Hello my lovely readers, I am here again with another chapter for the fic. There will be an author's note at the end to address a few things, now let's get to it.
One step closer
It has been about four days since Shikamaru's initial meeting with Ophis and the proposal she made. Since then Shikamaru has thought about it when he had nothing else doing and he honestly has a feeling he should go ahead and accept. But there is just one problem…
…His home.
He lived here all his life and he wouldn't want to have it any other way. Is it really okay to just leave? And with some girl he only just met?
He didn't think so. Who knew what she really wanted, she could have lied to him for all he knows. But still, he really felt like he could trust her, he detected no signs of deceit when they spoke four days ago. But that could have been hidden. However, she seemed sincere and was only just looking for someone to assist her with something that seemed very important to her.
Right now he had nothing much to do so he was just taking a walk through the village, putting his thoughts on hold her turned towards the source of the voice that called to him.
"Hey. Shikamaru, what's up?"
It's the current Hokage actually.
He looked at him for a second, then glanced towards the Hokage tower in the distance. "Aren't you supposed to be at your office?"
He didn't answer right away, and Shikamaru took notice.
"Well I'm kinda free at the moment so I decided to take a walk."
He turned to Kakashi and gave him a neutral look, "Really?"
"Of course."
He grunted, "That's weird cause' I thought you had paper work to fill out. Kakashi. That's what Shizune told me when I saw her a few minutes ago at least. And you aren't one to finish that on the fly so…"
Kakashi started to sweat a little, he put on his little trade mark smile and rubbed the back of his head. "What are you talking about? That's nonsense I am absolutely free right now."
Shikamaru didn't answer, he just stared at him.
"What?"
Before he could answer a screaming woman could be heard coming from a little ways from them. It was feminine and she seemed to be shouting a name…
"KAKASHI!"
Before they even saw who it was Kakashi paled. Then looking closer down the street the person could be seen speeding towards them like mad. It was Shizune.
Kakashi swallowed, "O-oh. Well uh, I'll be going now Shikamaru. Have a good one."
And with that Kakashi took off on high speed disappearing in an instant. Shizune didn't even stop to say hi to Shikamaru she just kept speeding past him and screaming, "GET BACK HERE! YOU HAVE PAPER WORK TO DO!"
With the noise fading as she went farther away Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. "He's lucky Tsunade isn't the one chasing after him."
Starting back up the street Shikamaru resumed his thinking.
What to do? He thought. I could just tell her I don't accept and carry on like I hadn't met her, that's definitely an option. It all sounds like a drag after all. But, then again…
Ophis' face came to mind, the face she made when she told him about how her household had fallen in the war. The look on her face was pure regret and sadness. Seeing that at the time made him want to go with her, and remembering it now is having the same effect. He wants to help her, he really feels like he does. So then…
He sighed again, "I'll take more time to think on this…"
The sun was setting and now covering the village in its orange glow. Shikamaru decided to call it a night and head home for now, he'd most likely feel like going out again later.
Standing on a roof top two buildings away, was Ophis. Her expression neutral as usual.
Just how long will it take you to decide Shikamaru Nara? She thought. "I wonder… maybe I could make this easier and just manipulate him. No, I don't want to do that. I want him to decide on his own."
Looking at the sky, a far off look came to her face. "Just a bit longer… just a bit longer and you will be brought back."
Her body faded away after a minute, now she must be patient and wait for young Shikamaru to make his decision.
The next day came and everything went as usual Shikamaru hung out with his friends and before noon received a message from an Anbu agent to report to Kakashi. There Shikamaru received the details of a mission that he could handle. He set out and was back within four hours and then went back to report.
"Well then it looks like you had no issues, as usual."
Kakashi sat behind his desk with a huge stack of paper work to the right of him, a miniature stack sat right in front of him as well.
Shikamaru gave a nod, "It was pretty straight forward no problem."
Tsunade stood to kakashi's left, "Well as expected, this is Shikamaru after all. Now as for you don't make me come here again to find this office empty and you running around outside idling when you have work to do." She reprimanded the Kage.
"Oh come on. I was just getting some fresh air…"
She scuffed, "Yeah right. I bet you just wanted to go read that damn dirty book some more."
Kakashi chucked slyly. "Well I am a man who loves the classics you know, those ladies really know how to- AH!"
She punched him on his head. "Shut the hell up will you, that's disgusting."
"Well maybe to you…"
Clearing his throat, the young Shinobi brought the attention back to him.
"Well that's all for my report, I'll be going then."
Stepping outside and shutting the door he could hear Tsunade shouting something about Kakashi being a dirty pervert but he quickly walked off, it got annoying sometimes.
Going home to take a bath he got something to eat after wards and then went out on his balcony to sit and relax a bit. Things were moving pretty slowly as of late, with all the construction work being done and all, so half the time he didn't have a thing to do. But he already knew once that was all done things would be back in full swing.
The matter of Ophis' proposal came to mind again. He was free now so he didn't stop thinking on that. By all means he should make his decision now…
After a few hours, and falling asleep a few times, he woke up to the sound of knocking at his door. He got up and went over, opening it he was met with a familiar face.
Temari.
Since the war ended the Hidden Leaf's population has increased a bit. More and more people from other villages have been coming over; some to stay permanently and some just stay for a little while. Temari was one of the few, she now basically maintains a permanent residence here as well as another place over in Suna.
Shikamaru gave a little smile. Before the recent events the two had been getting quite close. But had to put those feelings to the side due to the war. However now that it's all past they've been expressing themselves a bit more, they both cared deeply for each other and weren't unaware of it, they were both well aware.
"What's up?"
She smiled back, "Just got back from a little task and I decided to stop by, now come here."
She walked up and gave him a hug and a little peck on the cheek.
"Come on in."
They had a seat on his couch and talked a bit but then they both fell silent. Shikamaru sighed and turned to her.
"You know," he began. "I've been thinking about something for the past few days. I wanna leave the village for a little while."
Temari was a bit shocked, "Why?"
"I just… want to see about something. Someone asked me to help them and I think I want to give them a hand."
"Who is this someone?" she asked feeling like some girl got to what's hers.
He held up his hand, "I know what you're thinking and no it's not some girl that I wanna get with. It is a girl though but she simply asked for my assistance. We'd be going to the… well we'd be going somewhere far and I have no idea when I'd be back."
Temari remained quiet for a long moment as she thought about something, she doesn't like the idea but at the same time going somewhere far away sounds like a fun idea to her. She and the one she cares about would go on a little journey and get closer along the way. After a few more seconds she decided and nodded to herself.
"If that's the case then I'm coming with you." she said in a stern voice.
Shikamaru chuckled. "To be honest at one point I thought I'd ask you to come with me. You making the decision yourself makes it easier. But there is the village…"
"Hey come on," she got up and took his hands in hers. "Yes it does mean leaving our home but let's do it. I'll clear things with Gaara and Konkuro so I can come. It sounds like a good idea."
"Well alright then. Am gonna head to the Hokage's office see you in a bit."
Getting up he grabbed his jacket, strapped on his sandals and headed out while Temari went to have a talk with Gaara, it was convenient that he was currently in the village as well. Arriving at the Hokage tower Shikamaru made his way upstairs and knocked on the door. Hearing a come in he opened it and walked in. Finding all present, Shizune also there this time. She and Tsunade were to one side discussing something,
Kakashi acknowledged him first, "What's up?"
"Well there's something I wanna talk to you about, both you and Tsunade-sama."
Hearing the 'sama' at the end of her name she looked up, "Hey you don't have to use that one with me, well not always at least."
"He said he has something to talk to the two of us about."
She started towards the desk, "That so? So what is it?"
Taking a deep breath, he looked at them seriously. "I wanna leave the leaf village for a while."
This caught all three of them off guard. And Kakashi was the first to speak up.
"Well why is that?"
Shikamaru folded his arms over his chest, "Well I uh… I want to go out and do some stuff. You know travel for a bit and also do some training."
Tsunade spoke next, "But why all of a sudden though?"
"Actually to be honest I've been thinking on this for quite some time now. I made my decision a few minutes ago."
Kakashi looked deep in thought, "I see. Well this doesn't really surprise me."
Tsunade looked to him, "Really? How come?"
The silver haired Kage got up and walked to the windows behind his desk.
"Well look at it in Naruto and Sasuke's case. Naruto is gone most of the time and no one has to ask to know that he's been training, training and making himself stronger for when I step down and he takes the reins. As for Sasuke it's the same. He is training for when he becomes the leader of the Uchiha. After he rebuilds of course."
He stopped for a moment, thinking hard on something and smiling to himself. After a bit he continued.
"Now in Shikamaru's case he wants to do the same in order to mature in that sense, if I can put it that way… and also to become stronger so that when Naruto is the man in charge Shikamaru can be the strong, reliable assistant and advisor he wants to be. Am I right?"
The question was directed at the teen even though Kakashi hadn't turned around.
Shikamaru wasn't surprised, he had a hunch Kakashi would understand him right away, and while he decided to leave for a different reason at this moment, it wasn't as if it was all false, some of what Kakashi said was true on his end. He does want to become stronger so that when that time comes he will be ready to have his friend's back for whatever. And going away with Ophis is a way to do that.
After all, she did mention that thing about resurrecting him with the Evil Piece. And that it would make him a Devil and in turn make him far stronger than an ordinary human, even enhanced humans like them. Shinobi. From what Ophis told him he figured out becoming a Devil would push his body past the limits of human standards.
All the more reason for him to go with Ophis to the underworld.
"Yep That's about it. Temari will be coming with me also."
Tsunade piped up, "Well that part doesn't surprise me. I can tell she's got the hots for ya. Isn't that right?"
Shikamaru blushed a bit, Shizune stepped in then.
"Tsunade-sama you don't have to state the obvious like that, we all know."
Kakashi cleared his throat, "Well I think we can give this one an OK. Don't you agree Tsunade?"
She nodded, "I don't see why not. This is good for both you and Temari, you have your reason and she has hers. Though I think she's most likely tagging along to get her fix of her Shikamaru whenever she wants."
The young man sighed, "Knock it off will ya? Anyway I got the go ahead right?"
Kakashi nodded, "Yeah. I'll get on it and make it a temporary leave. That should take care of any questions. As for the others, what will you do?"
"I'll talk to 'em tomorrow. Let them know I'm leaving."
####
"And that's your reason?"
Gaara asked his sister after listening intently to her about leaving with Shikamaru.
"Yeah, I really wanna do this and I don't need to tell you what's motivating me, you know well enough."
He nodded, "I do, and I think its fine. I'll just need to find someone to fill your spot for the time being. How long will this be?"
"Not sure but we might be gone for a long while though."
He rubbed his chin. "I see. Well I'm giving you the OK. How about you?"
"It's cool," Konkuro answered. "I don't see any problems."
She smiled, "You guys are the best. Am gonna let Shikamaru know, I'll see you later."
Walking up the stairs to his apartment she bumped into him coming down.
"Hey so how'd it go?"
"All good. You?"
He nodded, "Kakashi gave me the OK. Now I just want to see the others and let them know about this."
"Yeah I was thinking the same."
They both walked around until they found the first Choji, him being the easiest as they found him at a food place. Then after a bit they found the rest and came together in the park. All was present except for Sasuke of course.
"So that's it."
Shikamaru summed it all up and waited for the series of various responses. His team understood, and so did the others.
"This is Kinda out of the blue though." Naruto said.
And the others agreed.
Shikamaru waved them off, "Come on guys, I thought you got it."
"Oh we do. But it won't be the same without ya man." Said Kiba.
"True."
"Yeah."
"I agree."
Came the others.
He smiled at them. "I know guys. I know… but anyway this is my decision."
"And we support you all the way."
"Yep."
"Definitely."
He turned to Temari, "Told ya they'd understand."
She shrugged, "I had my doubts. I mean it's them after all."
After a bit of talking and laughing everyone split up, Shikamaru went back to his place to pack a few things. He already figured out the underworld wasn't going to be what you would normally think it would be. Usually when one heard 'underworld' one would think a lot of hell fire, pits of lava and shit like that. But he knew this underworld would be different, hell it might even be l a lot like this place.
So he packed a couple stuff he felt he wanted to take along, things to remember this place by and a few clothes. Over at her place Temari did the same. Then she came over and finished with a few more.
Shikamaru sighed as he watched her, "You really gotta take all this?"
"Yep."
He sighed again, women. They always go overboard with this sort of thing.
####
Next day everyone got up early to meet up and spend some time together, Shikamaru had suggested they do this as he'll be leaving and they'll all miss each other. So after that was done they met up at the gate to see the two off.
"You know you guys didn't have to do this. I hate these sort of things."
Tenten pinched him, "Don't be such a wet blanket. We have to see you off and wish you the best."
After byes were said and hugs were given, particularly a joke crying Ino who carried on about how she's gonna miss them. They walked up to Kakashi and Tsunade.
"Well this is it. Later and stuff."
"You're such a downer, can't you be more enthusiastic about this?"
"Oh leave 'em alone." Kakashi said. "Don't get in trouble kid, I mean, young man. And you too."
Temari smirked, "Oh we'll be fine." She turned to Shikamaru. "Well then?"
"Yeah let's get the heck out of here, I hate these sort of things."
They all laughed as he said that, he might be saying so but they all knew he means nothing by it and he truly appreciates it. As he and Temari walked off he raised his right arm to give a wave bye without looking back.
They both blushed a bit as Tsunade decided to embarrass them a little more.
"Make sure when you guys come back there's a little Shikamaru with you!"
Temari felt like blowing her away with her fan, "Jeez does she have to be so…"
Shikamaru just laughed after a moment. This is her way of saying 'I wish you good luck' I guess.
After a few minutes of walking they came to a stop at the place Shikamaru spoke to Ophis.
He stopped to look around. "Here it is. We'll meet up with her here."
"The one you told me about? Ummm, something-or-other Infinite?" Temari asked.
"That's the one. Now then, Ophis." He called out and after a moment she showed herself.
"I see you've made your decision, if that pack on your back is any indication." She turned to Temari. "Oh? Who's this?"
"This is Temari. I've decided if I'm going I want to take her with me."
"A special person to you then. I hadn't intended to take two with me but it's okay I guess. I just hope she's ready for this."
Temari gave a grunt, "Oh don't worry about me. So how will we do this exactly, Shikamaru told me what you said to him but I'm a bit skeptical."
"Before we get to that I'll be taking you two elsewhere. I don't want to do this here, take my hands."
She held out both her hands and Shikamaru took the left while Temari took the right. Their world seem to fade away as Ophis teleported them to a spot further away from the Hidden Leaf, up in the mountains.
"That's better. We're still in your world but I just took us away from that spot. Now then."
She opened up space and made her portal, Shikamaru and Temari hummed as they looked at the swirling colors inside.
"Well that's interesting. A form of teleportation I take it?" Shikamaru asks.
"Yes. A portal I made by distorting space, making an opening with my magic and connecting two dimensions. Basically a dimensional doorway." She explained. "Don't be afraid you'll be fine, go ahead and step in."
The two did as they were told, stepping in they both felt dizzy and light headed. After Ophis followed the portal snapped shut behind her. Then suddenly everything sort of spun and the next thing they knew their surroundings changed. They found themselves in a large living room, at the front of the room was a wide flat screen TV on the front wall, below it was a stereo system. Behind them close to the back wall was a dark colored couch. To the right was another couch, windows were behind it with cream colored curtains and next to those was a door that led to what looked like a balcony.
To the left was a single arm chair and a few inches behind it was a wide and tall entertainment center that reached the ceiling with numerous things on it such as a couple of vases, some other things that looked like souvenirs and a few books. An elegant crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. It was quite big and had a lot of small curved bulbs on it. Just below it was a circular coffee table with glass in its center, a couple remotes sat on it.
Overall with cream colored walls and a nicely tiled floor the room looked great.
"Wow." Temari muttered. "I've never seen a room like this before."
While she admired the curtains Shikamaru stood in front of the TV and hummed, "This is like those screens we would usually use during events like the Chunin exams, but it's much better looking."
Ophis interrupted Temari's ramblings about how nice things were, "If you two are done admiring come with me."
They left the living room and walked past a long table that had a number of chairs around it, a dining table, the two noted. They walked up some stairs and turned left, Ophis opened the door and they entered a room with a heavy elegant wooden desk to the back with a lamp on it and some other stuff, a few windows behind it. Same cream walls with windows to the left corner and right corner cream curtains around each. The front of the room held a wide book shelf containing a vast amount of books, some standing upright with the spine out and some others stacked on top of each other.
Two dark colored couches sat in center of the room facing each other with a rectangular coffee table between them. Another smaller chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling.
"This is the study. I'll be reincarnating you here Shikamaru. After that the choice of having me reincarnate her is up to you."
"Shikamaru told me about that last night. And to be honest the idea sounds sketchy." Temari said.
Ophis nodded, "That's understandable. But don't worry, it won't hurt."
Shikamaru spoke up. "Hold on. You said the choice is mine. Didn't you plan on reincarnating her?"
"I don't really need to. You are the one I sought out and she just came with you, she doesn't have to be reincarnated. If you want she can remain human and just stay here. We are not in the underworld just yet."
Temari folded her arms, "Not happening. I don't want to stay here while he's off in the underworld. I'll just worry. So whatever you gotta do just do it."
Ophis looked over to Shikamaru expectantly, he thought about it a second and decided he was with it. He wants Temari to be with him wherever he goes.
"It's alright, go ahead with it."
Ophis nodded, "Very well then. I sense that you're still skeptical about this so I'll perform the ritual on Shikamaru first." She said to Temari, then walked to the back part of the room. "Lay down here."
She pointed to a spot on the floor in front of her. After putting his pack down and doing what he was told, she placed a finger on his forehead. "Now this will be a little dangerous for you but no matter what you have to fight back and then let the light guide you okay? I am not entirely sure how it will be because it varies from person to person, but you will definitely have to fight something."
He nodded in understanding.
Shikamaru then fell unconscious. Ophis took the king piece from her pocket and placed it on his chest. She stepped back a bit and held out her right hand above the piece. She closed her eyes and the piece started to glow as her purple magic circle appeared under him.
Then Ophis started muttering in a language Temari couldn't even begin to understand.
"Écho Ófis Ápeiro Me tin paroúsa sas metensarkotheí, Shikamaru Nára os diávolo. Apodechteíte to kommáti tou vasiliá kai tin epistrofí."
(Translation: "I Ophis Infinite hereby reincarnate you, Shikamaru Nara as a devil. Accept the piece of the king and return.")
During this Shikamaru's face contorted a bit. Even though he was not conscious it burned a lot and his body reacted that way. Just before Ophis finished speaking the King Evil piece sunk into his body and the area where it sunk in at his chest glowed a bit. Ophis kneeled down and opened his jacked to get a look at his chest where it glowed in a little circle.
"Why isn't he getting up? Will he be okay?" Temari asked as she dropped her stuff and drew near.
Ophis rested her hand on his chest, "He has to return from the void between life and death. That is the path of reincarnation he must take. I knew this would be hard for him but he just has to pull through and make it back to us."
Temari didn't like what she just heard, "You knew it was and yet you still did it!?"
"Please calm down. He has the will to pull through. I just know it, I have faith in him."
Temari sighed, "I do too but this just feels wrong to me…"
'Come on Shikamaru, come back to me.' Temari thought.
'You have the will to pull through. Now do it and return to me.' Ophis thought.
####
"Huh? Where the hell am I?"
Shikamaru found himself in a void of darkness, only thing he could see was himself though even that was just a bit.
"Looks like it was pulled off at least. Now then, Ophis said I would definitely have to fight something so… I wonder what the hell that will be."
Just then he started to hear sounds, it was hard to tell what they were but it sounded like screeching of some kind. It got louder and louder and he had a feeling that something was coming towards him. Then suddenly he felt something grab onto him, it didn't feel like a hand no, it felt almost ethereal. He struggled against it but more of it grabbed onto him, as he struggled more and more grabbed him.
To make things worse more of it seemed to crawl up his body from his legs, it came up to his shoulders and gripped him tightly. Soon he found himself completely wrapped up from head to toe, he continued to struggle all the while feeling a familiarity with whatever had him wrapped.
"I got a feeling I know what this is but what? Damn it. Come on Shikamaru remember what this is."
He could feel himself being pulled down, and something told him he wasn't gonna like where he would end up. So he tried to fight back, he tried as hard as he could. Then he heard them, the voices of the people with him.
"Come on Shikamaru, come back to me right now!"
He heard Temari's voice.
"I have faith in you. You can do it but you have to fight it Shikamaru. Fight against it and return to me."
And that was Ophis.
"You two… alright then. I WILL fight."
He put all his might in and with a cry and a release of his chakra he finally broke free from his bonds.
"That's it. I know what this is now. It's my shadow possession gone wild."
He was indeed right, as Ophis said it varies from person to person. Seems he has to fight against his shadow possession in his case, or rather, regain command over it.
That's when light started shining from above, illuminating his dark prison like void. He still couldn't see below him, or ahead of him for that matter, it was like he was standing on invisible ground but now he could see his shadow. It was one shadow but it looked like a wild mess of hair the way it swirled around him, almost looked like tails too.
"Well well well. Aren't you frisky? Hope you had your fun cause you're coming back under my control."
He put his hands together and formed his trademark hand sign. He focused his chakra till it started coming off of him in waves. His shadows started moving away from him as if to get away.
"Oh no you don't. Now come here!"
His chakra flared and spread out towards it, as he watched his chakra surounded both him and the shadow and begun closing in, forcing the shadow to recede. It stopped under his feet and formed his shadow like it usually would whenever he used this technique.
"… then let the light guide you okay?" Ophis' voice echoed in his head.
"Well there's the light," he said as he looked up to where the light still shined. "Now let's get the hell outa here."
He moved towards it while reaching out to it, it shined brilliantly illuminating everything until even he disappeared. Next thing Shikamaru knew he was back. Ophis and Temari looking down on him with worried faces. Temari gave a big smile while Ophis smiled only a bit as they saw that he was fully awake.
Temari dived on him and squeezed with all her might, "Oh thank god you're okay!"
"Ahh come on Temari. No sweat."
"I'm glad your back. You did it."
He sat up and held his head, "My head kinda hurts though. So is it done?"
"Yes. But what happened in the void?"
"It was all dark at first, I started being grabbed all over and felt like I was being pulled down until I realized it was my shadow that was grabbing me, that's when a light started to shine above and after getting my shadow back I went straight for it."
Ophis stood up straight and folded her arms before nodding, "So how do you feel?"
"Kinda weird," he looked around himself. "My body feels sort of tingly and-"
Just then bat like wings emerged from his back, Temari stood back a bit and looked at them intrigued.
"Well that's new." He commented.
Ophis bent a bit to feel them, "This is natural. You're a devil now."
"I see. Well I guess it's done then. I also feel stronger, there's this pulsating feeling coming from within me."
He stood up and stretched a bit, but he noticed his wings were still out and closed his eyes, then they disappeared in his back again. "There. I figured I could just will them to go back in."
Temari stopped looking at him and turned to Ophis, "Alright I'm no longer skeptical. This really is real. Even though it sounded so unreal."
"It was all in your mind. Now then what shall we do about you? Shikamaru what would you prefer? After I show you how to, you can reincarnate her as your queen if you'd like."
"My queen? So like you said from before she would be my servant right?"
Ophis nodded, "Yes. Your servant and second in command of your peerage."
Temari folded her arms. "I don't think I like the idea of being someone's servant. Even if it is Shikamaru."
"I agree. Isn't there another option? What about a king piece can't you give her one like me?"
"Yes I could but- wait a second."
She walked up to Temari and placed her hand in the center of Temari's chest. After a moment she gave a nod but then her eyes flew open. "Wait but this is…. I see, it makes sense now. That fan is…"
Temari interrupted her, "Huh? What was that about my fan?"
She ignored the question, "Just as I thought you do have the potential to take up a king piece. You're strong enough but I would have to make a few adjustments to it. Give me a minute."
They watched as she walked over to another spot in the room and sat down, she closed her eyes and held her hands up as her magic circle appeared beneath her, it glowed brighter as she held her right hand out a bit and opened her palm. Purple energy began to emanate from her palm and flow out until it started feeding to one spot, from there a chess piece started to form.
The energy went down as the piece continued to form, a king piece identical to Shikamaru's. She moved her left hand above it and more energy flowed from it surrounding the piece, then it started flowing into the piece making it glow brighter. Ophis fed a bit more into it making a few more lines appear on the piece and then stopped, her magic circle disappearing as she finished constructing an Evil piece.
"There, this is a Mutation piece. I decided to make it from scratch so I could make the necessary adjustments." She stood up and walked over to the two. "This is more suitable for your level of potential. So are you ready?"
Temari sighed but nodded anyway, "Yeah. Let's do it."
"Okay. Now lay down."
After she did Shikamaru kneeled down next to her, "Now remember, we have no idea what will happen in the void so be ready okay?"
She nodded and closed her eyes, Ophis placed a finger like she did with Shikamaru and Temari fell unconscious. He stepped back as Ophis placed the piece on the girl's chest and stood up, her magic circle appeared again and she began.
"Écho Ófis Ápeiro Me tin paroúsa sas metensarkotheí, Temarí os diávolo. Apodechteíte to kommáti tou vasiliá kai tin epistrofí."
(Translation: "I Ophis Infinite hereby reincarnate you, Temari as a devil. Accept the piece of the king and return.")
Ophis looked down at her, her face contorted because of the burning feeling she's experiencing. "Now all we can do is hope she can return."
"She will. She has that drive and determination I've seen in our friends."
Temari now found herself in the dark void. All was desolate until she started hearing howling wind, then it hit her like a freight train. It pushed against her making her move back further into the void.
"So this is what greets me huh? With Shikamaru it was his shadow for me its wind."
She tried to move against it but it was too strong, she found herself being pushed back further.
"Damn it, I can't push forward. Even though I control wind this time I can't get control."
'You got this Temari.'
Shikamaru's voice echoed.
"Heh. What the hell am I doing? I can't let wind of all things beat me."
Her chakra flared as she began fighting back to gain control.
"I AM THE RULER OF WIND!"
####
Her eyes flew open as she won over her little battle for control to return, Shikamaru was there instantly for her.
"Hey you okay?"
She nodded to that, "Am good, but it wasn't easy at first. I had to go up against wind of all things."
She stopped as she noticed how he was looking at her, he tilted his head to the side and muttered 'wow'.
"What is it?"
"Your pupils. They have a slit to them now."
Ophis came over from her desk after picking something up, "Well Temari. Being a Devil suits you." she commented referring to the girl's eyes as she handed her a mirror.
As Temari looked at her eyes she muttered a 'wow' like Shikamaru did.
"I'm not surprised though. You have an affinity to wind, the Wind Release."
"How do you know about that?"
The dragon god smirked, "I was in your world for about two months before I approached Shikamaru here. So I took the time out to learn a bit about how things were, most of it at least, so I know some things."
"I see."
"Now allow me to explain what happened with you two," she continued. "Shikamaru you possess the Shadow Possession technique, the trade mark technique of your clan Nara. Thus you have control over shadows or rather in your world you were capable of manipulating your own shadow as you wanted, you could use it to 'grab' people's own shadows and render them 'paralyzed' and could make them do whatever you did. It's like movement manipulation you could say. That was how it went in your world, however here it is different. Now you have much better control over all shadows, in the void you had to fight against them and that is because your shadow manipulation technique is now more advanced due to you becoming a devil. In truth it has always been this way but your technique was greatly limited in your world, being here and being a devil boosts that."
"So, within the void your shadow gained a will of its own and it was the thing that was going to pull you towards the realm of death so you had to fight it in order to return to the realm of life which is here and now. Since it gained a will of its own you had to take it back, make it yours again, regain control and return to being its master. How else did you think you could make your shadow move? Simply put it's like an extension of you. More so now than before."
Shikamaru had a thoughtful look, "I see. This doesn't surprise me since I had the thought of it being that way before. Having control over my shadow and others once I got a hold of them made me think of that possibility. It all makes sense now."
Ophis turned to Temari, "It's the same in your case, but in your world as with Shikamaru it was limited. Now however I'm sure you will be able to generate air from your own body instead of simply manipulating the air around you. As the term goes Wind Release."
Hearing this Temari gave it a try and true to Ophis' words she found that she was generating air from her hands, she snapped her fingers and air swirled around her hand a bit.
"And naturally you can still manipulate the air around you, just on a way larger scale."
Temari thought a second, then she swung her right hand out and there was a gust of wind inside the room. Some came from the windows as well.
"Shikamaru try something as well." She said with a bit of enthusiasm.
He held his hand out towards Ophis and she found that she couldn't move. They all took notice that his shadow didn't stretch out towards her like it usually would, instead he was manipulating her own shadow beneath her. As faint as it was due to the lighting he still had it. He moved his arm to the right and the girl did the same, he reached around his back and she did so as well. He smirked at this.
He has full control, without even stretching his own shadow.
"Good, now try stretching out yours toward me now."
He did so and his shadow moved far faster than it could before, once it reached her it stretched around becoming one with her own shadow and begun wrapping itself around her legs, then it proceeded to slowly crawl up her legs in streaks, but he drew it back and let her go. Shikamaru noted that it looked just like tails with sharp tips like when it surrounded him in the void.
"Nice," he said with a smirk. "Normally I couldn't even do that much, taking control of a shadow without getting a hold of it with mine? It wouldn't usually move like that either. Only if I used a certain version but it's still more efficient now."
Ophis smiled, "Oh there will be much more. I plan to make you much stronger than you are now."
"Well well. I didn't know you intended on bringing two with you Ophis. I thought you left to seek out one person."
They turned towards the front of the room where a Silver haired teen appeared, leaning against the desk and smirking at them.
"Ah your here Vali. And you're correct I only intended to take one but he had a condition and that was to take this young lady here with him, I thought there was no harm in it."
He gave a grunt, "I felt your presence when you returned so I came here. Anyway who are they?"
"Shikamaru Nara."
"Temari."
Vali walked up and gave a hand shake to both starting with Shikamaru.
"It's a pleasure."
"Same here, Vali is it?"
He nodded and shook Temari's hand after.
"Well he seems nice at least." Temari commented looking him over.
"He's only so courteous because you two are with me." Ophis added.
Vali took a seat in one of the couches, "Well from now on you two will be rolling with us. So I can by the very least be friendly right?"
They agreed with him and took a seat across from his. Ophis walked to the desk and leaned on it, folded her arms and let her gaze fall on Vali.
"How has it been going?"
He grunted, "I managed to locate Bikou and it went well, he's with us now. However it seems Arthur left the House of Pendragon some time ago. And I haven't made contact with Loki yet, he'll be particularly difficult to convince."
"Not to worry. I believe once you tell him what you have planned will go well with his goal then he will agree without a second thought." She nodded. "Who else do you have in mind apart from who I suggested?"
Vali hummed in thought then snapped his fingers, "Just one more for now. Kuroka, a very powerful Nekomatta. And I know just where to find her."
"Good. But hold that for now. I'd like to have these two with us when we continue. First I want them to be stronger."
Shikamaru stood up, "Sounds like a drag but whatever. Now if you'll excuse us, Temari."
He gestured towards the door with a nod of his head and she got up to follow him, the two went out closing it behind them.
Vali snorted, "You've brought kids to our side huh?"
Ophis frowned, "Don't call Shikamaru a kid. I can tell he's been battle hardened like any war veteran has. The same goes for the girl, just a bit less."
"I notice you called him by name and the other by girl just now. Have a favorite now do you? I thought that was me."
Ophis waved him off, "You're still my favorite. And Shikamaru is just interesting. Now stop pestering me."
Vali just chuckled. It was amusing to see her like this.
"As for the girl, I mean Temari, I simply care less for her. But I know she won't be a problem, I sense she is a valuable asset."
Vali looked to the wide window behind the desk, the sun was setting now giving the sky a beautiful touch of orange. "I was outside before I came in and felt the wind pick up and I could tell it wasn't just a natural gust. That was her wasn't it?"
Ophis nodded, "She has an affinity to wind. And there is more, she has a Sacred Gear."
This caught Vali's attention, "Really?"
"Yes. It's that fan she came here with." She said as she pointed to the item in question leaning against the wall. "During her reincarnation I noticed some markings appearing on it that glowed white. Shortly after that the fan itself turned into white energy and flowed into her chest. I'm sure Shikamaru noticed when that happened but never put much thought into it."
"You said it turned to energy and flowed into her, so why is it here now then? A Sacred Gear is a part of the wielder, I don't understand how it's here like this as if it were any other item."
"I don't know. But shortly after her eyes opened it materialized there. I think she did that herself but subconsciously."
Never-the-less Vali was intrigued now. He got up and walked over to it, he took a close look and saw the markings Ophis said appeared. At the top and bottom parts of the fan were markings that swirled in an arc. There was a more prominent symbol in the middle of the fan surrounded by some other markings that curled and curved, by how they looked Vali deducted they represent wind blowing. All the markings seem to be engraved in the fan in the color of silver.
"See? These are the kind of markings that appear on most Sacred Gears. And the fan itself is different besides the markings, when she came here with it, it was just a simple shade of black. Now it's a shiny kind of black, almost glossy."
Vali pointed on the prominent symbol in the middle, "This symbol here, what does it mean? I know it's Greek but I don't know exactly what it stands for."
Ophis took a look at it and gasped slightly, "It means Boreas; the north wind. Boreas is one of the ancient Greek gods of wind and was the bringer of cold winter air. I can't believe this, Boreas has been reincarnated as that girl. In her spirit at least."
"So has that god's spirit taken over her?" Vali asked.
"No. She's still herself. But spiritually the wind god Boreas is somehow within her own spirit, like a part of it. I doubt anything troublesome will come from that. But she will be quite powerful."
Vali chuckled at this. How fortunate for them to have an incarnate of a Greek God on their side. Temari will definitely be a valuable asset.
"Well isn't that interesting." He said.
"Indeed."
Vali reached out to touch it but his hand fazed through, the whole fan started to sway and move as if it were just an illusion, except for the bottom part of it which touched the floor. Noticing this Vali kneeled down and touched it, this time his hand didn't faze through it and he could feel the metal. He also noticed it radiated power.
"This means it hasn't fully materialized." He said.
"Yes. And now that I've seen this it all makes sense to me. I have a theory, and I'll prove it later."
####
Shikamaru and Temari sat on the seat of a picnic table outside. Temari exhaled and noticed the wind blowing in rhythm to her breathing. Flowing back and then forth as she exhaled and inhaled.
Shikamaru smirked at her, "Well you're enjoying that."
She laughed, "It's fun. I have even more control than I did before. It's amazing."
The boy hummed in thought. "If it behaves like that when your just breathing in and out, makes me wonder what will happen if you caught a cold."
She stopped and thought about it, "Who knows. But what if I subconsciously create a tornado or something like that?"
"Heh. It's possible. But we'll have to wait and see and I'm sure you could just dissipate it easily."
He fell silent after that. Temari looked at him worriedly.
"Shikamaru?"
"Are you good with this? I mean leaving Gaara and Konkuro behind? You know there's a possibility of never seeing them right?"
She casted her gaze down, "After you told me about Ophis and where she planned on bringing you, as I had already decided on coming with you I thought about all that already. I know I might never see them again but I'm okay with that." she raised her head and smiled as she gazed at the sky above, made orange by the setting sun. "This is like an adventure you know? Just thinking about it makes me feel alive. And as long as I'm with you then I feel everything will be fine."
She finished off with a bright smile directed at him, Shikamaru wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "Then I'm with you all the way."
After a bit he broke their comfortable silence. "On another note what about Ophis? I've already made my decision to join her on this, which also means accepting all the dangers that come with, but what about you?"
"Well I basically hopped onto this little Ophis band wagon when I let her reincarnate me right? I don't fully trust her but I don't think she means any harm so it's alright, am with you so I'm in. I'll kick her ass if she does anything anyway."
"What about that Vali?" he asked again.
She hummed a little, "Yeah Ophis is one thing but as for him, I don't like him. I have no reason but something in me just doesn't. It's like a gut feeling."
Shikamaru agreed, "I know what you mean. There's more to that guy than meets the eye."
After a few moments they got up and went inside. It was now night and Shikamaru decided he wanted a bath, Temari had opt to join him but he just said No and closed the door in her face. He laughed when he heard her muttering how she'll get him soon enough. She went to take one herself in another room.
Afterwards they got changed and went downstairs to find Vali sitting in the living room watching some show on the flat screen.
"Where's Ophis?" Shikamaru asked.
"Outside."
The two went out and found her sitting on the porch with her eyes closed and her arms folded above her chest.
"What's up?" he asked as he sat to her right and Temari sat to his right.
"Nothing really. Just thinking. Anyway I can tell you both don't feel comfortable with Vali."
Temari answered right away, "Yep."
"Don't worry about him. He's a good companion of mine. Something you should know about him is that he is the White Dragon Emperor, current possessor of the Vanishing Dragon Albion."
Temari looked interested, "What's a Dragon?"
"A Dragon is a being of great power. Apart of the reptile family so they have scales of various color, long tails that may have spikes, huge in size, seeing one is quite the treat. I'll let you see one someday."
The teens pictured this in their heads but they knew seeing the real deal would be much better.
Shikamaru had a thought. These Dragons may be somewhat like the beings of great power that are from their own world.
"I guess in this world Dragons are equivalent to Tailed Beasts huh Temari?"
She nodded in agreement, "Yeah your right. I wonder how cataclysmic a fight between them would be."
"What is a Tailed Beast?" Ophis asked.
It was Shikamaru's turn to explain. "A Tailed Beast, like a Dragon, is a being of great power. It's like a gigantic creature that looks like an animal but mixed with something else and they have numerous tails. Hence the name Tailed Beast."
"I see. Interesting."
He went on, "There were nine of them in our world. And like you said about Vali, nine humans possessed each. The one Tail was the only one that had only one Tail, the others from the Two Tails and up had more Tails that represented what they were called numerically from one, two, three and so on."
"So each of them from two and on had the same amount of Tails as their number?" Ophis asked.
He nodded, "That's right."
"I would've liked to see one of them in person. Well do you two want to know something interesting about me?"
They two nodded and she continued.
"I'm a Dragon myself. But I'm not an ordinary one. I am a Dragon God."
They were both surprised about that.
"Dragon God?" they asked in unison.
"Yes. The Ouroboros Dragon. Also Infinite Dragon God. I like that one more though."
.
.
.
"Holy shit." Temari managed to get out after a few moments of silence.
"Man. What the heck is with this world? One surprise after the next."
Temari mused a bit, "That sounds fucking awesome."
"Indeed it does."
They turned to see Vali standing by the door.
"Ophis here is one of the most powerful beings in existence. An Ultimate Dragon."
"So can you turn into a giant beast of crazy strength?" Temari asked somewhat excitedly.
Ophis found herself actually laughing a bit at the girl's giddy side, she didn't really see Temari as that type. "No not really. I may be a Dragon God but I don't have a Dragon form."
She stood up and turned towards the door, "Let's head inside. I want to discuss some things."
####
Rias Gremory sat around her desk with a thoughtful look on her face. Things have gotten a bit lively as of late, she and her peerage have been around for a while but nothing interesting has happened. Up until now that is. It may be interesting but also troublesome at the same time. She sighed, that brown haired kid just might be the one, the next wielder of that specific Longinus. But a kid like him? The boy seemed like a hopeless case to her. But perhaps it isn't so bad. Then the next thing came to mind, that Dragon God. Why the hell is she here, why now?
The door of the club room opened and her best friend and queen came in. Rias didn't even notice her giving the dark haired girl a chance to sneak up behind her and give her a close hug, she leaned her chin on Rias' shoulder and that's when the crimson haired beauty took notice.
"Oh Akeno. I didn't hear you come in."
Akeno smiled slyly at her friend, "Yeah I noticed that. You seem to be deep in thought. Riasu."
She said that nickname she gave Rias in a very husky tone. Rias' face flushed a bit, by that tone she knew exactly what kind of mood Akeno was in now, but she wasn't going to let Akeno have her fun, it's not like she doesn't like it; She isn't really a Yuri and neither is Akeno but over the years they've been together they have found comfort and companionship in every way. One day they experimented and it just felt fine, none of them felt wrong about it so they thought why not? But this time she's too concerned about a few things to enjoy that.
"Cut it out. Normally I'd welcome it but right now I'm worried about other things."
Akeno loosened her hold and tilted her head a bit to the side, "What's wrong? Is it the whole Riser thing again?"
Rias tensed up at the mention of that name but shook her head, "No it isn't that. It's about the boy."
Akeno hummed in thought. "Ummm. You mean Issei Hyoudou the perverted kid. What about him?"
"Stop talking like you don't feel it whenever you see him."
She relented, "Alright I'll stop playing coy. So what do you plan to do?"
Rias thought about it for a sec, "The only thing I can do. But in the end it's up to him… well half and half at least."
"Alright then just know that I support your decision no matter what. But I sense there is more, care to share?"
Rias leaned back in her chair and leaned her head to the right so she could snuggle in Akeno's neck, closed her eyes and exhaled. "I felt a powerful presence earlier and it was the Ouroboros Dragon. She's here."
Akeno was caught off guard, "And what would the Ouroboros Dragon be doing here?"
Rias shrugged, "Hell if I know. But I don't like it."
"So what should we do about that?" Akeno asked as she brushed her friend's hair.
"I don't think there's anything we can do. This is my territory but she's a being I can't stand against. I'll just see what happens… if it comes to it I might have to get my brother involved."
Akeno smiled, "And we'll leave it at that for now. Now then, allow me to make your worries go away."
She whispered that last part passionately as she started nibbling Rias' ear.
"Akeno." Rias whined in protest. "We're in the club room."
The dark haired temptress waved her off, "Its fine, Kiba and Koneko went home already. It's just us. And besides, it's kinky."
Rias huffed but relented anyway, "Oh fine. You always get so damn greedy when you're like this."
"Stop talking as if you don't like it."
Rias giggled as Akeno captured her lips in a passionate kiss.
####
"So what is to be done about Arthur?"
Ophis and the others sat in the living room so Ophis could go over a few things, Temari and Shikamaru were quiet throughout it as Ophis didn't get to them yet. But they took in everything they said. They both figured if they're in this then they need to be in the loop at all times.
Vali hummed thought, it wouldn't be hard locating the noble House of Pendragon's famous Arthur, descendant of the great King Arthur. But it still won't be easy.
"I'm not sure. I have eyes around most places so if he's seen then I'll get a report. But that's all on that subject for now."
Ophis held her chin in thought. Arthur would really be good to have. It isn't normal for someone from another Household to up and join another. But she wants him to be a member of it, she has a feeling a war will begin soon and she wants her newly formed Household to be a part of it. They won't be annihilated this time around. With her there plus the incarnate of Boreas and Shikamaru along with the others, there's no way they will be taken out. But she'll think more on that later.
She turned to the two teens sitting across from her, "Now then, I think I'll tell you two about Sacred Gears. Vali? Could you show them yours?"
He got up and materialized his Sacred Gear. Temari and Shikamaru starred intrigued at the wings that appeared on his back. Two white parts extended out from his back, the white parts almost looked like claws with their shape and how they curve down, but changed as they went further out and ended in feathery looking spikes. Extending downwards from them were blue plates of energy that acted as feathers.
They noticed how little blue specs of light flowed off the plates, they sparkled like tiny diamonds.
"Amazing." Temari muttered.
"This is Vali's Sacred Gear; Devine Dividing. A Sacred Gear is a powerful item with special abilities bestowed upon humans by the original God. It may vary from person to person and only a few have them. Temari?"
"Yeah?"
Ophis smirked at her, "You are one of the few."
Temari's eyes flew open in shock. "Wait you mean I have a Sacred Gear?"
She nodded, "Yes. Your fan."
She didn't even add anything else, thinking how she could possibly have a Sacred Gear. Something she didn't even know exist until just now. Something that isn't even a part of her world.
"But in your case it isn't attached to you like Vali's. Instead it is the fan which I thought was merely a tool you used."
Temari nodded her head as she listened, Ophis called to her again.
"I want you to try materializing it like Vali did with his. It's upstairs right now but I want to prove a theory I have. Close your eyes and visualize it, will it to appear."
Temari did as she was told and focused, she felt within herself, and visualized her fan as she remembered it to be. Deep within her she felt it, and as she began to visualize it more it appeared within her mind but it wasn't how she remembered it. It looked different and had markings, she then found that she knew exactly what to do, along with visualizing it she reached deep within and pulled on it.
As they all watched she held her hand out and the fan materialized first as white energy then it all came together and formed from top to bottom, the same one Vali and Ophis observed in the study.
Gripping it Temari could tell and see the differences. It was a glossy like black and had silver markings on the top, bottom and middle. She noticed it radiated power, something it never did before. In one swift motion she whipped it open and admired the inner part of it, it was a much brighter white and had a large symbol in the middle, same as the one on the middle as the black part. Similar markings surrounded the symbol as well.
She blinked a couple times, "Wow."
"And with that my theory is proven. The reason why it appeared in the study half materialized is because it appeared on its own. It had a desire to appear before its wielder but because Temari was only just reincarnated, her energy didn't fully build up inside her. Plus she hadn't materialized it herself yet so the fan couldn't fully materialize itself and that is because it was still deep within her. But now it's more on the surface you could say."
"So this is my Sacred Gear." Temari said as she held it up and stared at it.
Ophis walked up and touched it, admiring how it looked now. "Indeed it is. Sacred Gears are normally apart of the wielder but in your case it's this fan of yours. Sacred Gears are mysterious things after all, this is most likely connected to you by a bond we can't see though, be careful, because now this fan is a part of your soul. I'd imagine if it were to be damaged then it would hurt you as well."
Temari let her gaze land on the symbol that was the most eye catching on her fan, "What does this mean?"
"It's Greek." She explained. "It stands for Boreas, an ancient Greek God of wind. Otherwise the North Wind."
Before she could say anything Ophis finished off with something she knew would stun the girl.
"Temari you are the incarnate of that very God."
She didn't say anything at first, her mouth hanging open at that.
"WHAT!?"
She finally got out, Vali had to hold back a laugh due to her expression, same for Shikamaru.
"So you're saying I'm the reincarnation of a Greek God of wind? Is that what you're saying to me?"
"Yes that is what I'm saying to you. Hard to believe?" Ophis asked.
Temari gave her an incredulous look, "Of course it is! I mean my life hasn't been the most normal what with all that's happened since I was a kid but to suddenly hear that I'm the incarnate of a God is just…"
She struggled to find the right word.
"Hard to believe!"
She settled on that.
Shikamaru spoke up, "Same here. This ain't something you hear every day. Especially for us."
"Well that's how it is." Vali added as he sat down, he had let his Sacred Gear disappear when they started talking about Temari's.
Temari calmed down and exhaled. She closed up her fan and plopped down in the couch.
"Who knew? I'm a frikkin God incarnate. I bet the guys back home would flip over that."
Shikamaru nodded, "You got that right."
"Well anyway tomorrow I'll have Vali oversee a bit of training for you two." Ophis told the two.
"Why me?"
"Don't argue just do it."
"…Fine."
Shikamaru nodded at this, he already knew how to control shadows, since it's more complex now it wasn't like how he did it before but he got a grasp on it already. However Ophis told him Devils can have many abilities. So he knows there is more to learn.
"Yeah whatever, that's cool." Temari added tiredly. "I've been reincarnated as a Devil, found out I'm a God incarnate… along with that I've seen and heard about way too many crazy and amazing shit for one day. That's enough for me. Shikamaru let's go, Temari want sleep."
He chuckled at her and hefted her up bridal style after saying a simple 'later' he went to leave. Temari's arm hung limply with her fan in it and she gave a tired wave with the left to the other two in the room as they left.
"Night Ophis… oh and have pleasant nightmares Vali."
She called out that last part after she paused to make it seem like she wasn't going to say anything at all to him. Vali just chuckled slightly.
"She really doesn't like me. Not that I care though."
Ophis turned and went to leave, "I'm going to my room as well. As soon as those two get some training done we'll be getting to business, they are strong already so much isn't needed. Good night."
"Yeah."
Vali kicked up his legs on the couch and rested his head on his hands. He hardly sleeps, he'll just be thinking all night.
Maybe I'll fall asleep after a while.
####
After changing in some more comfortable clothes from their packs which they brought to their room so they could take out some of their stuff, they got in bed and Temari sighed pleasurably at how comfortable it is. They had decided to share the room since they never did that before. And it felt right to them anyway.
"Today was one hell of a day." Temari said as she snuggled closer to Shikamaru.
He agreed with her, "Yep. One hell of a day alright… the Greek God of wind; Boreas huh?"
"Stop. Don't wanna hear any of that. I've had enough for today."
He laughed and looked over to her fan, "Hey since you can make it appear by materializing it why don't you make it disappear again?"
She turned and looked towards it, "Dunno, I just feel more comfortable having it lying nearby you know?"
He nodded in understanding, "Well since it's a part of your soul I figure you can feel it no matter how far away from you it actually is."
"Yea it does." she agreed, "But right now sleep is kicking my ass. We can talk more about all this tomorrow okay?"
"Yeah sure. Get some sleep," he smiled when he looked down at her face, she already dosed off and was snoring cutely. "Sweet dreams."
He kissed her forehead and leaned his head to the right enjoying the comfort of the pillow. A few more thoughts rung through his head.
So it starts now huh? I wonder what will happen as we join Ophis in this endeavor of hers. Like Temari I think the whole idea of an adventure was one of the factors that made me decide to join Ophis. I wonder if Naruto and the others will be fine without us.
He fell into sleep's embrace after a few minutes.
And so Shikamaru and Temari's adventure begins, things will be slightly more interesting for them. New friends and allies as well as new enemies are just a few of the things that will come.
To be continued…
On the next chapter,
"So you know where he is?" Vali asked.
Bikou nodded in confirmation, "Indeed I do. Shall we go then?"
"Not yet. We'll be going to find Kuroka first."
##
"Why the hell should I join you?"
Vali stepped forward, "Kuroka, we need someone like you with us. And if you do join us, then we may be able to help you out with anything you want to get or accomplish."
"Stop right there. Just where do you think you're going criminal?"
##
Temari followed after the dark haired woman.
"Hey. Come on lighten up a bit will you? Why are you being like that? You can talk to me I know it will help if you do."
"Be quiet girl. Don't talk as if you know me. You know nothing about me."
None of you know what I've been through or what I've lost…
Next chapter: Kuroka
Well that does it for chapter two. Like it? Don't like it? If you like it then good for you, I appreciate it.
I you don't then… I couldn't care less about you.
Now how about the little chapter preview thing I did there? I enjoy doing that sort of thing, makes this seem more than just a story.
Any who I know you must be wondering about what I did with Rias and Akeno there. Yes I have decided to make them close in that kind of way. To be honest if you ask me it isn't impossible for the two to feel that way about each other, Rias is open minded and so is Akeno. Plus Akeno is…. I can tell she is VERY open minded by the way she behaves when she is ready. What with being a sadist and all too, and who is to say she doesn't have a thing for girls? Or more accurately 'girl'. And more specifically Rias. Overall some girls tend to 'experiment' when they're open minded enough. That's all there is to it.
Let's see now… Ah yes, Temari. I know I said strictly DxD but if you remember I also said a select FEW of the Naruto world will be involved. Well Temari is one of the few, I might just have her alone though. Wondering if I will involve the other girls?
Well you will just have to wait and see.
Furthermore on Temari, yes, she has a Sacred Gear. And what's more she is Boreas incarnate. The Greek God of wind. I thought about it real hard and I just loved the idea. It makes for a great twist don't you think? She will be way more powerful than she is in Naruto canon. See now that's something I don't like, you gonna have someone so good with wind manipulation like Temari and only make her one of the OK fighters? In my opinion she deserves a bigger roll.
As for Shikamaru, no Sacred Gear but he will be stronger. He is better at manipulating shadows, much better. And now that he is a Devil, they won't be limited. I also have some new abilities in mind to throw into his arsenal.
In this chapter I made Temari be all girly about the living room when they got there but don't be annoyed about that, they are both coming from a point in time where most modern day stuff has yet to be introduced. They ain't got cars they got horse drawn carriages. They ain't got TV's they got these screen things that they use. And not even the finest rooms inside the finest palaces like those of the Daimyo, have curtains and couches and all that like the ones in modern day society.
So seeing all that shit is gonna be new for them. Like a little baby exploring mama and papa's house. Am sure you all understand this perfectly.
Just wait until you see how I have 'em react to seeing a car. (I promise I won't make them flip out over it too much. I might just make them be cool about it.)
I wanna wrap this up quickly so I'll address one more thing, in regards to a review by that guest user. I understand what you're saying, and after reading over that chapter I can see that I didn't, to use your words, describe Shikamaru's intelligence accurately. And honestly I try to. But I will try harder.
But anyway if you are referring to how hard I made him able to grasp what Ophis was telling him there, it isn't really surprising that he would find it hard. It's not like am making this crossover one that has the two worlds so intertwined that Konoha would just be a train ride away from the town Kuoh academy is in.
Nope. Not at all.
I haven't fused the DxD world with the Naruto world, I have only made it possible to access the two worlds via portal. Furthermore their worlds are filled with people considered god like in terms of power, they know about the creator, and many other things. I wouldn't say they were not knowledgeable about angels either, but they haven't mentioned anything of the sort since the beginning right?
They do know about God. Well the God from their world at least. What they don't know about is Fallen Angels, Angels and Devils. Especially Devils. Am not sure about Underworld but they might know about that part, to be honest I haven't checked out anything Naruto in a loooong while. I'll see about that. Anyway yeah, they don't know about the Evil Pieces, not about how everything works in DxD's world. So yeah. This is also the reason I thought it was better not to have Naruto as the main character in this, because he would be a giddy excited mess about all of it, Shikamaru is cooler.
Well that's all I have to say for this AN. Got done with this chapter about 2:00 AM. Gonna go crawl into my bed now and be out like a light for the next eight hours, I'm not a morning person. Until next time everyone, Leon loves you. (Talkin' to the girls. But I ain't a hater, guys, I appreciate ya.)
Thanks for reading.