.
"What is it with you and food, Naruto?" I asked with a sigh, "Alright. Let's go to the Ramen Bar."
I followed Naruto into the Ramen Bar, but I didn't eat because I wasn't hungry. Naruto was chowing down on his third bowl of ramen when in walked two of our friends, a large boy named Choji and his lazy pal Shikamaru.
"Hey Naruto. Hey Kiko," Shikamaru said, sitting down beside me.
"What's up, Shika?" I asked as Choji sat down beside Naruto and ordered a bowl of ramen.
"Naruto and I were supposed to do some training today, but I see he's too busy stuffing his face. What a drag," Shikamaru said with a sigh.
"Oh. I forgot. Sorry Shikamaru," Naruto said through a mouthful of ramen, "I'm too beat from my battle with Kiko."
"How about a game of Shogi or Go?" I offered Shikamaru.
"Alright, Kiko, you're on," Shika declared.
A few minutes later found us outside, sitting at one of the stone tables. I beat Shikamaru twice at Shogi and twice at Go before he admitted defeat.
"Man. Beaten by a girl! What a drag," He said with a sigh. Shikamaru thought everything was a drag. He was a player who based his entire game upon strategy and predicting his opponent's moves. By relying on pure, rash, instinct I had beaten him.
"Sorry, Shikamaru, that's how it goes," I said with a shrug, smiling at him.
When the sun started to disappear I made my way back to my house. Kakashi wasn't home, but I cooked chicken and left some out for him anyway. Just as I suspected he came home a few minutes later and found the food on the table.
"Hey Tsukiko. How was your day?" Kakashi asked me as he lowered his mask to eat. I was perhaps one of the few who had ever seen his face.
"Boring, mostly. I beat Shikamaru at a few games of Shogi and Go," I said with a shrug.
"Really? Asuma-sensei tells me he's really good at those games. He's never even beaten Asuma! How did you defeat him?" He asked interestedly.
"The same way I do everything else- through a series of rash actions ruled by instinct."
"That doesn't work for a lot of ninja, but it definitely works for you. I heard you beat Naruto in a fake-battle," Kakashi said.
"No big deal," I said with another shrug.
"It's impressive that you can emit Chakra from all 64 points in your body and still be able to control it," He said, impressed.
"It's no big deal," I repeated, insistent.
"If you say so…but I think Neji Hyuuga would be a good match for you."
Neji Hyuuga had the ability to block all 64 Chakra points by striking them all at once, sometimes more than once. I had seen him do it to Naruto during the Chunin exams, but when Naruto used the Chakra provided by the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, the Chakra points became unblocked and Naruto kicked Neji's butt.
"Maybe," I said to Kakashi, "I'm going to bed."
I was actually looking forward to sleeping, for once, in the hope that I might have another dream about my parents. I rarely have two dreams in a row without them being related to one another, so I was extremely hopeful. As soon as I closed my eyes, the vision began, but it was not about Yuki and Kasumi…
A cloaked figure was running through the woods at nighttime. I didn't know who he was and he carried a scroll in his left hand. He was running fast by gathering the Chakra in his feet so I knew immediately that he was a ninja, though of what ranking I was uncertain. My vision followed him until he stopped. He had come to a waterfall. He knelt down on the ground and pulled out a kunai, which he plunged into a rock that was perfectly round, except for the slit in it that the kunai obviously fitted into. Suddenly, the waterfall stopped flowing, revealing a small hole in the face of the rock beneath it. The cloaked man put the scroll into the secret hole and then took his kunai from the rock and the waterfall started flowing again.
"There," Said the man in an oddly chilling voice, "It should be safe there until she finds it…"
I awoke with a start and knew that I must go to that waterfall. It was dark outside, as the hour had grown late- past midnight. I listened intently to the house around me and heard Kakashi's steady breathing from the next room. He was asleep. I slipped out of bed quietly and opened my window slowly, then, I climbed out. I was still wearing my day clothes of a black skirt and black long-sleeved shirt so I didn't feel out of place. I was barefoot, but it didn't matter as I left the village and made my way into the forest, taking the same path the man had taken in my dream.
It wasn't long before I came to the waterfall from my dream. I hastily shoved my kunai into the rock I'd seen and I was more that delighted when the waterfall ceased to flow. I walked over cautiously and peered into the hole. The scroll was still there! Whoever the man had wanted to find the scroll had not found it. By the light of the moon I unfolded it and read it. I knew what it was immediately- a summoning scroll! A select few ninja were able to summon creatures to do their bidding. Naruto and Master Jiraiya could both summon toads, Kakashi-sensei could summon his ninja dogs, and Lady Tsunade could summon a giant slug, so I'd heard. This particular scroll was binding with snakes. I didn't really have a problem with snakes and I was ready to sign the scroll. Who knew when I'd get another chance? Most ninja couldn't summon animals because they didn't possess enough Chakra energy to do it…but if my suspicions were right, and I did have one of the tailed demons inside of me, then this would be just the way to get this beast to lend me its Chakra!
The scroll had the names of three ninja, that I did not bother to read, and they had pressed their fingerprints beneath their names, all in blood. Without hesitating I carefully bit the pointer finger of my left hand and signed my name.
"Tsukiko Akane," I murmured aloud as I finished. I pressed each of my fingers to the one I had bitten and then pressed all five to the scroll. I checked the particular hand seals indicated that I would need to summon. There was only one, besides the finishing seal, that I did not know. It was the symbol for serpent and merely required one to lace their fingers together before completing the hand seals.
I took my stance and gathered all the Chakra, I alone, possessed. I formed the hand seals and pressed my left palm to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!" I said loudly. A moment later there was a flash and before me lay one of the most lethal-looking creatures I had ever seen in my life!
