Peacemaker
Second chapter, let's roll.
Previously on peacemaker:
After training with his grandpa, Naruto trekked to the village of Hagnie to pick up a package his grandpa ordered. Upon receiving, he found out that it was a sword and trench coat designed for him. Just as he was about to leave, the blacksmith asked him to return the next day to pick up the rest of the items Jiraiya ordered. On his way back, Naruto saved a little boy, but found himself in more trouble. Then, he was saved by a mysterious pearl eyed girl who had to make a quick and sudden departure. After that he headed back home.
With his mind on that pearl eyed beauty, the blond teen could not sleep and woke up during the night. Hearing sounds of twigs snapping like crackling lighting and rustling of leaves, the blond went out into the darkness of the night, equipped with the gifts he received that day.
Looking around for what made the noise, he was attacked by a large fox who demands that Naruto follows him into the forest. He does, and they find themselves standing in a clearing. Facing the demonic fox, the boy wondered what would happen next with neither him nor the fox knowing that they were being watched.
***Chapter 2 Start***
The image faded away from the blonds' mind as another blast of wind hit him in the face. After the strong wind disappeared, Naruto opened his eyes, blinking away the blurriness out of his eyes, due to the tears caused by the wind. The fox stood there, staring at him with menacing eyes, like he was trying to rip him to shreds using only his mind.
"Chosen six of what?" Naruto questioned. He really had no idea what the fox meant when he said that.
"You test my patience boy." The fox growled before replying. "Have you ever heard of the peacemakers?" He asked. Naruto nodded, his grandpa had taught him many things and one of them was about a tale about a group of six known as the Peacemakers who would come and save the world from the darkness. But wasn't that just a tale?
"I am a partner of one of the six peacemakers," The fox said like it should clear everything up. Then it hit the blond. He was talking to one of the peacemakers of the tale. Still, many unanswered questions flowed through his mind.
"But that doesn't have anything to do with me, so why are you here? And shouldn't you be next to with your partner?" Naruto voiced. The fox let out another growl.
"Damn it boy! Why do you have to be so stupid! You are my partner." He roared. His roar was louder than the booming of thunder. Naruto's heart stopped beating as soon as the words left the fox's mouth. He didn't know what he felt. Excitement? Anxiousness? Confusion? He just did not know. At the moment he couldn't think nor talk. He could only stare dumbly at the talking demonic fox.
From the tale Naruto had heard from his grandpa, he knew that the peacemakers were extremely powerful and welded the powers of animals. So how could he… a mere errand boy with only a small amount of battle skills taught by his grandpa have the strength to be a peacemaker? It just didn't make any sense to the blond. Now finding his voice, Naruto spoke, asking the question he was scared to ask.
"How can you be sure?" Naruto asked quietly.
The fox looked deep into Naruto's azure eyes with a look of recognition. He could tell that the boy was shocked but then again, who wouldn't be? But the small scar on his neck burned with a fiery passion, jolting him with power and enhancing his senses tenfold. It was everything his dreams told him… everything his dreams showed him and with that knowledge, he explained. "Because my scar burns and ignites me with power when I'm close to my partner, and right now it's burning like never before and I feel stronger than ever." The fox explained.
Naruto's eyes widened. The burning sensation when he was around the fox. The sharpness of all his senses and his muscles twitching with energy. It was just like how the fox described it. Could he really be a peacemaker? Almost as if the fox read his mind, he spoke.
"But we won't truly know unless we do the test." With that, Naruto raised an eyebrow in question and the fox began to explain.
***/***/***/***
Hinata gaped with wide eyes in recognition at the boy which stood opposite an animal of the peacemakers. The boy's hair was an untamed blond, just as Naruto's. His jacket? Also identical to the blonds. This was without a doubt the boy from the village of Hagnie.
Sensing her human partners' change of aura, the panther glanced at her. Lilly already knew that Hinata was shocked for some reason but what really caught Lilly's attention was the look of recognition on the Hinata's face. 'Did she meet the child of prophecy which stood before them?' Lilly wondered before turning back to scene in-front of them.
The raven haired beauty noticed that neither Naruto nor the fox were moving, but she watched as their lips moved, indicating that they were talking. Hinata tried to hear what they were saying but failed due to the harsh whistling of the winds and the not so distant booming of thunder. If she remembered correctly, when she got tested by her partner, it was nothing like this; she had seen Lilly in her battle form on many occasions but these were only when she was trained or had to cover ground fast. Not knowing why the fox was in its battle form she turned to her partner.
"Why is the fox in his battle form?" Hinata asked, still keeping her gaze on the two.
"If only you were in your first level transformation, you would hear what they were saying and know why." Lily sighed, shaking her head slightly.
"You know I can't stay in that form for long and I don't think it would go well with the town's people." Hinata giggled, imagining herself in that form. Sure, it upgraded her senses and increased abilities, but it would mean having a slight alteration to her body.
"Humph! They should understand that you're their saviour." Lilly argued, turning her head to look at Hinata.
"Lilly you have to understand that people tend to fear the unknown." Hinata said giving her partner a soft smile. "Anyway, why is the fox in his battle form?" Hinata asked again, bringing the conversation back on track.
"It seems like the fox is going to test the boy's endurance and strength." The panther answered, turning back to them. "The boy's going to have to last 'till dawn." Lilly added. With her question answered, Hinata turned back to the scene.
Instead of actually watching the whole scene which fell before her, she focused more on the blond boy. The time in Hangie with the boy flashed through her mind. Unconsciously, she raised her right hand to the left of her chest and wished the boy 'Good luck.'
***/***/***/***
Naruto sprinted at the fox with his katana held in both his hands just as the fox dashed at him with his claws raised for a strike.
"Show your worth boy!" The fox growled. "Prove to me that you are worthy of being a child of prophecy!" The fox roared furiously, a roar so powerful that it changed the direction of the wind itself. Naruto's jacket fluttered behind him as he ran to intercept the claws of the fox. The force of the collusion was so strong, it blew back the blonds locks and forced the trees to sway in the opposite direction of the collision.
It would have been a mystery to anyone else at how the blond kept up with a beast of such force but not to the blond. He knew that the power came from the burning feeling under his nipple of his right breast. Naruto pushed against the fox's claws just as the fox pushed against his blade. A deep growl erupted from the fox as he pushed with more intensity, trying to overpower him. Naruto grinned in return, fighting back even harder. Honestly, he should have been scared, but just like before, his body was roaring with excitement - excitement which he never felt before. He felt alive. Was the battle the reason for this? Did he only feel alive when he was supposed to be scared to death? He did not know, but he did know that he was enjoying every second of this.
The fox was amazed at the boy's strength.. The boy's skill with the blade could even rival his own fighting skills. Naruto wielded the blade as an extension of his arms, just as he should have. 'But could the boy keep going till sunrise?' The fox thought. He knew who he wanted as a partner. His dreams described the very being. He wanted a brave fighter with honour that matched an ancient warriors', with battle instincts as sharp as fangs. And most importantly! Cunningness, of which could rival his own. With these thoughts in mind, the fox bared his fangs and roared, eyes flashing with a fiery passion that seemed to surge through him, forcing the boy back. The boy would have to prove himself and that would be no easy feat. The fox's roar startled Naruto, making his grip weaken, almost forcing him to lose the parry. Naruto was slowly losing the battle and realized that he eventually would, unless he did something. But what could he do? A few struggling seconds went by… 'That's it!' He mentally exclaimed. He knew that if he wanted to pull it off, he'd have to time everything exactly right otherwise it could be disastrous, but it was a gamble he was willing to take.
In the next second Naruto summoned up all his strength and forced it into his blade, pushing against the fox in one quick, yet powerful burst. Surprised by the force, the fox jumped back quickly to keep his balance. The fox gave out a growl but unlike the other growls it sounded different. It was much more deeper. The fox then jumped back at the boy, claws outstretched.
For Naruto, everything seemed to slow and the opportunity he had been searching for appeared. In that millisecond, Naruto jumped up into the air and pulled back both his legs. Aim... Lock on… And shoot! Naruto thrust both his legs at the foxes' claws. 'Perfect', thought, mentally applauding himself. He kicked off and soared through the night sky, away from the demonic fox.
Gathering his bearings, Naruto tucked his knees to his chest after placing the steel of his katana in between his teeth, being careful not to cut his tongue but in a fast and fluid motion nevertheless, almost making it look he did this on a daily basis. To Naruto, it felt almost instinctive even though he had never done it before today. It may not have made any sense to Naruto but he did not complain.
As the ground approached him, Naruto braced for impact. He rolled forward in mid-air about two meters away from the ground still in the same position, he then stretched out in the last meter allowing his hands to make contact with solid earth. Rolling forward, he broke the impact of his fall until he landed in a crouched position.
Sensing a slight change in the air, Naruto looked up and saw the fox diving at toward him.
'Oh shi…' At the last second Naruto grabbed his sword, thrusting it up sideways in a desperate attempt to block the strike. The foxes' claws clashed against Naruto's sword, but due to the force of the claws and Naruto's position, the contact between blade and bone didn't last long as Naruto was sent backwards in a tumble along with his katana.
His head spun as dark colours twirled past him. Having enough, Naruto clenched his hands and smashed them in to the ground hoping to stop his roll. Instead of fully stopping, it flipped him on his back as the momentum of the force was still there, causing him to skid on his back for a few seconds before coming to a halt. His mind was still spinning as he sat up. Holding his head in both hands, he looked up, noticing two blurry flames of red at the far end of the field. 'Fire?' Naruto thought, still trying to stop his head from spinning. A second later something embedded itself in the ground where his head had been.
The fox watched curiously as the boy kept on rolling away from him. He would never admit it but he felt slightly proud at the thought of being partnered up with the blond. He had showed skill with his blade and had lighting fast battle reflexes. To him, the boy just might prove to be a child of prophecy. He was even impressed at how he had blocked his claw strike and started to break his fall in a roll….Hold it! Squinting his slits for eyes, he zeroed in on the blond who was sitting up, cradling his head in both hands. A second later something metal flew at where his head had just been and embedded itself into the dirt. That was no skill the fox mentally spat.
"That was just pure luck!" The fox growled loudly, noticing that the boy was still dizzy. With a mighty roar the fox dashed at the blond for another strike, infuriated at the prospective that he may be partnered up with a complete moron.
Naruto watched dizzily as two streaks of red dashed at him. Slapping himself out of his dizziness he watched as the red blur was now upon him. "Oh crap!" Naruto yelled, scrambling for his blade. Sensing the sweep of his claw, Naruto dived forward, trying to grab the hilt of the sword as he reached out his hand.
"Dodge this!" The fox roared as his claws hooked onto the fabric of Naruto's jacket and kept going.
***/***/***/***
She closed her eyes as at the sight before her. She knew the boy wasn't going to make it. The Kitsune's sharp claws pierced through his jacket like a knife slicing through bread. One second he was reaching out for his blade and the next, he was lying on the ground with his blade just in his reach, in a pool of blood. It was all too surreal for her. This boy she met earlier that day. The boy who saved the life of an innocent child. The boy who she saved, who was said to be one of them. Someone just like her. A child of prophecy! Just lay there…Unmoving.
Tears started to flow down her cheeks. She knew she shouldn't cry. She mustn't. She was a child of prophecy. Death was natural. She had seen it before and cried, cried hard, but that was someone she had known, someone which she spent the majority of her life with. Someone who she had created memories with. This boy, she had only just met, yet here she was with tears flowing down her face as she watched the unmoving body.
Her partner just watched the unmoving body as Hinata wept. Lilly knew that her partner knew how the partnering ritual went. If the child did not meet to the creatures' standards then the child would die during the partnering ritual. Yet, why did she shed tears like she did not know? Even though Lilly could communicate with Hinata telepathically, she did not know or even have the slightest idea as to why the girl would cry.
***/***/***/***
The demonic fox landed on all fours just as the blonde's body hit the ground, unsettling the dust. His eyes focused on the unmoving form lying on the ground in fount of him. A dark liquid pooled underneath the body, and although it was dark, he knew what it was. He could smell it. The iron…. Now lying in a pool of blood, was the blond boy. The one which he thought was going to be his partner. The idiot, he thought, that had a chance to be a child of prophecy. This boy was not the child of prophecy.
"How pitiful, and after all that…" The fox growled softly. His crimson aura slowly danced across his skin as he stared at the dead boy in front of him.
Just as he turned to leave he heard a shallow, sharp intake of breath. 'What the!?' The fox turned around to see the boy who was thought to be dead crouched on one knee, leaning on his katana in his sea of blood. And covering him? Was the same fiery crimson aura which covered the fox himself…
***/***/***/***
Naruto was in a sea of blackness, floating endlessly through the abyss. His eyes were closing, losing the fight for life. His eyes where now half a hair strand apart from closing and none of his muscles where responding. Tiredness washed over him as the seconds passed…. Not being able to hold it open more his eyes shut with one thought in mind…
'Is this it?'
"Are you going to give up so easily?" A voice questioned him but it was all just a faint sound to him…
'Mm?'
"Are you giving in?" The holy voice questioned the blond again and this time he heard it…
'Give in?'
"Are you going to submit to death?" It questioned again.
'Submit to death?' Naruto's mind echoed
"Arise! Do not submit to death oh child of prophecy!" The voice demanded. Naruto cracked opened his eyes to see himself facing a glowing light.
'Who are you?'
"The name thy nought matter but thus power shall, partner of Kitsune!" The voice yelled. "Do not yield to death. Let death yield to thee! Now rise if thus choose to live! Or shall you give up?" The voice questioned.
'Give up? Such an easy option.'
"What a failure! What have I thought you?" Another voice boomed.
'….Grandpa…' Naruto's eyes widened a bit more.
"Have I been teaching an idiot…Wait, you are an idiot…"
'Hey!'
"What was the first thing I taught you?"
'… Never…'
"What?"
"Never give up." Naruto whispered, now feeling a little more strength in his jaw.
"And what the hell are you doing? Get your lazy ass up now, I still have not taken you to a cat house yet."
"I'm not a pervert old man!" Naruto yelled feeling more strength in his body.
"Oh yes you will… anyway get up now and never give up!" Naruto's eyes now opened fully as he stared straight into the light. The strong, holy glow sent pulses of warmth throughout his body.
"Head straight into the light, child of prophecy, and make your destiny!" The holy voice spoke again, drowning out his grandpas voice and with that Naruto tried to move to the light. 'Urghh, why won't my body move?!' It was like he couldn't feel anything.
"I can't move…" Naruto whispered slowly.
"Believe in yourself and never give up!" The voice answered. 'That's right, never give up...'
"I will never give up!" Naruto yelled as he shot at the light.
***/***/***/***
Seven guards in white cloaked uniforms with a red writhing cloud on the back rode in formation which surrounded the only female amongst them as they galloped through the forest.
The female in the middle had dark blue hair and a creamy toned face, studded with silver pricings which glittered like the stars in the night sky. Her black cloak was similar to those of her guards apart from the fact that there were not one, but several red clouds surrounding her fluttering cloak as she rode across the forest with her party.
Like most rides with her soldiers, it was in silence unless she gave a commanding order. The only other sounds heard were the sound of the horse's hooves as they galloped away, staying in strict formation under the rider's control.
After a while, the group approached the base's entrance guarded by four soldiers: two on either each side. The horseman in front of the party trotted aside, allowing the pierced women to proceed first.
"Ahhh, Lady Konan! We've been expecting you!" A solider shouted out, enthusiasm clearly shown in his voice. The horse rider now known as Konan smiled upon the guard.
"Where is your general guardsman?" She asked in a gentle tone which did not hide her authority.
"He is awaiting your arrival in his cabin," He answered before bowing. "Please, allow me to escort you."
"Very well, proceed." The remaining three guardsmen bowed and she followed the solider into the base with her horseman trailing them.
At this time of night only a few guards romanced the base grounds with faint chatter between soldiers. The grounds were illuminated with lights which hung from buildings and wooden poles scattered around spaciously.
The lady's eyes roamed leisurely around the ground admiring the hard work of the soldiers who were running this place. She was not one to spout praise but she would give credit where needed and the Chief who ran this place surely deserved it.
"We have arrived, Lady Konan" The guardsman said, pushing opening the wooden door. Konan gave a brief nod of her head before getting down from her horse.
"You seven, go give the horses bale and water and rest up in the guard's quarters" Konan ordered the seven horseman.
"But Lady Konan! We have been ordered by the high lord to accompany you every…" Konan put up a hand to the horseman who spoke out.
"At ease, I am your Lady and you shall do as I say. May I remind you that I have achieved this rank due to my strength as a solider." Konan hushed the horseman before giving her reins to one of the other horseman.
"Now rest," She ordered, turning around and walking into the wooden cabin.
Inside the cabin, Konan was approached by a tall man with a distinctive uniform form the other guards. The man gave a short bow of his head.
"I am Chief Hashiro, the manager of this guard's base and the leading man of the soldiers, Lady Konan." Hashiro introduced himself, his voice leaking with authority. "I take it that you have come to settle the problem which arose several ago," the man inquired stated.
Konan nodded. "Yes, but my original purpose was for a morale boost for the soldiers," Konan stated before adding, "But maybe a display would do the same thing?" She wondered out loud. The chief clapped his hands together and smiled maliciously.
"We already have information of the boy, including the location of where he lives." Hashiro provided.
"Excellent work, I shall remember to mention your progress to the high lord." She started, "Now turning back to the matter at hand, I would like to get a full detailed description of the scene, preferably by the leader of the patrol who faced off against this mysterious boy." Konan ordered. The chief nodded before calling over two soldiers.
"Get patrol leader Sergeant Hoffster!" He barked at two soldiers who stood by.
"Right away, sir!" They replied, saluting their commander and then giving a low bow to Lady Konan before heading out the door.
***/***/***/***
Now, in a dimly lit room known as the interrogation cell, Lady Konan stood, back against the wall. Opposite her was patrol leader Sergeant Hoffster who sat in a chair in nothing but trousers. Raw whip lashes covered his body, most from the recent punishment he suffered along with his men.
"Tell me what happened," Konan ordered. Hoffster looked up to her with a pained expression before slowly opening his mouth.
"Y-es…" He tried to speak, causing Konan to raise her eyebrows slightly before turning to the other solider in the room.
"Get him some water!" She ordered. With a 'yes Lady Konan' the solider hurriedly left to fetch the water.
A moment later he came back carrying water in a tin bucket. He placed the bucket on the table before pulling out a tin glass from the inside and placing it at the lips of the sergeant. The sergeant, not wasting any time, opened his mouth allowing the soothing water to flow in as the solider tilted the glass.
Hoffster coughed a bit before allowing bits of water mixed with his salvia to droll down his lips and on to a whip slash on his bare chest. He winced slightly.
"Thank you lady Konan." He crocked slightly before clearing his voice.
"I don't want your thanks, but what I asked for. What happened yesterday?" Kona demanded.
"We were doing are daily patrol when we were disrespected by a little boy." He started "Being a sergeant, I couldn't allow such disrespectful behaviour to go without being dealt with and was about to punish the boy before I got assaulted by another boy who tried to play hero," The sergeant spat the last part.
Lady Konan had an idea of the type of sergeant this man was. He was one who would abuse his authority and she knew that someone like that should not obtain the rank of Sergeant.
"So how did one boy defeat your entire squadron?" Sergeant Hoffster stared down at the bucket, sweat beginning to form on his forehead.
"He was extremely fast and skill full with his blade. He dashed past my men, swiping his sword at blinding speed. Every time I tried to get him, he just dodged before attacking me. He was far too fast and my group didn't even have a chance. Then, a sudden explosion of white powder erupted, and when it settle, he was nowhere to be found." Hoffester finished, still looking down at the bucket.
" From what I heard, a boy around 17 to 19 years, interrupted your judgment and then heavily assaulted a group of men before disappearing in white smoke?" Konan asked almost in clarification. "The way I see it, a sergeant with his group of solders should have no issue in dealing with a boy and as you have failed to do so you shall be stripped upon your rank and restricted from ranking to sergeant till further knowledge."
Hoffster's eyes where now wide with anger.
"Is that understood Hoffster!" Konan pushed to ensure that he understood.
"Yes Lady Konan" He replied. Konan then turned around to another soldier who stood and pointed at him. With that, Konan walked out the room, her white boots tapping lightly against the floor as she made her way towards her destination.
***/***/***/***
" Nev…Never…" Naruto started. The grip on his blade tightened slightly.
The fox turned around, its eyes focusing on the boy who was thought to be dead. There he was on one knee, with a firm grip on his blade that impaled the earth beneath him.
'What the…!" The fox thought.
"NEVER GIVE UP!" Naruto screamed. His body was now surrounded in a powerful crimson cloak which danced violently like fire across himself. His head was arched backwards as his body was surged with power.
The fox watched as the fiery cloak which surrounded the boy began to transform. On top of his head, two fox ears grew in the ghostly cloak, his hands where surrounded in claws in the same ghostly cloak which created his ears and a foxes tail behind him. The fiery aura started fading away only leaving him in a foxes' avatar of orange cloak which surrounded his body thinly. His cloak was now in a slightly controlled state, his head rolled forward his hair covering his eyes and in one sudden movement… He pounced at the fox, his ghostly claws leading the way.
***/***/***/***
The shaggy grey-haired man awoke as the sound of lighting pierced the night sky. He never was one to sleep heavily unless he had a drink the night before. That's when his eyes widened. 'Naruto', he thought. Today was the day the boy would be tested by the legendary fox. A day which the man always hoped was the day after tomorrow. He swung his legs out of the bed and walked out of the room in only a pair of boxers and a grey t-shirt. Scratching his butt, he made his away across the hallway and into Narutos's bedroom.
"Looks like he's already gone." Jiraiya stated to no one in particular. His made his way into his the room and sat on the boys' bed, his back to the window as his eyes roamed around the room. He knew that as soon as Naruto came back he would most likely be off the next day if he survived. Jiraiya cursed himself at the thought. "That idiot better not die on me" He whispered to himself.
At this point, he now lay down on his back across the bed as his mind leisurely strolled through the times he was with the boy; all the training sessions he put the boy through since he was young, the times which he tried to get him laid and drunk, his teachings of women and all the time at the hot springs which they spent with each other. Jiraiya gave up a gentle laugh.
"Look at me thinking about him like he's dead?" He asked himself.
Jiraiya suddenly shot up as his ears picked up on something. His eyes widened as the window behind him shattered. In that second, he dived forward, avoiding the projectile by a hairs breadth as it embedded itself into the wall. He looked up before noticing what was attached to the arrow.
"Oh shit!" He cursed to himself as he scrambled out the room and down the hallway. He kicked open a door on his left and grabbed a heavy and thin item wrapped in black cloth. Hearing another whizzing sound, he ducked his head left as another arrow shot past him and embedded itself in the wall. Jiraiya then whipped out the door and dived at the window at the end of the corridor.
Jiraiya mind raced as he broke his fall by rolling around a few times on the ground in order to spread out the impact. As he came to his final roll, he jumped up landing on his two feet in a firm stance with one hand at one end of the lengthy item and his other in front of him, palms facing outwards. He was now focused as he stood there in the solid stance not moving an inch.
***/***/***/***
Sensing another arrow, he quickly ducked his head, allowing it to pass by. The arrow was followed by several other rapidly shot arrows which he also dodged with ease.
"Who you are? You should know by now that I shan't be touched by such weak attacks." Jiraiya stated. Where are you? He wondered, his eyes darting around in search of his attacker.
"I don't know why you're attacking me but if it's because I kinda screwed a girl last week with a ring on I'm sorry! But she did seem needy," Jiraiya joked. A few seconds later, the house erupted, scattering large chunks of debris everywhere. Large pieces of the walls started to rain down, forcing Jiraiya to jump around in order to avoid them. Jiraiya jumped forward as a chunk of the wall smashed into the ground a few meters behind him.
After the barrage, Jiraiya stood there, surrounded by bits from his house, breathing slightly more heavily than before. Even though he was a warrior at heart, he knew that he was not young as he once was.
He sighed as he heard another arrow whizz at him, but instead of moving, he simply stood there with no intention of dodging as the arrow landed at his feet. What the? He squinted, wondering why only one arrow out of the many that were fired at him went astray. It just didn't make sense. Then, he saw on a long black tube attached to the arrow. Oh shit! Not having enough time to dodge, he braced himself for the explosion.
Why do I keep getting bombs thrown at me! Jiraiyamentally screamed as he flew backwards though the air. He twisted mid-air to grab a large chunk of wall to stop himself from flying back any further. With his grip firm, he catapulted himself into the air and tucked himself in a ball. Just as he was about a meter from the ground he broke out of the ball position and into a few rolls, before jumping up into a battle stance. His right hand tightly gripped the item in the black cloth.
"It's been a while," A female voice pierced the silence. Jiraiya's grip tightened on the lengthy item and his eyes squinted in the direction of the voice.
No. No, no! It can't be? Janiya's mind raced. The clouds slightly drifted apart as a spot beam of moonlight shone across the figure. Jiraiya started in shock at the sight before him.
The moonlight shown upon a dark blue haired female with studs in her face. Her body was covered in a black cloak painted with various sized red clouds. Jiraiya could only stare.
"Hasn't it father!" her voice was icy, much like her eyes. Not able to believe what he was seeing, Jiraiya mouthed her name in utter disbelief.
"Why are you just standing there, father? Aren't you going to greet me?" She spat, taking steady steps towards him. Jiraiya snapped out of his shock and gripped the wrapped item tightly
"Why are you dressed like a member of Daybreak?" Jiraiya asked, now recognising the cloaks origins. At this, she smiled.
"I am a member of Daybreak." she whispered. Now, she only stood a few meters away from Jiraiya.
"Why are you here?" He asked, keeping one hand on one end of the wrapped item and the other hand on top of the knot in the centre of the item. Her stone face stared straight into Janiya's stern eyes.
"To kill you and the boy you harbour" She replied, one hand slipping inside her cloak.
Naruto! Janiya's mind raced. How did she know? However she knew, Jiraiya wouldn't sell the.
"I don't know who you're talking about!" Jiraiya defended. "And what makes you think I'd look after a kid after how you lot turned out?"
Konan gave a harsh laugh. "After how we turned out!? You betrayed us!" She screamed hysterically, loosing her stony façade. Jiraiya's face harden at this, anger pulsing through his body.
"I did not betray you or the boys! You acted against my will!" Jiraiya spat back.
"No! You were just too stubborn!" Konan yelled before regaining her composer composure a mere a second later. "Now where is the boy?"
"There is no boy!" Jiraiya lied. Konan closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, almost as if to prepare herself.
"Why must you lie?" She asked, almost with a hint of sorrow. "Now die!" She screamed as she whipped out two kunai and flicked them straight at her target. Immediately after, she drew her katana and dashed forward. In the same second, Jiraiya tore off the black cloth off to reveal a taichi, a blade in the same style as a katana with more length and a slightly curved edge to it. Deflecting the two kunais, he sprinted at Konan in an attempt to end it the battle quickly. Both blades collided, sparks flying as the sound of clashing metal echoed. Jiraiya pushed against Konan, using her pushing force as a spring to create some distance between them. Konan did not allow this and drove forwards, striking at Jiraiya vigorously. He was forced to take few steps back as she struck, each strike forcing Jiraiya to step back in order to keep up his defence.
Realising that she was not getting anywhere, she jumped back, releasing a volley of kunais. Jiraiya dodged the first two before deflecting the remaining blades.
Konan whipped out a small white vial and smashed it in fount of Jiraiya. Jiraiya jumped back as white smoke began to billow across the field. His battle instinct flashed in and he started spinning his blade around lighting fast in a rotation as if to fan away the smoke.
Konan stood on top of a chunk of wall that had managed to survive the explosion. In her right hand was a gleaming katana and in her left, another blade that curved the opposite way. Noticing the smoke clearing, she sprung at him, the tip of her blade leading the way. Sensing the attack, Jiraiya spun around one-eighty just as she was about to make contact, deflecting the first blade and sidestepping the second. In the next second, he grabbed the wrist of her extended arm and launched her over his shoulder.
On instinct, she flung both of her blades into the upcoming wall. The blades dug into the wall till the hilt connected. She kicked off the hilt of the blade like a spring in the direction of Jiraiya, turning mid-air to fling another rally of kunais at him with the last being equipped with a small cream and rectangular paper.
Jiraiya dodged the first few and deflected the rest like it was child's play. The sounds of clashing metal lasted for a few seconds. Then, his eyes caught onto the alarming paper attached to the final kunai. An explosive tag! His mind raced, noticing the creamy coloured paper fluttering in the wind. He had not seen one of those since the last war! And there was a good reason for it. Chakra! Jiraiya concluded. It had definitely been a while since he'd last seen chakra. He closed his eyes and searched.
Konan jumped off from the handles of her blade, pulling them out as she fell. What's he doing? She thought, noticing her father in a strange position. Her eyes focused onto her so called father farther as she observed. His eyes were closed and he stood in a wide stance with his hands forming on what looked like a... Seal! She watched as a crackle of blue energy surrounded his collapsed hands. That's what he never taught us! Anger surged through her as she started to focus the same energy into her hands before going through a string of hand gestures which needed both hands to form.
" Crane Bomb!" Konan yelled as she flung her hands one after the other in rapid succession at Jiraiya, each motion sending sparks of blue energy that burst into white cranes which dived at Jiraiya. A second away from impact, his eyes shot open and he smashed his arms into to the ground.
"Rock Wall" Jiraiya yelled. The ground in front of him shot up, creating a defensive wall between him and the attack. The paper cranes exploded into the wall, kicking up clouds of dust and debris in its wake.
Konan watched from the distant as dust started to settle down. It seemed like he hadn't used Chakra in a while. She noticed he was one knee and his breathing was rugged.
"Damn it!" He cursed as he tried to control his breath. He knew he hadn't used Chakra in a while but for it to have such an effect for a simple justu! The war veteran shook his head in disbelief. But over this, a question came to mind.
"Konan!" Jiraiya yelled, grabbing his daughter's attention. "Where did you learn to use Chakra?" He questioned. Konan stared coldly at her father.
"Definitely not from you," She spat, words drenched in anger. Jiraiya looked down at the ground in sorrow. Was this the reason why they stopped believing!? His mind questioned. But he still wanted to know.
"Who taught you?" He tried again.
"It doesn't matter," She stated and started gathering Chakra at her feet.
Realising what she was doing, Jiraiya prepared himself self. She shot at him with one katana driving forward and the other aimed towards Jiraiya at an angle. She was instantly upon him. Jiraiya sidestepped the first strike and deflected the second strike, smashing the hilt of his taichi at the back of Konan's head.
Anticipating the attack, she ducked her head, avoiding the blow by a n hairs breath before diving into a combat roll. As her roll came to the end, she jumped away from Jiraiya, turning sharply in the air. She whipped two more kunais, another white vial following close behind. He easily deflected s them like the previous ones and jumped away as the vial made contact with the ground where he previous stood. White smoke exploded into the air, covering the majority of the place. Konan plunged into it.
Jiraiya stood in a solid battle stance, several metres away from blast radius. And with no sign of Konan, he was on edge. He already noticed that her strength had increased tremendously since she was his daughter and his pupil. Many questions roamed his mind, but only two stood out from the rest: who taught her how to use Chakra, and how did she get strong enough to become a member of Daybreak, and one of the lords that commanded generals as well?
Whistling out of the smoke, several kunais covered in ghostly blue shot at Jiraiya. With little time to react, he deflected a few and dodged one by ducking his head, but grunted as one impaled itself into his mid-thigh, forcing him to drop his tachi as another skinned the side of his chest.
Back then, he could have taken an injury to several parts of his body and fight on, but due to age and the little to no use of Chakra over the years, he knew that the next attack would decide the outcome of this battle.
Jiraiya winced, gripping the kunai implanted in his leg. Blood had started to drip down his bare leg. He knew that for him to have a chance, he would need to get rid of the kunai and heal the wound to some degree. And so with the kunai in a firm grip in his right hand, he pulled it out in one stroke, screaming slightly as he did. He tossed the blade aside and looked into the wound. The wound was deep. He used to get this type of wound all the time and his master would have to heal it.
He placed his hands above the wound and focused Chakra into it, but instead of blue, the energy was a warm green. It took a few seconds, but soon the wound had closed up enough that blood had stopped dripping out. Jiraiya breathed heavily as he pulled away his hand. The wound would probably leave a scar, but the bleeding had stopped and his thigh was now numb. His breath was rugged; the next attack would most likely end his life.
"Any last words father?" Jiraiya heard the remark and looked up to Konan with an angered face.
"I only wished that you didn't become such a failure!" He yelled. Jiraiya shot out his right hand, palm facing skywards, and summoned Chakra. As the seconds went by, a small pea sized sphere of pulsing blue appeared and grew large enough to fit his palm. The sphere had such power and force that it blew away the air around it.
"Time to teach you a lesson girl!" Jiraiya yelled as he ran straight towards Konan with only the chakra sphere in his palm.
Emotionless, Konan went through a chain of several seals. At this point, Jiraiya was halfway the distance from her. "Hawk's arrow!" She whispered. Thousands of pieces of pure white origami paper burst into the air, forming a hurricane which spun into a meter long arrow of pure white which shot straight at Jiraiya. Jiraiya, having nothing but the pulsing sphere in hand, charged forward, hoping to move the arrow with the pulsing orb.
"Rasengan!" Jiraiya yelled as the sphere and the arrow collided.
Jiraiya pushed, on giving the ball of energy all the strength he could muster. Blue and white clashed, each fighting fiercely to gain control. Shit! Ten second in, Jiraiya started to give out, blood spilling from his lips, the wound in his thigh beginning to gush with blood. His mind started to blank out, drifting in and out of darkness, and then, all he saw was white. Looks like it's the end... I'm sorry Naruto... the three of you... I... I just… wasn't good enough...
The collision of the weapons caused an explosion, releasing a blinding a white light, consuming Jiraiya. Konan watched as the arrow destroyed her father's futile attempt for survival, a lone tear for her father falling down her cheek. She closed her eyes as a few more tears rolled down her emotionless face. Konan opened her eyes again, and several meters away, laid the battered corpse of a man who she once knew as her father. She turned away, wiping the streaks of tears dry.
Hoof beats slowly approached her.
"Should we chase after the boy?" The horseman asked.
"No, the boy will come to us." Konan ordered, turning away from her men and walking slowly across yard of her now late father's home and into the forest on in which she had started her attack. Tears fell heavily across her face. Stupid man...Why could you not see that peace shan't be found in this world...
***/***/***/***
"Finally!" the fox breathed.
Naruto, in his newfound an animalistic state, pounced on the demonic fox, his thoughts only on damaging his opponent. Naruto pushed toward with intense force, his own outstretched claws clashing against the foxes. With Naruto attacking in mid-air and the fox defending with his back paws in the ground, he the fox had the upper advantage. The fox pushed harder, forcing Naruto to fly back.
Just as his feet touched the ground, he kicked off again, dashing at his opponent at inhuman speeds. Naruto raised his claws for another strike, which the fox dodged by jumping back. With a roar, Naruto pounced at the fox, swiping in blind rage. He swiped left and right, trying to make contact. The fox simply jumped away from each strike. This exchange went on for several minutes. Growing tired of the simple game of evasion, the fox jumped back several meters away from Naruto.
Naruto looked up. His eyes were no longer the pure blue but a sinned white. Naruto gave a loud roar which shattered the harsh winds. As he screamed, he held up his hands, palms facing the sky with his back arched backwards. A small ball of orange appeared into the air in front of him and in a matter of seconds, this small ball of orange grew into a blindingly large ball of orange energy about the size of Naruto himself. In the next second, dashed at the fox with intense speed, holding the energy in his right hand.
The demonic fox's aura started to dance around him violently.
"Attack me boy!" The fox boomed, dashing at toward Naruto head on.
Just as Naruto got within a meter of the fox, he roared as he drove forward. This was mirrored by the fox as they both roared in sync. And in half a second, both forces collided with maximum force.
A giant ball of white erupted, eating both of them whole.
***/***/***
Hinata only stared as she watched Naruto get engulfed by the mysterious orange flame. Her tears had stopped a while ago and she could only watched in awe as the orange cloak around Naruto tamed itself into a fox's avatar. What was happening? She, being a Peacemaker herself, should have seen something like this before, but she hadn't and so questions collided in her mind. Some of worry; some of anxiety.
"Looks like the boy really is a one of us..." Lily answered, reading her partner's thoughts.
Hinata wiped the wet tears away, only leaving her face stained with the dried ones. A small smile formed upon her face as she finished wiping the wet tears. Her partner's statement may not have answered all her questions but at least gave some reassurance for the girl.
An instant later the smile transformed into a confused look, causing her to look down at the small panther which sat patiently on the branch besides her.
The panther knew what was happening but realised that her partner didn't. She may not have wanted to speak about it before, but with the questioning look her partner gave, she knew she would have too. "His fox spirit is taking over..." Lily sighed. The questioning look than instantly transformed into a panicked one.
"What's going to happen to Naruto?" Hinata asked, not liking how that sounded.
"Don't worry kit, the fox knows what he's doing," she replied immediately in an attempt to set her Hinata's mind at ease. "Let's just watch this plays out," Lily finished, averting her eyes back to the fight. Worried, Hinata also turned her attention back to the fight.
***/***/***
Well done…Peacemaker… The fox mentally praised as he skidded backwards due to the aftermath of the explosion. Now that he finally stopped moving from the force, he dug his claws out of the ground, keeping his eyes on his bleeding partner who sat slumped against a tree trunk. His body was no longer in a fox's avatar state and his hair as well as his cloak was covered in a sticky crimson liquid.
The fox cleared the distance between him and the boy, picking up Naruto's katana with his teeth as he did. Droping the blade in front of the boy, he bent down so that his snout lightly grazed Naruto's head. A very thin layer of the ghostly crimson cloak which Naruto previously wore when in his avatar state, shot around his body before disappearing in the same second it appeared.
"You passed, boy!" The fox whispered.
Now to tend to our spectators… The fox thought turning towards the distant trees in the far end of the clearing from him.
"You can come out now…Panther!" The fox growled. He knew they had been watching the ritual from the beginning and did not like it. The choosing ritual should have been a thing of secrecy and he knew that the one hiding in the bush knew as well.
The wind howled, covering the softer sound of rustling leaves, but with the fox being a beast of myth, it had little effect. The fox glared in the direction of the bushes but waited patiently for the watchers to appear. A minute or two later, a small white panther popped out, followed by an ebony haired girl.
"Why the hell have you been trailing me!" the fox growled at the panther as she made her way towards him, clearly unfazed, although the same could not be said about her partner.
Hinata's eyes widened as she noticed Naruto's still body slumped by a tree. Naruto! She instantly ran pass her partner, towards the blond boy. The fox just kept his eyes on the panther in front of him, realising that the girl was only worried about his partner and would cause no harm.
"We're supposed to find each other according to the prophecy, so me tracking you down should not really be an issue," Lily replied, stopping a meter away from the angered fox. The fox let out another growl.
"That still does not give you the right to watch my choosing ritual…" The fox stated.
"Yes but we would not have to if you stopped running away every time you sensed my presence," Lilly answered. The fox growled one last time before shrinking down to the same level as panther.
"So, did the boy pass?" Lilly asked, not entirely sure. The fox gave her a sly grin.
"The kid's almost as sly as me, but it seems like he was riding on lady luck when we fought," The fox stated. "But he does have some skill, which is not really surprising considering who his teacher is," The fox added. This spiked up Lily's curiosity. Only people who had fought during the Great War and the imperial soldiers would have known how to fight with swords. The only warriors who would actually teach him would be the survivors of the Great War. To Lily, it was a mystery and she didn't like it.
"Who is his teacher?" Lily questioned, determined to find out. The fox gave a slight chuckle.
"You're going to meet him." Lily may not have liked his answer, but she knew how the fox was and chose not to push on.
The fox then turned his attention to the girl which the Lily arrived with. Lily noticed this.
"So how do you like my partner?" Lily asked, amused slightly. But he ignored her questions and took gave more attention to the girl's eyes. Hyuga?
"Fox, why do you look so surprised?" Lily questioned, taking notice to his expression.
"The girl…" The fox started "…Is she from the Hyuga clan?" the kitsune asked, not moving his stare away from her.
Lily knew that he would have found out eventually, but she'd hoped it wouldn't be so soon.. She sighed.
"Yes she is…." Lilly said, trailing off. "I'm guessing you realised from her eyes?" The panther questioned. The fox scoffed.
"Anyone could tell. How many people you would see with iris-less lavender eyes?" The fox questioned to emphasize his point.
"Hopefully she is not a member of the main family?" The fox turned back to the girl and her interaction with the sleeping Naruto, leaving the panther in deep thought.
***/***/***
When his eyes opened, he saw a blurry image of black and a creamy white looming over him.
"Glad you're awake," A familiar voice said, causing him to blink away the blurriness rapidly and rub at his eyes. His eyes were wide as saucers when he realized who was kneeling in front of him.
"Hinata?" Naruto questioned.
"How are you feeling Naruto?" She asked, her voice filled with concern. Why's she asking me if I'm feeling alright?
"I'm feeling fine…" Naruto said uneasily, still wondering why she would ask that. And then it hit him.
Seeing that his partner had finally come to, the fox made his way over to Naruto and the girl.
"You're finally awake," The fox stated, his voice calm. Naruto eyes widened and instantly jumped up in fount of Hinata, facing the direction in which the voice came from. There, in front of him stood a fox slightly taller than his knees. His eyes where an unnatural crimson red and his white belly fur marked with a diagonal scar which covered the length of its belly.
"You're the fox from last night!" Naruto yelled out, pointing an accusing finger at it and in a second his accusing look turned to one of a confused one. "Wait, how come you're so small now?" Naruto questioned before coming to another realisation which was portrayed by the shocked look on his face. "You can talk!"
The fox was starting to get really annoyed with the boy and decided that there was only one solution to shut the boy up. Hinata and Naruto may have watched the same scene before them but both had a completely different expression from each other. Hinata had a calm expression which was the complete opposite to Naruto's shocked state. Naruto stared in surprise, his mouth wide open.
From an average sized foe to an unnaturally huge fox, the fox which Naruto faced the night before now stood in front of them.
"Silence boy!" The fox roared, "There's a lot you need to know and so you're going to shut it till I say so," The fox ordered. Naruto just started the fox back in the face.
"Hold on a minute. Yesterday you tried to kill me and now to you want to have a peaceful chat around the camp fire?!" Naruto questioned, clearly bewildered by the idea of talking to a creature that almost killed him not only five hours ago. Naruto, being fed up with the fox, turned to leave before realising a certain item was not clinging to his jacket as it usually was. His eyes darted around looking for it.
"Naruto, is this what you're looking for?" Hinata asked, holding his blade with its sheath out to him. Naruto nodded, giving her a thankful smile.
"Thanks Hinata," He said, taking the item from her hands before tying it back to his jacket.
"Naruto!" A new voice called out to him. He turned around to face a small panther which was the same size that the fox was before he grew into his big form.
"You can talk too!" Naruto burst out. "What's going on and who are you?" Naruto questioned, now getting really frustrated. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Naruto," Hinata began, "I think it would be best if you sat down."
***/***/***/***
WHOH! It has been a while hehe… But I was kind of busy and yes I know that's no excuse for an almost 4 months over due date but what can you do. I'll try to have the second chapter uploaded in a 3 month time period but those of you have read my other fics would probably guess that it will most likely not go to plan and if that is the case then I apologise in advance. Hopefully this chapter lives up to your expectations.
Special thanks to my beta reader swanfrost. Absolutely love his/hers work!
Oh yeah, please Review, Subscribe and Rave coz your support will contribute to faster chapters…. Only joking but please support. Till next time….
Peace out!
Shadowknight1998