Devil Summoner Naruto Chapter Two: Meeting The Girl
If there was one thing he dreaded about going to the academy, it was class time with this particular teacher...
It could only be described as mind numbingly boring, Naruto thought as he listened into yet another of his teacher's lessons on ninja history. The man was a bespectacled man who seemed to be just as bored as the students were during the lesson.
It wasn't like this though. Naruto remembered that he was so psyched when he saw the ninja academy for the first time five years ago. The first day didn't disappoint either, since they all got a tour of the academy's impressive facilities. It showed older academy students training in all forms of weapons like Kunai, and ranged weaponry such as bows and shuriken. Then they were told how they were going to be trained in both knowledge and weapons (a lot of the boys, and strangely one girl was sold on the notion of weapons alone at that point.), and how they were going to be respectable figures of society as their defenders. Nowadays he thought that it wasn't at all it was cracked up to be. Very few days were actually used on the training grounds that the academy owned and half that precious time was used on the history of the shinobi.
He was up for a little history, as Gouto-sensei, his cat swordplay teacher always reminded him that the lessons of the past will always open a window of victory for the future. However, seeing the dietary routine of the first Hokage told him that it belonged on a gossip vine than a history textbook.
As the teacher droned on, Naruto took the distraction to eye his classmates. It didn't take him long to recognize his peers as they were either snoring, out of their minds, or paying fierce attention to the lesson like it was a lifeline.
He could only remember a few names from the bunch, most of them clan heirs. If he didn't know any better, he would've sworn that they were something important to a story plot somehow like the characters of the "Jammin' Ninja!" manga he reads sometimes.
He looked at some of the cast of pea...heirs that were somewhat listening to the lesson.
The first one he spied on was the Inuzuka heir, Kiba. He wasn't the smartest kid in the world, but according to the locals, his family were unrivaled using dog/wolf like senses in combat. From what little he gleaned in his basic human anatomy lessons, Kiba's one weakness is his primary inheritance, the heightened hearing and sight that the Inuzuka was famous for. Give a certain frequency, and they are down for the count. Thankfully, there aren't many jutsu that uses sound for a base so the Inuzuka felt little resistance to regular combat.
Looking to his right from the snoring Inuzuka, Naruto spied the snoozing Shikamaru Nara. He was possibly the laziest student in the entire school but his strategies when fully focused could be something only legends could devise. However, the rate of such strategies occurring would be as likely a yellow stone containing a powerful electric shock.
He would've spied on others, but the bell rang signaling the end of class. As he strode outside, he spotted the two girls who stood very vividly in his memories.
Sakura Haruno was a girl that was very shy until she met her rival, Ino. They were best friends before they grew into the age where boys where cute and thoughts of marriage drifted into their heads. Their target? Sasuke Uchiha. It didn't help any other male's case that the boy had the cliché tragic past, the dark hair and the goal that could somehow be directed and cured by every girl that came into range and had a rosy view of their world.
Since that day, everything changed, and sometimes change didn't mean maturity.
Sakura changed drastically from her former shyness. She was now outgoing, had long hair and was competing to be Sasuke's no. 1 fan. It was widely believed that she joined the academy in an effort to be close to the Uchiha survivor. She must have believed that grades meant something to the boy because her efforts in books and written assignments went above and beyond the grading requirements, making her one of the brightest academy students on paper. Her efforts physically were another story.
Her studious efforts somehow overshadowed her bare minimum efforts in the physical portion of the academy criteria. It was somehow rumored that the Uchiha boy wanted a good wife that was both beautiful and well mannered. Acting on the rumor, the girls in the year older than the boy, and the girls in the same age and one year younger declined from the skills that the kunoichi standard recommended. The academy had shocking reports that the numbers of combat ready kunoichi lowered the year that Sasuke attended.
Ino Yamanaka was similar, but the Kunoichi standard build wasn't recommended for her as her strengths were better suited as a interrogation officer, as most of her clan is stationed in. She was the heir to the Yamanaka clan, a group of mind-walking individuals that steal data, possess bodies and can technically rule the world by taking over the right people.
Despite all that, Ino was a relatively able and healthy girl, a rarity in the female academy graduates. She was usually the first to finish the physical runs that the academy gives weekly. In fact, she was basically the mirror darkly of Sakura. She wasn't the smartest kunoichi (the first being Sakura) but she could outlast most of her peers in spar battles via stamina.
That isn't to say that she was the perfect kunoichi. She was still a contender in being the future mate to Sasuke Uchiha and her physique was nearly thin enough to be a defunct kunoichi that was ill and bed ridden. Naruto guessed that if the rumor for being a perfectly bodied wife for the great Uchiha survivor was a thin wafer waffle, then who was he to say otherwise? Maybe the tastes of the screwball Uchiha included wafer wives?
Naruto shook his head, who cared what the Uchiha wanted? He stopped his thought train...he had to realize just now that practically everyone who wanted the Uchiha clan restored cared, and those that put all their hopes and expectations for the boy to shell out enough offspring to revitalize the Uchiha Police force cared. The Uchiha, who once protected the city of Konoha before they were wiped out in one night by an assailant. He didn't know anyone who could have that kind of power, but it must have been someone unexpected that wiped them out.
He tried asking the Old Man, but he was silent as stone on the matter. He stopped asking when the Old Man didn't budge on the matter and life went on.
As he passed by the two girls bickering when he overheard something that nearly caused him to stumble.
"Yeah right! There is no such thing as ghosts!" Sakura said disbelieving, and in a tone that said what the hell was she doing with this pig. Ino looked like she was about to be ill, if what the tone of voice was going by. Ino was a gossip by heart though, and she loved talking about things that people didn't want anyone else to hear about.
"I wouldn't be talking to YOU, if it wasn't so juicy! I saw a ghost, it was of a cat!" At that point, both girls saw Naruto stumble but recover immediately. Both girls rolled their eyes and were just thinking 'Baka!'. To Naruto though, things more important than what two girls thought of him arose. Naruto had to find his teacher and tell him of this new development.
Neither Ino or Sakura didn't notice that Naruto left at a quicker pace than normal as they started another fight over their precious "Sasuke-Kun!"
Three years ago, Naruto Uzumaki was afraid of the hateful glares that the boy experienced when he went into the civilian market place. This forced the Old Man to change the living areas of the boy, since there was always the fear that some insane group of people will try something idiotic like getting a mob and attacking the boy's home or even attacking the boy believing he was the demon! Utter lunacy, but still possible.
Returning to his shabby looking apartment in his living area, Naruto opened the door to a rather modernized home. It came up to the Old Man that in order to hide Naruto from the jealousy that will surely come with the already hateful glares, he had to make it look on the outside a housing so unbelievably bad, it wouldn't even make a poor, destitute homeless person desire to live here.
Hence, the birth of the "poor housing" that Naruto lived in.
Naruto thought it could go without the smell, but who was he to ask? He had this building practically all to himself, and the few who tried to sneak in here for a quick room for anything, were escorted out by the random Anbu agent that was assigned to watch over him.
After putting away the things the academy needed for the day near a corner in the room, Naruto went into the kitchen and rummaged around for something to eat. There wasn't much choice since his fridge held only a half full carton of milk, and some cold ramen. Naruto wasn't one to waste food, let alone ramen, which he would never throw away, for any reason. After drinking from the carton of milk, he closed the door and turned to see Gouto staring at him, as if waiting for him.
"You really should check your expiration dates on your food. You just drank half spoiled milk." he said simply to the shocked boy, who opened the fridge door and checked the date. Naruto paled, that damn alley cat was right!
Gouto sighed at the inattentiveness of his apprentice and strode over to the panicking boy.
"Listen up, this provides a good lesson on checking your food for any poisons, or in this case, expiration dates. If you had a healing demon with you, that demon could cast Posumudi on you to remove that poison out of your system. But since you don't even know how to talk to a demon without it scratching your eyes out, you'll have to ride it out." Naruto glared at the cat for making the situation so freaking clear. He could already feel his insides rumble with the rotten milk in protest. Groaning, Naruto made for his bathroom where he would spend most of the afternoon.
Later on in the evening, under the cover of night, Gouto began his lessons on Naruto's swordplay. The sword that Naruto used in combat several days prior was hanging on a shelf inside a closet that Naruto reserved for "Special" stuff.
He was currently trying to use a regular sword that Gouto somehow acquired for their nightly lessons. It wasn't too heavy for the child, but it sometimes unbalanced the kid during some of the more tougher chains of sword movements.
"Hm...you don't seem to have the balance to use a regular sword. I wonder if an Axe is what you excel at?" Gouto wondered to himself as he watched Naruto stumble for the eighth time on a sequence sword movement. Naruto declared that he would master the sword in no time and Gouto believed him, but maybe its the spirit of the Axe inside the sword that makes him so skillful in the combat zone.
Unfortunately, Gouto can only recover one type of spirit sword every month or so, since the preparation for the journey where he kept them takes nearly a month to plan, even if he knew where he put them. He was curious to what kinds of weapons that Naruto can wield with ease, and what weapons that Naruto would have the skill of a baby with a bomb for a toy.
"Alright Naruto, you can stop. I think I might know what your weakness in the routine is. In order to fix that, I'll have to retrieve an Axe for you to wield and see what you can do with that." Gouto said to a slightly disappointed Naruto, who thought he could use this sword just as well as that spirit sword he had locked up in his "Special" closet.
"I'll end the practice here and move on to my next lesson, which involves you talking to demons." Gouto said to a sullen Naruto, who still felt a small twinge of guilt for taking out those two demons.
"You must know that there are demons who would join your side for a variety of things. The most common exchange is your offering of blood or stamina to the creature among other things. Some take money, and some just need a good conversation to join your cause.
However, since the technology that the Yatagarasu used to store demons were lost during the great destruction, I've had to gather parts from natural resources in order to makeshift one of our storing devices. I am almost finished with reconstructing one, so you'll be able to test one out on the field soon." Gouto finished to an attentive Naruto, who got over his little bout of guilt.
"What happens if you try to talk to a demon without this device ready?" He asked, Gouto nodded. His charge may be a blockhead, but he knew what questions to ask sometimes.
"Usually they go away, disappointed in not being able to join you. There are some who take it the wrong way and go holy hell on you for insulting them. Usually a beat down of the demon is required for them to learn their place."
Gouto was about to continue when he felt a foreign presence hiding in the tree line area of Naruto's home. Naruto must have noticed it too, since he was also looking at the same direction he was.
"I know you're there, come out!" Gouto barked out his demand. Naruto held his sword at the ready for combat, should the need arise.
What came out made Gouto frown in confusion and Naruto go white as a sheet.
It was the Ghost girl!
The ghostly girl seemed to be nervous at being found out, but it looked like she was observing Naruto for quite a long time now, as she wasn't so much afraid of him than she was of Gouto.
"This is..." Gouto began, but Naruto cut him off.
"Its the ghost girl! I thought ghosts couldn't leave their haunting areas! I'm scared!" Naruto was running around in circles around the area, as if that could repel the giggling girl. Gouto sighed, blockhead indeed...
Gouto landed on Naruto's head with expert timing and stopped him by scratching the head of the boy, who hissed in pain again.
"Oww...that hurts!" Naruto complained as he tenderly touched the wound that the cat gave him. The girl, concerned for the pain that Naruto was going through began chanting something while touching the stiff Naruto who was stock still at a girl, ghost or real touched him so familiarly.
A few more chants and Naruto's wounds began to heal faster than he would regularly heal, and that was saying something. His wounds, mostly small bumps and bruises were almost immediately healed up before an hour has passed.
"Hm..just as I thought. She didn't have the right type, but shes definitely one of the Tenshi clan." Gouto said aloud. The ghostly girl laughed melodically and nodded, while Naruto was perplexed at this info. Who were the Tenshi clan? Was it one of the lower civilian clans or something?
"Whats a Tenshi Clan?" He voiced his question. Gouto looked at the girl before continuing.
"We have several demons categorized by element, alignment and what kind of Clan they belong in. For example, A Jatayu and Feng Huang are Clan brothers because they belong to the Reichou Clan. Those demons are mostly winged demons, resembling birds." Gouto paused before fishing up.
"Shes still relatively young, but she belongs to the Tenshi Clan. I had some inkling of what she was, but I believe in absolute certainty that she is an Angel." Naruto was stunned, hes actually seeing a real angel for the first time!
"Wow! You're an Angel?" He asked the smiling girl, who giggled and nodded happily. Gouto watched the scene a little more before speaking again.
"According to our lore, every person on the planet has one Angel that guides their actions and protects them from various evils. I think this may be your personal guardian Angel." Gouto paused and got an idea from it.
"You, Angel!" He waited until the girl was paying attention to him. Gouto smiled internally, this was perfect!
"How would you like to be Naruto's first demon partner?" He asked of the girl, who nodded and turned to face a startled Naruto. Gouto turned a moment later as well.
"Ok, Naruto, this plays right into our lesson plans. This Angel is already loyal to you, so it would be easier to convince her to join you than other demons. However, she isn't fully ready to fight at your side, and this is where our next lesson begins. The art of Negotiation."
"I've collected data from the 14th and for the most part, demons require some form of blood payment or would like money in exchange for a contract with the summoner. I'll hand you some money that I've acquired and you use that to convince this Angel to fight for you." Gouto threw by mouth to Naruto a small bag of coins as he finished his explanation.
"Begin!" Gouto ordered his disciple. Naruto nodded and faced the young Angel. When he made eye contact with her, however, time seemed to freeze. When he turned around, he saw that everything but him and the Angel stopped moving. A slight shuffling of the Angel told Naruto that he should pay attention to her and not the surroundings. Naruto blushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head with one arm.
"Ah! Sorry about that, first time, hehe!" he laughed nervously. The Angel smiled in response and nodded. He never heard her speak so he was startled by the voice that came out of the girl.
"Hi! I heard from that cat that you want me to be your demon?" The Angel asked. Her voice quite melodious. Naruto figured since she was a demon, her voice would be more deep, like a regular demon.
"Y-yeah...sorry, I'm a bit nervous." Naruto admitted to the girl.
"You might want to stand a bit straighter, or else demons will find that offensive and attack you. I'm sure you don't want that, do you?" Angel asked the boy, who nodded at the advice.
"Ok...like this?" Naruto straightened his back. Angel shook his head.
"Its too stiff, makes you look fake. There are some demons like Okuninushi who like that kind of thing, but mostly a straighter back means respect to most demons." The Angel lectured as she pushed Naruto's back into a more manly pose. A far outcry from the slouch that Naruto was so accustomed to.
"Ok! Now this is a respectable pose! Lets continue." The Angel clapped her hands at her soon to be master's new pose.
"Now, here comes the more critical part, the terms of servitude." The Angel said as she stood in a thinking pose, her hand cupping her tiny chin. Naruto thought she looked cute, like a chibi trying to do a serious thinking pose.
"I want some of your blood, to satisfy my bloodlust." The Angel asked of Naruto, who was shocked and pale. Was this Angel a vampire in disguise?
"What? Aren't angels like holy beings? They don't like drinking blood, do they?" Naruto asked of the giggling girl.
"We may be angels, but every demon you ask an alliance with will ask for a bit of blood of their potential summoner. Fortunately for you, I only require a tiny bit of blood in order to satisfy my bloodlust for a lifetime." Angel explained to an understanding Naruto.
"How much blood do you need?" He asked of the girl. Angel smiled, her master wasn't foolhardy and gave up his energy foolishly. He was new, but he had survival instincts that would've rivaled Master Uriel.
"Just cut your palm open and drop a few drops of blood on my hands." Angel told the boy as she cupped her hands in front of the boy. Naruto nodded and took out his sword. He cut his palm and shook a tiny amount of blood onto her cupped hands. Naruto was surprised that his hand had healed quickly after the cut and didn't notice the Angel drink his blood almost messily. When he turned back to the Angel, he could see no trace of his blood anywhere on the girl. It was almost as if was licked clean.
Naruto mentally shrugged, it was probably a demon thing.
The Angel smiled once again in satisfaction, it seemed that he fulfilled her requirements, but...
"Oh yes...I have one other request." The Angel said of Naruto. Naruto could almost guess what it was and was fingering the pouch of coins carefully.
"What is it?" The Angel started looking around and twiddling her fingers almost cutely.
"I kinda have a sweet tooth, but there isn't many people who would give up money for such a thing...so can I have that pouch of money?" She smiled almost childlike and comically. Naruto sighed, he was right on the money...literally.
He tossed the small pouch of money as the Angel cheered at the acquiescence of her request and almost hugged the pouch at her plans to buy all the candy she could.
"Ok! I think that's enough, I'm ready to go with you!" She smiled and pulled out a rectangular piece of paper to hand to a confused Naruto.
"Here's my business card! I feel like such a grown up!" The Angel laughed as Naruto looked for a place to store his new business card. He found it odd, but its a demon thing, he reminded himself.
"Hm...good job Naruto. You have successfully recruited this Angel. Now, her hazy figure will fade away, allowing you to see her unique form." Gouto commented as what he said came to be.
The Angel started to solidify her ghostly form and both Naruto and Gouto were surprised to see the girl's form.
Where there would usually be a blue haired or blond haired angel, this one had fiery red hair and her eyes were aquatic blue. She had a confident face and her posture seemed like she would bolt at any second from a prank or two that she caused. Her wings were still the same length though. She was certainly unique, Gouto thought to himself.
"Do you have a name, Angel-Chan?" Naruto asked of the girl, who pondered.
"I might have had one when I was alive, but since we are all mass assigned to guard people, some angels forget their previous identities. I still remember some of it though. It was something like...Kushi...something or other." Naruto instinctively called out a name from somewhere in the recesses of his mind. It might've been a lost memory.
"Kushina?" He asked, and the Angel seemed to think on it before nodding.
"Yeah...I think that was my name, Kushina!" The Angel turned to Naruto and stuck out her hand to shake his.
"My name is Kushina, and I'm your partner!" She grinned in a way that made Gouto's eyes widen.
'There is no way...could she really be..?'
Naruto didn't seem to see the similarities and shook her hand enthusiastically.
"My names Naruto Uzumaki, do you like ramen?" He asked Kushina, who nodded very happily.
"I love ramen! How did you know?" She exclaimed to a grinning Naruto.
"I think we'll get along just fine! I know a great place, come on!" He said as he pulled Kushina's hand to his favorite place in the world, Ichiraku's Ramen.
"Hold it, Naruto." Gouto called out. Naruto and Kushina turned to the cat in confusion.
"While you can see her Naruto, other people can't. Those who are spiritually sensitive like you are can see them fully, but normal people cannot. Don't you think it will get awkward if you order two bowls of Ramen for someone who isn't there?" Gouto pointed out and Kushina nodded in agreement.
Naruto however grinned.
"You haven't seen me eat ramen, have you?" Naruto chuckled and Gouto got the feeling that he was going to see something that will haunt his dreams forever...
While the trio were witnessing Naruto's "talent", something sinister was happening elsewhere.
A girl was running away in fear of something that wasn't there. She came across the slain bodies of her parents and a low growl told her that the thing spotted her. She turned over trash cans and went through the deserted roads of nighttime Konoha in order to evade whatever was chasing her.
Her luck ended however, as she was cornered by a dead end in Konoha's shopping district.
Looking in fear, she screamed as a green humanoid monster stalked slowly to her. The monster growled hungrily, splotches of blood were on his mouth and the girl stared horrified that her parent's blood was on this freak.
She screamed loudly as the monster pounced on her and her screams of terror slowly faded as the monster ended her life.
Her body wasn't found till the next morning by a horrified shopkeeper, who found her remains and her face in absolute terror.
Hows this for a chapter end? I think it will build up for Naruto's first case of sorts.
What do you guys think of the ghost girl? Were any of you expecting that?
Until the next chapter!
Terra Ace.
The Stamp of the FUTURE: (3/10/12): Well, here is the revised edition, nothing major, just grammar issues.