Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it is owned by Masashi Kishimoto
I do not have a beta, nor am I looking for one.
This is my first story, hope you forgive my mistakes.
A few months have passed since that certain day; they still have not gotten any luck in finding Leviathan. On a side note, Natsume had visited them constantly, often to discuss their studies together.
Zetsubou had decided to enroll in the academy, but he lacked the interest in things he had already known and mastered before coming here. Shi, when she found out, decided to enroll as well, but she had no interest in the academic side of things, but she would've dominated the physical side of the Academy if not for Zetsubou saying that they must hide their strengths, rather than showing it off.
Another thing that happened in that short time was that he had found the other two targets. Uchiha Satsuki and Sasuke, twins of the Uchiha clan.
Whenever Shi and Natsume tried to converse with them, they always had their own response.
Sasuke goes, "Hn."
Satsuki say nothing and just stares into their souls.
Then Natsume dejectedly comes back to them, with a kicked puppy look, while Shi went as far as to curl up in his lap to ignore the class even when Iruka scolded her.
Her sisters for some reason forgot all about him, so he made himself permanently known to them in the only way he knows and will do willingly... fear.
One day when Mito was calmly walking into the classroom and saw her younger sister, Natsume, she went up to mock her. Once her hand connected with Natsume's shoulder her head suddenly fell off. She was shocked when every single person in the room also had been decapitated, also weird thing is. They were still talking and walking as if nothing had happened, they didn't mind the numerous blood pools that gathered underneath them, then just as sudden was the Kyuubi being dragged out of her in the most brutal way possible, also the most bloody.
She was so shocked when Natsume asked her, "Can you let go of me?" She didn't respond for a few minutes, opting to stare at the uninterested pupiless eyes of Kurushimi Zetsubou
Her glazed eyes went unnoticed, the look that usually made home in her eye soon returned. However they did widen in fear when she saw him make a slicing motion with his hand on his neck, he even went as far to mouth, 'Say this to anyone... and I will make what you saw a reality.' For added fear he also showed her the genjustsu again that was only visible to him and to her.
He swore Shi had never laughed that hard when she saw her face, but she was disgusted when she smelt pee in the room, and when she made a beeline to her seat, while walking she swore she was so stiff a tree trunk would be like paper.
He pretty much did the same thing with Narumi, but instead of retreating like her sister she decided to leap into his arms for some reason. Natsume and Shi stood there shocked at what had just happened, while their brain tried to reboot, Narumi whispered into his ear, 'You have to try better than that, Scales.' And sat next to her sister, smiling cutely as if nothing had just happened.
Where she got that nickname, he never found out.
Then back to the present time Shi had just been stretching after a hard day of school... well, for her at least, for them it was pretty easy.
"Finally!" She yelled, "It's over! School is finally over!"
He weighed his chances of not getting hurt and then he chose, "For today at least," That had gotten him a punch in the face and a black eye.
"Shut up," She huffed, "Let me relish this feeling, go to that alley so you won't disturb me or something."
He sighed, "Sure, I'll see you tomorrow, Natsume!"
Shi stood there in the middle of the road, while she watched her friend go into an alley and her other friend (though she'd rather die than call her that) walked away.
"What the- Hey, Natsume! Wait for me!" Their houses were close together so they had decided to walk to school and back together.
On a positive side, that meant Zetsubou can't get lost... crap.
It was a cold night in town of Konoha, especially so in the Uchiha District which was practically a small village. The last few months have been strange for her, the sudden enrollment of Kurushimi Zetsubou and Shi Shiori, she didn't know what his intention was, but Kurushimi tried to speak with her. He even managed to get a few words out of her because of the randomness of his questions.
Which also made her fan boys glare at him with hate and her brother began to act strangely shortly after. He began to pay attention to their conversation, try to stalk them though he didn't last long because of his own fan-girls. When Kurushimi first saw them he said, "Fan-girls... I forgot what they meant, but I get a chill whenever I think of that word." She gave him a silent giggle for that.
When Taijustsu training time came, she for once decided to watch it; while it encourages the fan boys she mainly watched it for Kurushimi. For someone that claimed he never had a teacher in his life, he was pretty good at it especially when one was stupid enough to insult his choice of clothing.
Does a jacket that looked like it was made from mist and pants that almost blend in with the shadows deserve to be mocked? Oh right, it was because of the gloves Shi gave him, orange monstrosities they are good thing it was only for a week… bad thing, he had to wear it 24/7.
Long story short, fist met eye, leg meets stomach and one recently knocked unconscious idiot.
Shuriken and Kunai training, failed that one miserably, he said he was better at bow and arrows than shuriken, at swords than kunai.
Ninjustsu he perfected the Kawarimi on the first try, henged into something that scared everyone at that time and made clones out of shadows, which he calls 'Shadow Arts: Clones' which surprised anyone in the immediate area.
Genjustu, he was paired with Mito who almost fainted on the spot when she heard the announcement. The goal was to make the person in front of you scared. She didn't know what Mito saw, but that face was forever engraved in her memory.
Stasuki was walking in the District, exploring the silent place as she pondered on what gave Kurushimi his 'Shadow Art,' she knew it wasn't from Shikamaru's Clan's hiden and he didn't say that he had a blood line. Currently she was dressed in a kimono with the Uchiha crest sewed into it.
She breathed in the fresh, clean night air and the cloth that was forcefully shoved into her mouth.
"Hehehe!" She heard what she assumed was her kidnappers' friend, "The Uchiha heir's sister! We could make great money in the Ligthning Tavern!"
"Mmph!" A kidnapping?! How? This place was literally littered with Uchiha guards, so how the hell did they get in here?!
"No use trying to escape missy!" She couldn't see who they are and what they look like, but judging by their voices she knew her kidnappers were both males, "With you as a breeding stock, the Raikage might reward us with us being the first to use you!"
Satsuki had no idea why they wanted her specifically when there were lots of other female Uchiha's in their clan. Nonetheless, she was terrified, she had read about blood lines ending due to the last female member being kidnapped to force reproduction choosing to end their life than please whoever their kidnappers was. She still haven't figured out how they got in by the way.
Zetsubou didn't get lost, not now not ever, and he also was more curious than a Nekomata and Bakeneko. So when he saw Satsuki get kidnapped, he of course followed them all the way until the borders of the Fire Country.
The two shinobi foolishly took of the strap that covered Satsuki's sight to see her look as they neared the borders, they were pleased as despair clouded her eyes and her walk became sluggish rather than the desperate struggling from before. Just as they begin to think they were home free, the night has just become darker.
Wolf like howls ware heard all around and crimson eyes appeared one after another, one in particular was larger than every one of them combined.
"I can't let you do that," A voice ominously said, "She's also doesn't want to let you go either, and to tell you the truth."
The light of the moon appeared revealing hundreds of wolves and one large one, with a kid on top of it.
The kid's eyes opened, amber eyes glaring at their very souls, "I don't like people taking those I have an interest in."
The large wolf howl was all the others needed for a signal to attack.
"H-hey," One of them stuttered, "W-What?! Hey, what are you doing?! Stop that!"
His companion was slowly walking towards the large wolf his eyes had zero light on them and his movement was more sluggish than Satsuki. He was right in front of it, until the smaller ones pounced on him and ripped him apart piece by piece.
He stared in horror, that was a jounin level shinobi of the Cloud and he was a higher level than him! If he was torn to shred in a matter of seconds then what would happen to him?! Not wanting to risk his life, he turned tail and ran for dear life.
He didn't get far, managing to get only one step before being sliced in half by a person who looked like Kurushimi.
Satsuki kept walking even when they weren't forcing her anymore; she had lost all hope of coming back to her family and Konoha.
"Are you all right?"
Satsuki looked up blank faced, "Kurushimi..."
"I came to save you," He said, "Now, I'll ask again... are you all right..."
"Yeah..." Her legs lost their strength all of a sudden, Kurushimi dashed to catch her, "... This doesn't mean... we're friends."
Satsuki stared at the crackling fire, enjoying the warmth it gave her while protecting her from the cold of the night, her wearing a kimono and cold does not produce good results, so Kurushimi decided to make a fire for the night. Speaking of him he went out to find some food leaving her somewhat alone, if she considered the wolves that are made of 'shadows' company then she was far from alone.
"I'm back," Kurushimi pierced two large fishes on sticks and held them over the fire, "Is fish fine with you?"
Satsuki nodded, "... Why are you doing this?"
"Why," He said, "Why shouldn't I? You're a classmate and I've taken an interest in you."
"So you're just another fan boy," She grimly said, "What do you wan-"
"Don't compare me with those idiots," He abruptly said, "When I said interest, I meant something about you piqued my curiosity. Maybe it's the scar on your face, which is quite lovely by the way, or something else entirely..."
"How?! I mean," She was acting out of character, from what he remembered, "Wh-What scar? I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"That one," His hand rose to trail the lightning shaped scar that went down her left eye, "It looks beautiful on you, why do you hide it?"
"... Again, what are you talking about?!" She laughed out of character, "There isn't a scar on my skin, get your hand off my face!"
"You don't have to hide it," He said.
"I already said I don't have one!" She huffed, "And get your hand off my face!"
Kurushimi paid her order no mind, "Feia, take your comrades and guard this area will you?"
Feia, the large wolf, nodded.
Once it was out of sight Satsuki asked, "What is she? I've never seen a wolf before, but I'm sure there isn't on that are just shadows."
"Feia? They're the Shadow Spirit clan, a summon, she's the daughter of the leader, youngest and the only female in her siblings of eight." He said, "There are eight other summoners of this clan than me."
"Shadow Spirit summoning contract," She muttered, "Never heard of it."
'Must be because it's from the underworld.'He was only able to sign it when he saved Feia while she was on her human form from a couple of younger demons and from what he had heard the others had similar cases, "Really? It a fairly popular clan from where I come from though."
"Anyway, it's getting late go to sleep," He said, "They will protect you, so sleep all you want."
She didn't get to talk, cause of him knocking her out, last thing she saw was someone walking towards them and him pulling out a sword out of nowhere and speaking to the stranger.
"What do you want?" Zetsubou coldly asked, "Fifth."
Fifth smiled, "Come on, Ninth! Does a brother wanting to catch up with his younger brother after five years so suspicious?"
He said nothing and just stared, "I'll ask again, what do you want?" 'Besides, the only one I care about are Second and Third... as I suspected, Master has sent us forward in time...'
He pouted, "Ninth~ is this how you treat your brothers?! Second would be disappointed in you!"
"I don't care about that!" He growled, Feai suddenly appearing on his side, "I'll ask one last time! What do you want?!"
"Ninth~" He pouted, "Come on! You know what I want."
Zetsubou moved closer to Satsuki while Feia circled around them, while Fifth smirked.
"Step away from the girl," He threatened, "You may be our youngest brother, but that doesn't mean we won't go easy on you." A Shadow Wolf that was way bigger than Feia suddenly appeared, "Sheo, show these idiot why people call you the Bloodhound."
Sheo growled, "Sister, prepare yourself!"
Feia growled back, "You won't take us down!"
Zetsubou mounted her, "I won't let someone be your plaything if I can do anything about it."
Fifth wiped his glasses while his eyes like Zetsubou appeared to have a insane look in them. His bowl shaped green hair radiating a neon green light and his arms began to leak a fluid of the same color.
"You're Wrath isn't going to save you from my Greed this time!" He cracked his knuckles and licked his book, "Now, let us engage in combat, brother!"
They were about to attack when they suddenly stopped, Sheo looked like he was saying something to Fifth.
"Third?!" He asked, "What does he want?! Rogue Demons?! He can take care of himself! What, Rogue Demonesses? Hold on, I'm coming!"
"You got lucky Ninth," He smirked, "Sadly, we can't continue this bout apparently the place where Third was ambushed by Rogue Demons and Demonesses."
"We'll see, ya! Everyone, fall back!"
Thousands of Shadow Wolf Spirits as large as Feia suddenly leaped out of every direction behind him.
'I was surrounded?!'Third would be ashamed of him, 'I never even noticed and by Feia's expression, she didn't too.'
"Oh, let me give you a parting gift!" Fifth suddenly said, "Relax Sheo, it won't hurt him that much... I think."
Sheo spoke to Fifth for a while longer and eventually sighed, a glyph appeared on the ground and out came a serrated sword as wide as his wrist, "Wha-"
He was cut... literally, from the middle of his forehead to his right eye to his right jaw. A serrated pattern sudden appeared and soon blood dripped down the hard soil, staining the grass.
Zetsubou did not scream and he most definitely not roll on the ground in pain, he glared at Fifth with more hate than before with his remaining eye.
Satsuki yawned she rubbed her eyes to shake the sleep off her, then the memories of last night rushed into her like a flash flood.
"Kurushimi!" She gasped, "What happened?! Who did this to you?!"
"... There was one left," He lied, "He got the drop on me... and I paid the price."
He gestured to the bandages that were long since stained red by his blood.
That didn't make Satsuki any less worried, those wounds look serious and by his pale skin he must've lost a lot of blood. She might have acted cold to him in the Academy, but that was how she is to people she doesn't care about... she acted even colder to fanboys.
"Anyways, let's get going," He said, "If we start now, we should arrive in Konoha by sunset. Here eat this; it should sustain you for the walk ahead."
He tossed her a small knapsack, which she struggled to catch and took a peek inside of it. Cooked fish upon cooked fish they were small compared to the large one they ate last night, but it would last her the day if she rationed it well.
Then a thought occurred to her, "What about you?"
He merely raised a knapsack similar to hers.
She took some fishes out of hers and ate them for breakfast.
It was early in the afternoon and Shi was worried, no sign of Zetsubou in the last 20 hours 35 minutes and 5 seconds, she had been counting, when she had last seen him. She knew he was bad at directions and he wouldn't dare lie to her; it was why she had casted a tracking spell on him back in the underworld after all unfortunately it had been lost in the teleportation process and she lost the required ingredients to make the effect permanent. She pouted a whole day after the revelation and even skipped class.
Shi was also bored... she didn't know why Zetsubou and Leviathan called her dangerous when she was bored, really does making dolls qualify as dangerous? That thought in mind she smiled as she completed her first doll for the day... then channeled her energy in it... not her chakra, but the demonic energy she got from her father.
The doll's head suddenly began spinning and Shi's smile became wider than before. Its hair became more human, its face made from silk became skin and several cracks appeared, it grew fingers and toes, it grew bigger and bigger until it was a big as a six-year old human girl. A big smile that threatened to rip its face apart dawned on its face once the transformation was complete.
"Mama!" It gleefully cried out, "Where's Papa?! Mimi wants Papa! Master~"
She paid her no mind choosing to start making another one, for some reason it pleased her when they called her Mama and a certain hanyo. A crashing of a plate, she still smiled Zetsubou may be mad at her but the entertainment she gets when they are still alive will satisfy her boredom until he gets back and will be worth his rage.
In a village near Konoha Zetsubou got a shiver down his spine, he glanced at the direction of Konoha, somehow he felt like a very, very dark cloud had neared Konoha. They had to hurry; he didn't like this feeling... which usually came with Shi trying to make another one of those cursed dolls of her's.
"... Let's stop here," Kurushimi said, " Satsuki, eat your lunch we're closing Konoha, but we need to be prepared for the worst... just in case."
Satuski nodded and sat down next to him she was now more comfortable with him, not that she would ever admit that out loud, "Are you finally going to eat yours?"
"I'm still full from the boar last night," He shrugged.
"Too bad," She said, "Hey, want to come to my place after this? I got to reward you from saving me!"
"I'll go to your place," He said, "I don't know how I feel about a reward though. 'That feeling from before hasn't left me, in fact it seemed to increase tenfold since the first.'
Satsuki smiled, "Hey, I don't usually do this but I'll make an exception this time."
She leaned a bit closer to him slightly blushing from the contact while she popped another fish in her mouth.
"Papa!" A childish voice shouted, "Papa! Papa! PAPA! PA-"
Zetsubou had just realized on why he had gained that shiver not too long ago when he saw that... green haired monstrosity his Shadow Arts had acted on pure instinct. It showed no mercy, rising from its shadow it rose as a big hand and crushed that doll in a matter of seconds.
"Those again?!" This is bad, very bad Konoha might be in danger of a few deaths in this situation, "Satsuki, sorry about this! But we've got to hurry or else there'll be more casualties because of those cursed dolls."
Kurushimi carried her in a bridal style making her blush redder than a ghost pepper or one of Itachi's jutsu.
She was unable to form a single clear word other than, "W-What?!" Then some more incoherent words, then just pure gibberish. She didn't know what was going on, but she wasn't complaining.
"PAPA! PAPA!" A literal flood of those demons cried when they spotted him, "PAPA! PAPA! PA-" And just as the last one, they were all crushed in minutes.
He paid no mind to the bloody bodies he passed and made a beeline to their home... he briefly made a detour to the Namikaze estate and snatched Natsume before she and her family could see him and then made a real beeline to their home. On a side note, he didn't know chains could work against them because they were so damn fast… this knowledge could be useful.
On a side note, he was sure he was deaf on the left ear from Natsume's shriek. Then potentially the other when she saw his wound, then this was solidified when he saw another flood of those demons.
After a few hours of endless struggles and various Shadow Arts they had finally made it. As a result, the two girls on him will never look at an apple the same again. They saw Shi happily humming a tune as she was aided by yet another doll in making yet another doll, her flames rapidly flickering between red and yellow.
"Shi!" Zetsubou shouted, "Stop this at once!"
Shi jumped, "Zetsubou, you scared me! And what happened to your eye?!"
"Never mind that!" He shouted crushing yet another doll as it tried to hug him… knife in hand and the fact that it was pointed at his head made him all the more sure that it just tried to kill him, "End this madness! You almost killed us... again!"
"Of course!" With a snap of her finger she ended the dolls in an instant with their final scream of, 'PAPA!'
The number of casualties today was a staggering number of 10 genins 3 chunins and 5 jounin when they surprised them.
"What have I told you?!" He yelled, "Never make those monstrosities ever again! By Shinigami, you sent a total of 18 souls to him."
Satsuki was still blushing in his arms which earned a shocked look from Natsume and Shi, which turned into a look of rage... not that he noticed that, he was too busy trying to calm himself.
"Where have you been?" She asked completely ignoring his words and the Satsuki… and the red goo on the walls that suspiciously looked like blood, "I was worried, you know."
"Worried, I don't doubt," He sighed, "I know you got bored, but for my sanity refrain from making those dolls again."
Sighing, he glanced at Satsuki, "Can we do what you wanted tomorrow? I'm tired and out of chakra, Natsume can you make sure Shi is actually doing something that isn't making another one of those dolls?"
"Y-yeah," She still didn't understand what was happening, "Be right back!"
Satsuki nodded and exited their house, Zetsubou leaned against the couch and when he found it against his satisfactory he went to his bed. Just as when he was almost in the realm of sleep, he felt two soft objects on his forehead and someone snuggling next to him. He was too tired to care so he let them do whatever they wanted, in fact the person was warm and cold at the same time, not that he cared cause the heat dominated the cold, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled it towards him.
Shi Shiori decided to change her mind; it was worth it, very worth it! The last time they slept together was when they first met and when he suddenly left her house seven years ago. She had been trying to do it again with him, but she either gets rejected or someone stops her.
'Ah~ Now this is bliss,'She thought, 'I hope we can stay like this for all eternity.'
If she had any wishes in her life right now... she would wish she and Zetsubou/Verios would stay friends and maybe... no, that would be pushing her luck, just friends are alright. Her flames changed colors to pink, matching the light blush on her face and then lowering to make them warmer. She rose up and gave him peck on the forehead, as she drifted to sleep something soft also touched her forehead, what the person got in return was a smile that could make people mistake her for an Angel even if she was Shinigami's daughter.
On second thought don't compare her with those infuriating happy go lucky air-heads, especially with a certain someone as the sister of the leaders of the Angels.