* break *
DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.
NOTE: Bit of a fusion with Umi No Misaki, a little (one character) from World Of Warcraft.
* break *
Spiral Dragon, part three: Keri's Encounter
expanded 5/6/18
* break *
Konohagakure, Hiryu Shrine:
She sat, legs folded tailor-fashion, in the shrine offices. The decor was simple and functional, and might have been almost any small business office decorated in a Japanese style mostly circa the Edo period. If you excused the fuuinjutsu, the naginata over the door, the daisho on display on top of the filing cabinet that contained tax information, the shelf of books that ranged in subject from small business management to chakra theory to beginner's art books, the glowing sphere hanging in mid-air above a stand and a note that read "Do Not Touch. This especially means you, Naruto."
Willow-bark tea steeped in an iron kettle on the small stove between two filing cabinets (the taxes and receipts one and the one dedicated to customs and laws) the scent of which hung in the air.
She was genuinely trying to do this 'Shrine Maiden' job, which was the local Priest class as she understood it. Priest, Holy or Discipline spec, she guessed though Shadow would fit in with the ninja a bit more.
It was bound to be difficult in some respects. There were some differences between her prior existence and this one, some subtle. Others not subtle at all. A few that were not able to find subtle with a Find The Path spell.
As Keristrasza she'd been in the service of Alexstrasza and an Aspect of the Red Dragonflight. The reds were, unlike those she'd heard about from those D&D universes, noble guardians of life and sacred sites. Things had gone well in her fight, until Malygos had turned everything completely wrong that is. She'd died, and without the help of someone entirely outside the set of universes that included Azeroth and the Scourge - that would have been that. Since one such HAD gotten involved, here she was.
Shapechanging to human form was not entirely comfortable. She felt constrained in some respects. Though her strength and physical durability were less than in her full form - they remained considerably higher than was normal for even trained ninja. Likewise her chakra, different from but similar to the mana of her previous form, was also quite developed.
Keri was simply concentrating on breathing for now. An old meditative and focus exercise, and it would avail her well now. Get back to basics, and everything else would fall into place. This needed to be done frequently as the various changes had left her a bit out-of-sorts.
Keri winced as her wards were disturbed. Six intruders, with only two bothering to approach openly. All six bore strong taints. If this had been Azeroth, they'd likely be servants of the Lich-King or the Scourge or some such. Here the enemies didn't necessarily declare themselves so handily.
Wards written in this world's fuuinjutsu were handy at least. You could incorporate intent into the warding lines.
"Fuss and bother," said Keri to the empty meditation room. "The tea was almost ready."
Well, she'd just have to finish before it got cold again.
* break *
Fortune Beach:
"What's happening with my clones?" asked Naruto of himself, attempting to dive deep and converse with the fox.
Instead he found himself in the cave he'd met the dragon in, with the lettering engraved in the walls pulsing with a weak glow. First one section would fade into flickering light, then those would fade and another section would flicker into life.
"Okay, this is different," said Naruto to the empty room. "I thought I was going to visit the fox."
The room didn't answer. The current section that had a silvery phospherence faded out to be replaced with a section that had a nice orange glow to it.
Naruto settled down and tried again.
* break *
Konohagakure, Hiryu Shrine:
Two approached openly down the main path.
One hid atop the Kaguraden (stage for sacred dances) off to the left of the central walkway.
One was stationed behind the water fountain used for ablutions near the Kaguraden.
Two on the roof to the Haiden, which was the outer shrine that held the temple bells and offering box.
None had stopped at the water fountain and actually used it. None had come the proper way up the stairs. None had bothered to give an offering. None had so much as glanced at the shrines or statues as far as she could tell. Which was a pity as she thought she'd done some rather first-class work on those.
Keri took the teapot off the flame, giving the cup a wistful look. "Always happens when you're bathing or setting down to a meal." THAT part hadn't changed. Truly had the magician Murphy of Goldshire nailed that observation of the multiverse's workings.
The door shuffed open.
"You, woman. You need to come with us," demanded the masked nin.
"No," said Keri.
"Are you blind, we're ANBU," said one of the masked nin. "You are only here on the Hokage's suffrance and the Hokage demands your presence."
"No, you're not," said Keri. "You're ROOT. Danzo's little soldiers. I knew about you by the end of the first day here. Seriously, Konoha's internal security and information-gathering are sub-par."
The two in the doorway went still. The four concealed ones were already still but tensed slightly.
"Amateurs," muttered Keri, shaking her head.
"ROOT was disbanded years ago," said the one who had spoken earlier.
"ROOT went underground," said Keri, rolling her eyes. "I imagine that pun has already been done to death though. Don't bother me, I won't bother you. Is that simple enough for your boss to understand?"
"How dare you make such accusations?" asked the first, reaching for a kunai.
"I suppose a demonstration of power is needed just so you leave me alone," said Keri, shaking her head. "Pity though. My apologies to the families of those who pass on."
"What are you..." began the speaker for the group.
Keri just made a pass in the air, except that the air glowed briefly in a trail left by that hand.
The two ninja that were on the roof of the Haiden screamed briefly and then fell as lightning flared up from the ornamental lions at either end of the roof.
"Fuuinjutsu!" concluded the visible one who hadn't spoken earlier as he saw two of his fellows land on the ground, a thin trail of smoke marking where they'd come from.
Keri shrugged. "It has its uses. Listen up. I'll offer you the same offer I made the Hokage. You don't interfere with me, I don't interfere with you. My sole reason for being here is for the sake of my 'cousin' - Naruto Uzumaki. Mess with him, mess with me, and I mess with you. Invade the village or something like that, and I will rise up and trust me boyos - you don't want that."
A kunai was thrown at her, it struck her directly in the forehead. It bounced off to the side, making a brief clatter in the silence following that attack.
Keri favored the thrower with a very disappointed look. The two ninja on the ground stopped moving.
The speaker looked at the kunai then back at her. "Monster!"
"Child," said Keri to the speaker. "You have NO idea."
* break *
Mindscape:
"How should I know, brat?" rumbled the Kyubi.
"It isn't your doing?" asked Naruto, not entirely believing it.
"Idiot! You're a dragon now! What do I know about dragons?"
"Oh," said Naruto simply.
"Yes. 'Oh.'" The Kyubi sniffed around the bars of his prison. "I finally get a host worthy of my power, not a weak fleshbag, and he's an idiot amongst his kind. What did I do to deserve this karma?"
"Kill lots of innocent people?" asked Naruto.
"It's what I do. Natural as breathing is to you." The fox paused though, the usual angry expression turning momentarily thoughtful.
"Well, if you don't know, how the heck do I figure it out?" asked Naruto.
"No clue. Not my problem. Go away. My soap operas are starting."
"Eh?" asked Naruto, having heard something unexpected. Naruto peered through the bars of the cage and discovered there was a huge television there. Also a scratching post the size of a building. Was that an oversized pet bed?
A dark chuckle echoed through the cavern before Naruto abruptly found himself shoved out.
"Ah, I wonder if Etsuko will realize that Midori is sleeping with Kennosuke who is actually Sachiko who is a kitsune running about sowing chaos and mischief. Damn these things are addictive."
* break *
Fortune Beach:
Jimo swore as he settled down in the tavern. Nice little place this was. Beach town well away from Konohagakure.
He was safe here.
Only dragons around were the fictional legendary kind and he was quite happy to keep them fictional and legendary and not bloody well EATING HIS TEAM! Now he had to find more missing-nin to replace them.
What a bother.
* break *
Somewhere under Konohagakure:
Danzo looked down at the survivors of his little group. "Do you care to explain why you attacked her instead of just sounding out this mysterious priestess?"
"She doesn't intimidate, Danzo-sama," answered that heavily bandaged ninja.
"You're saying that one civilian shrine-priestess did this?" asked Danzo.
"She's a monster, Danzo-sama," answered the least injured of the group. "She's not human."
Danzo considered this briefly. Maybe he should visit in person? That way he could see exactly what he was dealing with. He'd known she wasn't a simple priestess just from the reports of the Hokage's interest. Everything he'd turned up since then had only reinforced that.
Or maybe he could just send Homura and Koharu. A comment or two speculating about the Hokage's interest in the woman should have the two investigating in short order.
At which point a shadow that shouldn't have been there moved.
Danzo just KNEW he wouldn't like this. "Why am I surrounded by incompetents?"
"Because you want loyalty more than intelligence or adaptiveness," said the woman as she stepped out of the shadows.
Naturally, two of his ROOT members launched themselves at her. She was almost casual, no, she WAS casual as she backhanded the two into unconsciousness.
"Is there a reason you tracked me down and assault my personnel?" asked Danzo, reaching out with the powers of a particular eye to influence this young woman.
"Yes, and trying to control me IS what is annoying," said the shrine priestess. "Stop it, Danzo. I know about ROOT. What's more to the point - I don't care."
Danzo frowned as he dropped the technique. "What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly that," said the shrine maiden. "Don't bother me, I won't bother you. My agreement with the Hokage is that I will help defend this village from outside threats, but take no hand in your politics unless my cousin is threatened."
"I see," said Danzo. "What exactly are you?"
"The head priestess of the Hiryu Shrine," said Keri.
"I'm sure," said Danzo after a moment. Whatever or whoever she was, she would bear keeping an eye on. However, he was going to make sure that the minions knew this was a do-not-approach duty. If she became a problem, he would deal with her then.
As it was, he knew he couldn't influence her with a Sharingan and her skills had to be considerable. He also noted that the two on the floor were not dead but were quite definitely unconscious. So, someone he could possibly make deals with, as long as he was careful.
* BREAK *
"Screw this," said Naruto eventually, deciding that he was NOT in a restful meditative mood and also NOT accomplishing anything. "I need to train."
Most of the buildings in Fortune Beach were low-built, two floors at most. There was a small cluster of buildings that were taller, but even those topped out at four floors in height.
Naruto quickly found himself on the roof of one of those, pondering the building across the street, and debating the wisdom of a little late-night monster hunting as training to see if THAT burned off some nervous energy.
(Shuff!) went a nearby window.
Naruto naturally turned towards the sound and found himself looking at a short-haired girl. Who had just opened the window. And was currently naked. And staring back at him.
"Okay," admitted Naruto aloud. "I wasn't expecting that."
The girl in question unfroze and started screaming about perverts.
By the time she looked again, Naruto had chosen a different location to brood at.
* break *
"Peeper! Ecchi! Hentai!" yelled Karin out the window.
"What is it now?" asked a much younger girl with glasses as she came out of the bathroom.
"There was some kid in orange on that roof! Neenee, he was totally peeping on me!" exclaimed Karin, pointing.
"You're naked," pointed out Rinne Nagumo.
"Yes! He saw me naked!" agreed Karin.
"And you didn't draw the curtains and you're standing in front of an open window," pointed out Rinne.
"I..." began Karin. She considered that, considered the window, considered that she was still naked. "WAGH!"
Rinne went over to the window and drew the curtains. "Such a troublesome sister."
"Uhm, well," said Karin as she tried to dress quickly and got her shirt on inside-out.
"Orange?" asked Rinne as something occurred to her. "I wonder..."
* break *
Naruto came to a stop near the shoreline, wondering why women seemed to give Sasuke the benefit of any doubt but not him. Just another area where life was totally unfair.
"Damn it, I need answers!" yelled Naruto at the waves.
"That would depend on the question."
Naruto blinked and looked around, seeing a small lizard who seemed to be watching the moon. "Excuse me?"
"Fine," said the lizard, spreading wings briefly. "You're excused."
"You're that big dragon," realized Naruto. "Except you're small."
"Obvious, isn't it?"
"Why are you here?" asked Naruto.
"Checking out this dragon cult," said the miniaturized dragon. "It seems a bit odd."
"Oh. How'd you get so small?" asked Naruto.
"The spell 'Reduce' halves your size. If you cast it twice on yourself, you become one-quarter your original size. I had to cast it a bit more than twice but it is easier to observe things this way."
"Wow, that'd be handy," realized Naruto. Since he was over fifty feet long in that form, he was definitely an outdoorsy sort of dragon when he was a dragon.
"Yes, hard to observe anything if the natives are reacting as if you were Godzilla or some such. The whole screaming-and-running thing. Say what you will about dragons in our majestic natural form, but low-profile doesn't exactly fit. You do have that ability, by the way."
"I do?" asked Naruto.
"The spells, or jutsu, you can perform through draconic magic are simple ones. They include Reduce and Enlarge at your current age level. Enlarge doubles your size, by the way."
"That sounds interesting," mused Naruto, thinking of potential uses for both.
"Draconic magic of that sort renews itself daily. At your current growth, you can deplete your reservoir of that magic by casting such a spell up to four times. So, by using that magic four times - you could go from fifty four feet (you're still growing you know) to roughly three feet and a third."
"Oh," said Naruto. "So, do you know what's going on with my shadow clones?"
"'Shadow clones'?"
"Yeah, they're acting weird and doing stuff," complained Naruto.
"'Stuff'?"
"Yeah," acknowledged Naruto.
"Hasn't Keri told you anything?"
"Not much," said Naruto.
"Child, you must learn and unlock your abilities on your own. I have other concerns and matters that dominate my attention. You are now the Dragon of Prophesy, but even so there are many ninja whose power outstrips your own."
"I don't have a freakin' manual now, do I?" asked Naruto, getting peeved.
"The lettering in the cave? Hello? Why didn't you use your Comprehend Languages ability?"
"Compreh... I got that?"
Naruto was treated to the sight of an ancient (though miniature-sized) dragon beating his head against a large rock. The rock splintered on the first such strike and just began powdering at the point of impact thereafter.
"Child. You are a dragon. Your chakra is more dense and powerful than a human's chakra," explained the mini-dragon after he'd gotten that out of his system. "You also have more of it than a human normally does. Of course you're not going to get the standard results out of a jutsu. That isn't even going into the prisoner sealed away in your belly currently watching soap operas."
"So..."
"So your shadow clones being copies of your human form share the toughness, uprated strength, and increased stamina of that form. It takes a very solid hit to dispel one. Also, because of the potency of your chakra, there are going to be side-effects. It will take you some time yet before you fully assimilate being a dragon. I suspect many of your problems of this nature will pass at that point. Fare thee well, little dragon."
"Wait! You're just leaving?" asked Naruto as the little dragon began fading out. "I still got questions!"
"Keri will have many of the answers you seek. The lair you have fashioned from my former prison will provide others. I suspect the dragon cult has a few as well, which is something for me to check myself. This is now your story, hatchling. Oh, and remember that when you choose to imbue a mate and give her your Heart - you'll be weakened for at least a week while you recover."
"What?" asked Naruto. "Mate?"
The dragon spread its wings and flew off, fading further as it did so. Then it was gone.
"Crap," said Naruto, considering what to do. It sounded like the answers he needed were back in Konoha. In the meantime, he had this mission.
* break *
"Innkeep!" demanded Alain, who was considering a namechange as his name under the service of Jashin (Satsubatsu) did NOT roll off the tongue as he'd hoped.
"Yeah?" asked the hotel keeper, who was less than thrilled with the fellow already.
"I doth require thy finest room," said Alain.
"The 'No Vacancy' sign 'doth' be lit," said the guy at the front desk.
"Then hurl some base-born knave into the street that the noble servant of Jashin be moved into that room," demanded Alain.
The guy at the front desk pointed at the 'No Murder Cultists Allowed' sign.
"What?" asked Alain, noting that said sign was directly under one that proclaimed that 'Ganking Is Not Allowed' and that apparently 'You Break/Slay/Possess/Destroy It, You Pay For It.' "What manner of low-class establishment hath thou here?"
The man behind the front desk finished jotting something out and then revealed it was a new sign.
'The Management Reserves The Right To Refuse Service To Anyone. Especially Cultist Assassins, Those Who Traffic With Especially Unnatural Things, and Idiots.'
"Fie on thee," said Alain. He'd have to watch his sister from a distance it appeared. Well enough, he'd find someplace a little more upclass than this dump.
* break *
The storm hit around 2am.
Winds gusted to about 45mph and were coming off the water. The rain itself was fairly hard, causing Naruto to close the windows to their room as he settled in for the night.
Sasuke awoke once during the first rumbling crash of thunder, but then turned over and fell asleep again immediately.
Naruto found something oddly comforting in the storm, and so left the window ajar but with a bit of ninja-wire across it tied to a small bell. Just in case.
It felt comforting somehow to trap their lair, if just a temporary lair.
Naruto finally slept, and dreamed of blue clear skies and leathern wings.
Sakura shivered at the change in temperatures and got up to shut the window.
"Whew, you my roomie?" asked someone as she came in from the hallway.
"You're another contestant?" asked Sakura.
"Yes," said the woman, cocking a hip and grinning. "They pair up one from Junior division and one from Adult to save on space. I'm Anko Mitarashi, by the way."
"Sakura Haruno," said Sakura, eyeing the woman and glad she didn't have to compete. "No relation to the Haruno family from the Village Of Wild Women. At least I hope not. With a name like that..."
"Eh, they're actually fairly tame," said Anko with a shrug. "By my standards at least."
"You got in just in time," said Sakura, going back to her bed and flopping down to sit on it. "Sounds pretty bad out there."
"I've been in worse," said Anko, without elaborating further.
Insane laughter wafted in on the breeze.
Sakura twitched. "What was that?"
* break *
"No idea," said Anko, who then grinned. "Sounds like this year's contest will be more interesting than last year's."
Shizune frowned out at the night. "My lady?"
"Whatever that was, it wasn't human," said Tsunade, in her "middle school age" form. She quickly went through a set of hand-seals. "Summoning."
A brief puff of smoke heralded the arrival of a slug the size of her arm. "You rang?"
"I need some surveillance," said Tsunade, nodding towards the window. "Preferably without breaking my cover."
"Hiding from debtors again?" asked Katsuyu, managing to sound quite long-suffering.
"Never mind that," said Tsunade.
"Very well," said Katsuyu, rippling in a shrug-equivelant before exiting out the window.
"Katsuyu isn't very fast," noted Shizune.
Tsunade waited until Katsuyu had divided and sent her copies out further. "Yes, but if there's something out there - the rain won't bother her and the smaller copies can be easily overlooked in these conditions."
Anko ignored the peasant girl behind her, whose breathing had gradually slowed to a sleeping pace. Then she took a drop of fluid from one vial to put on a piece of cloth, then applied that drop to directly under the girl's nose. The pinkette stirred but didn't awaken, now thoroughly asleep due to the drug.
Satisfied with that, Anko went through the girl's bags, disabling the trap with a smirk. When she ran across the forehead protector, she simply shook her head once, then started putting everything back as she'd found it.
So, a Leaf genin, probably on her first undercover mission, mused Anko. Oh, can I have some fun with this setup. Too bad Kurenai couldn't make it.
Sakura chose that moment to start snoring.
After putting her kunai back where she'd hidden them, Anko forced herself to relax and look back out at the rain. The occasional flash of lightning illuminated darn little.
That laugh... hadn't sounded human. Too high pitched, too loud, too "off" for what would be a human throat.
Yup, this year looked to be interesting. Without Kurenai to compete against, she just might win this year too.
* break *
The storm moved on just before dawn, in those odd moments when all was still dark but the faint brightening of the horizon promised the new day.
Just after dawn, the destruction was discovered. Two electrical poles, three downed trees, a washed up rowboat that had teeth marks scoring the wood, and one hotel room.
"Which room was it?"
"222! Window was smashed in, both girls are missing."
"Oh fuss and bother."
"Nobody heard anything?"
"In THAT storm? Not a chance."
Sakura woke up at the first yell, checked to make sure her bags hadn't been disturbed, then listened in. Her roomie was apparently still asleep. And smelling of strong drink.
Sakura WANTED to investigate. Unfortunately, she had her orders. Maintaining cover meant she could investigate - but not obviously and not going into detail.
A young non-ninja girl who might be a little stronger than the average farmhand - that was her cover.
"Hey, 'average farmgirl'?" asked Anko. "You up to a little morning run?"
"Run?" asked Sakura.
"Yeah, got to keep in shape," said Anko. "Swimsuit competition."
"Ah, right," said Sakura, nodding.
Anko nodded at the girl before they got ready. That a brisk run around the town would allow her to see what other damage might have been done - and torment the younger kunoichi - well, it was nice to combine tasks and get them all done at once, wasn't it?
* break *
Tsunade slept. It was still early yet.
That left Shizune to investigate. Fortunately, she was just a competitor in the beach contest, nobody knew who she was.
"Shizune?"
"Kakashi?" asked Shizune.
Kakashi left the rubble-filled room to meet the kunoichi in the hallway. "What are you..."
"I'm just a contestant in the contest," said Shizune, using a quick set of hand-signals to indicate 'Undercover' and 'Hiding.'
"Ah, that explains it," said Kakashi, using a quick hand-signal for 'Talk Later.' "I'm here with a genin team to protect civilians like yourself."
"Did a good job last night," said Shizune, taking a glance back at the room.
"The rain made things difficult," admitted Kakashi. "My team is not very experienced and lacks special senses or sensory jutsu that can overcome a downpour like that. At the moment." ANBU hand sign: first C-Rank, raw genin.
"I'm sure the two girls who were killed here find that so much comfort," said Shizune. ANBU hand sign: acknowledged.
"Actually, they're still alive," Kakashi said.
"How can you tell?" asked Shizune.
"Ninja secret," said Kakashi, smiling behind his mask.
* break *
"So... you can track by scent?" asked Sasuke as he ran along the roofs.
"Sorta kinda," admitted Naruto as he leapt to another roof. "Not real well though, and the trail ends right at the window. Not enough to tell much. Eyesight's better than sense of smell."
"An Inuzuka could have tracked despite the rain," pointed out Sasuke as they both landed on the same roof and ran across it before leaping to the next.
"I ain't an Inuzuka," said Naruto, a little testily. "It ain't like I got training in the whole sniff-track stuff either, you know."
Sasuke smirked. "So what are we looking for?"
"You forgot?" asked Naruto, stumbling slightly on landing.
"No, but you were such a dobe in the Academy I thought you might have," said Sasuke.
"Ha freaking ha," said Naruto. "We're looking for any further areas that might have been shielded from the rain and checking for their scent. That'd give us a direction."
"And if they changed direction after leaving this village?" asked Sasuke.
"Footprints in the mud or other tracks," finished Naruto. "Third year Academy stuff."
"You actually remember the third year? I'm impressed - your kekkei genkai actually put a brain in there. Somewhere."
"Screw you, teme."
* break *
If Shizune is here, then Tsunade is here, pondered Kakashi as he left the crime-scene to catch up with his two students. He was quite aware of Naruko, reformed and changed a little, leaping nearby.,
"Why that outfit?" asked Kakashi eventually.
"Why not?" asked Naruko.
"Yesterday you were showing a lot more skin," said Kakashi, "but actually the armor isn't bad."
"Eh, well, we're monster-hunting aren't we?" asked Naruko, tapping the armor covering one forearm. "I wouldn't want to wear a good swimsuit when we're hunting something that might get monster slobber on it."
"You're worried about ruining your clothes?" asked Kakashi.
"Don't make a lot of money, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruko, pouting slightly.
"Where'd you get that anyway? Is there a ninja-armorer in town?" asked Kakashi after a few moments. It was clearly designed for ease of movement and so left the joints mostly vulnerable. On the other hand it combined leather and metal plates in such a way as to provide surfaces which could take a pretty good hit.
"There is, but I can't afford much. Nah, this is something Aunt Keri had packed in a scroll," said Naruko, this time tapping the breastplate. "I think this is a subtle way of saying she doesn't approve of the Oiroke."
"Ah," said Kakashi. "Well, at ten we have a meeting we've got to attend, so let's try to wrap up by then."
* break *
Naruto lightly landed on the ground, landing directly behind Sasuke. A moment later his femme-clone and Kakashi were both standing there as well. Not that he was paying as much attention at that point.
"Yo! Shizuku!" yelled Naruto, waving his hand and grinning.
The girl in question stared at him for a moment.
"Don't speak to her so flippantly!" yelled another of the three girls.
"Eh?" asked Naruto. "Aren't you the girl..."
"What?" asked the short-haired girl angrily.
"N-nothing," said Naruto realizing that maybe reminding her...
"THE PERVERT!" yelled the short-haired girl, pointing at him and kicking the anger up a notch.
"I see," said the glasses-wearing girl, moving forward.
Naruto was aware of his team moving away, observing but also not sure what was going on.
"I don't know you," said Shizuku, looking away from Naruto.
The glasses-wearing girl took a stance directly in front of Naruto and frowned at him.
"...I don't get it," said Naruto, looking around at the crowd. The contest officials and some civilians looked back and didn't give him a clue as to what was going on.
"So please, don't talk to me," said Shizuku, still turned away.
"But..." said Naruto, taking a step past the glasses-wearing girl to protest.
"You..." growled the short-haired girl, also starting forward.
Naruto realized there was a problem when the glasses-wearer grabbed his arm and shoved it into an armlock position behind his back. "Huh? Hey!"
"Don't you be so disrespectful..." began the glasses-wearer.
Naruto flexed and forced his arm out of the position it was in and then casually broke the grip. The look he turned on the now-startled glasses-wearer was not amused. "Don't YOU be so disrespectful."
"Eh, ma ma," said Kakashi with a little placating gesture. "I know he doesn't look like much, and he acts as if there's vaccuum where his brain should be, but Naruto is a ninja."
"Gee thanks," muttered Naruto.
"It's really not a good idea to start a fight with one if you can avoid it," continued Kakashi.
"He must be more formidable than he looks," said the glasses-wearer, rubbing her forearm.
"He would have to be," said the short-haired girl, who apparently decided to hold off on punishing perverts.
"Very interesting," said one of the old women in the crowd, staring at Naruto for a few moments.
* break *
Sakura gasped and leaned against a post as her "jogging partner" went to a set of stretches.
"Not bad, kid," said Anko as she bent over double in a position Sakura found it hurt just to see. "Though I hear those ninja up in the Leaf Village can do a LOT better."
"Oh, really?" wheezed Sakura.
"Oh yeah," said Anko, now standing on one leg while she pointed her other leg skyward. "That's what I hear."
"Well, good thing I'm just an ordinary farmgirl," muttered Sakura.
"Don't forget to shower and primp up some before the photographs today," said Anko, currently standing on her hands while her legs were arranged in a straight line that paralleled the ground.
"Photos?" asked Sakura.
"Yeah, photo shoot is today," said Anko, now standing on her hands with both feet crossed behind her neck. "We'll also need to state what we're doing for the talent portion."
"There's a 'talent portion'?" asked Sakura.
"Yeah," said Anko, doing a quick set of pull-ups. "What you got?"
"Uhm, I'm not sure," said Sakura, catching her breath and not even looking at the painful pose the older woman was holding.
"Well, last year, Nai-chan sang and I did a snake-dance," said Anko from a position that Sakura considered anatomically impossible. "Nai-chan isn't here this year, so maybe I ought to come up with something else."
"I'll have to think about it," said Sakura.
* break *
"So anyway, these are the three priestesses, who will officially open and close the contest," said Yae Nagumo.
The three genin (or two and a shadow clone) and Kakashi nodded at the three girls in the shrine priestess outfits.
"Those outfits are different than the ones at the shrine back home," noted Naruto.
"Which shrine is that?" asked the old woman, all but visibly pouncing.
"The 'Hiryu Shrine'," answered Naruko.
All three priestesses and the old woman visibly reacted to that, with the old woman chuckling and the three shrine maidens glancing at each other quickly before resuming their original disciplined/serene look.
"The Shrine Of The Fire Dragon? How... interesting," said Yae. "Since these three are the Maidens of the Dragon-god Shrine, it's of professional interest."
"Oh," said Naruto. "My aunt runs it, so I'll mention that."
Yae Nagumo nodded and said something in a fluid language.
"That's a weird way of saying it," said Naruto, scratching his head.
"Uhm, dobe? You understood what she said?" asked Sasuke.
"Sure, didn't you?" asked Naruto. "Why is everyone staring at me?"
"No reason," said Yae, smirking.
"What language was that?" asked Sasuke of the old woman.
"Ah, well, that would be a secret," said Yae, a peculiar look in her eyes. "In any case, these are the three Maidens of the Shrine of the Dragon-god. My grand-daughter Karin. Soyogi Mitsurugi. Shizuku Narumi."
The various ninja nodded as each of the girls nodded in their turn, though their professional calm they'd settled into after the old woman had come forward looked a little rattled.
"They are also known as the Maidens Of Sacrifice," continued Yae.
"'Sacrifice'?" asked Naruto. "What sacrifices?"
"Why, sacrifices to the dragon-god of course," said Yae.
Naruto's expression was completely unguarded. If anything Yae's smirk turned up a notch or two.
The old woman took the three maidens aside after the introductions, with Kakashi seeming to ignore them after that.
Of course, he wasn't ignoring them at all.
"Naruto? What was that she said?" asked Kakashi quietly.
"It sounded like she was quoting from something," said Naruto. "She said 'The fire of the flame dragon spreads in equal shares. Warmth to their allies, destruction to their foes.' Or something like that. It don't translate that easily."
Sasuke looked like he had a half-dozen questions that he wanted to ask, but didn't want to look as if he didn't know what was going on. So the expression very quickly slid into a scowl.
"Hmmm, well I want you two to watch over the photography session and keep an eye on everything. Let me know if you see anything at all noteworthy." Kakashi vanished at that point in a swirl of leaves.
"That's worrisome," said Naruto.
"What is?" asked Sasuke.
"Kakashi-sensei is a perv who reads from that book all the time," said Naruto. "But he's turning down a chance to watch girls model swimsuits."
Sasuke winced at that for a second, then thought about it. "Might not be perverted enough."
"I suppose," said Naruto, shaking his head. "Do we want to do nearby or at a distance?"
"You up close, I'm better with distance weapons than you," said Sasuke. He made a note to boggle at Naruto's brain having turned active.
"What about me?" asked Naruko, breaking in.
"I meant to ask why you're wearing that," said Naruto.
"Armored gauntlets and leggings, breastplate, shoulder guards," said Naruko, pointing to each in turn. "Hello! If a hit will dispel me, then keeping me from getting hit is a good thing."
"Won't it slow you down though?" asked Naruto. "Not to mention how hot it's gonna get today."
"I thought we might be fighting monsters later," said Naruko. "We might still be."
"Stop arguing with yourself," said Sasuke. "We've got a job to do."
* break *
Guruko sniffed again, puzzled. The trail abruptly vanished right there. As one of Kakashi's ninken - he checked out underground and a nearby tree just in case.
This was indeed a puzzle. He didn't like puzzles. It was a pity that Bull hadn't been deployed, though he was slower he liked pondering things.
Still, this was something to report. The trail was sporadic and faint, but it was there - up to this point.
Guruko marked a spot nearby to more easily find this area again, then took off. It was way too hot and humid here, making his fur itch.
* break *
"Grandmother?"
"Hush child," said Yae Nagumo as she checked the place they'd ducked into. In a small alleyway between a building that sold ice cream later in the day and a boarded-up business that had sold imported glassware and pottery until the recent spate of monster attacks. "Okay. No one's about."
"Grandmother," said Karin. "That boy, is he?"
"I'm at least eighty percent sure," agreed Yae. "He is a ninja. Who also happens to be the dragon god for this generation."
"But he's..." said Karin.
"We've periodically had a ninja assigned to the area," said Yae thoughtfully. "I remember in the Second Ninja War how they had a small post set up. Made sense at the time, this isn't an area to particularly target but the beach and our island would both have made good landing zones that an enemy could then use to gather supplies and personnel for an assault on the country. Having at least one ninja present meant that there would be someone to get the message out and respond appropriately. It's entirely possible once he gets to chunin level, that we could petition the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf to station that boy here."
"I find it hard to believe that one who looks so clueless is actually the Dragon God," noted Soyogi.
"He understood and responded to that line of ancient lore, but I agree - further tests would be necessary before any action is taken," agreed Yae.
"I'll give him one thing though," said Soyogi thoughtfully. "He's strong."
"I'll say," agreed Shizuku. "I was accosted by three Jashin cultists. He threw them."
"So he's good at taijutsu," said Karin with a little "hmph" for emphasis.
"No, I mean he threw them. Over buildings." Shizuku shook her head. "I thought it was just a wind technique of some kind."
"'Just a wind technique'?" asked Karin.
"So... if he IS the Dragon God?" asked Shizuku.
"Then he is the Dragon God," said Soyogi. "It is our duty to present ourselves that he can choose the sacrifice."
"Grandmother, what was that you said? Was that from the Great Book?" asked Karin.
"It was indeed," said Yae. "It is a phrase transcribed from the tongue of ancient dragonkind, and he understood it so readily he hadn't even realized he responded at first."
Kakashi listened and frowned. It didn't sound as if Naruto was in any danger.
If one of these girls tried to be a living sacrifice to him? Kakashi considered Naruto and pondered potential reactions. The most likely was Naruto screaming and running away.
Actually, that might be pretty funny.
Well, he ought to follow the old woman just in case. That 'Great Book' sounded like something to check into.
* break *
Pakkun nodded to Those Two Guys (Izumo and Kotetsu) at the gate. He'd never been to this shrine place, but he should be able to find it easy enough.
Reporting first to the Hokage, he could then find this shrine and report to the woman he'd find there.
Hopefully she'd have a snack or something, he was feeling a bit peckish.
* break *
"Okay," said Bittersmith, the old man flanked by two fellows. "Ah, I see you've been here before. Anko Mitarashi."
"That's right," said Anko whose grin was temporarily lost. "What's with this swimsuit?"
"She's right!" said the pink-haired girl who was next in line. "It's so tiny!"
"Huh?" asked Anko, looking back at her associate. "Nah. It covers way too much. More than I usually wear."
"It's just for the photographs, you can choose what you want for the contest as long as the important bits are covered," said Bittersmith.
"Oh," said Anko, who then nodded. "Right. You'll be using some of the photos for ads."
"You catch on quickly, Mitarashi-san," said Bittersmith.
"Okay," said Anko. "Make sure you've got this right. Anko Mitarashi, tea house worker. Twenty-one years of age."
"Same as last year?" asked Bittersmith.
"Yeah," said Anko, not missing a beat. "For this year's talent competition - I'm going with a snake dance."
"That didn't win last year," noted Bittersmith.
"Eh, it's what I got," said Anko.
"Okay, go over there for the photographers. Next?" Bittersmith looked pointedly at the next girl as Anko went over to chat up the photographers.
"Sakura Haruno, and NO I am NOT of THAT village," said Sakura. "Farmer's daughter. I'm twelve."
"In the competition, you'll do what for the talent portion?" asked Bittersmith.
Sakura took a deep breath. "Singing." Of course, the last time she'd done anything like that had been with Ino and karaoke - and THAT had been four years ago. Hopefully she could do better now.
* break *
Otomatsu held up a hand as the small dog ran up to the tower. "You're Pakkun, one of Kakashi's ninken, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I have a mission update for the Hokage," said the dog.
"Very well," said Otomatsu, the ANBU captain currently in charge. "Kakashi Hatake attending a beauty contest. This is going to be interesting."
"Otomatsu, you have no idea," shot back Pakkun as he entered the tower and grumbled as he began running up the stairs.
* break *
Bittersmith inclined his head as one of the officials in charge of the contest wandered over. "Kite."
Belvedere Kite was not a native of the Fire Country, coming from far outside the Elemental Nations area. That said, he was an odd little man whose major passion was bringing the cooking of his native land to this country. The food of the land of Koreis, which included what they called 'Korean Barbeque' in a number of franchises in villages and cities across Fire Country.
He was also a major sponsor of the Miss Beach competition.
"So we managed to get Kakashi Hatake and Jiraiya as judges this year," said Mister Kite. "Hmph. Maybe they'll be able to run off the problems we're having."
"Well," said Bittersmith, "at least this year we're getting some free publicity."
"Sea monsters attacking ships and the village are not the sort of publicity we need," grumped Kite. "Sang Yu, one of my chefs, has complained that business is down 70% from last year. Oh, hello. Are you competing this year?"
Rinne, a little girl with enormous glasses, nodded.
"Well then," said Mister Kite, smiling kindly at the little girl. He recognized her of course, sister to one of the three shrine maidens. "What are you doing for the talent part?"
Rinne reached into her sleeves and pulled out two fans, which she snapped out in a fluid motion.
"Oh, a fan dance?" Bittersmith nodded to himself. "That will do nicely, some of the judges are favorable to traditional forms. Go over there to get your pictures taken please."
Kite nodded to the girl as she turned and went over to that corner. "A fan dance? I'm unfamiliar with the custom but I take it the name is descriptive?"
"Yes," said Bittersmith. "I've been in this country longer than you. It's an ancient tradition, which fits well with her skills as the sister of one of the Maidens."
"Oh," said Kite, glancing towards where the one ninja leaned against a wall and seemingly brooded off on his own. "Anything interesting?"
"We've got Anko back from last year," said Bittersmith.
"The snake dancer who threatened three of the judges with 'ritual castration' for scoring her low?" asked Kite.
"Yeah, that's the one," admitted Bittersmith.
"Send a warning to the judges that she may be a little... off," said Kite.
"There's a new one, a 'Sakura Haruno' in the junior division," said Bittersmith.
"Haruno? From THAT village?" asked Kite.
"She says no, but she has the pink hair," said Bittersmith.
"Oh great," said Kite, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Sea monsters and a Haruno, plus that snake-charmer. There goes the insurance rates."
"She's chosen singing as her talent," said Bittersmith.
"I'll bring earplugs," noted Kite.
"Actually she has a pleasant enough voice, she might actually have some talent," said Bittersmith as another young-looking girl approached the table. "Ah. Yes, you're here for the photo shoot?"
"Yes," said the woman. "Name is Tsuna- ko. Yes,Tsunako."
"Okay, Junior division?" asked Bittersmith.
"That's right," said the blonde.
"And your talent for the competition?" asked Bittersmith.
"Gambling," said Tsunako.
"No," said Bittersmith.
"No?" asked Tsunako.
"No," agreed Kite. "It has to be a talent appropriate to your age and in keeping with the spirit of the Miss Beach competition."
"...feats of strength?" tried Tsunako.
"Very well," said Kite, pointing at the line for the photographers.
After the girl had left, Kite considered for a few moments before opening his mouth.
"Don't say it," advised Bittersmith.
"So it was as obvious as I thought," said Kite.
"Oh yes," said Bittersmith.
"And Jiraiya's one of the judges," noted Kite. "Is the village going to survive this?"
"I don't know about you," said Bittersmith, "but I'm going to pack an emergency get-outta-town kit and have it ready. Just in case."
"Good idea," said Kite with a nod. "I'll pass the word to my employees. A 'bug-out bag' is a good thing to have anyway."
The next girl came up and bowed slightly. "My name is Rossignol. For the talent portion, I will sing."
* break *
"Just vanished?" asked Kakashi. "Could the abductor have flown?"
"Away with two struggling girls in a thunderstorm? It's possible but I don't know how likely it is," admitted Guruko. "Thing is, it would be impossible for me to track them by scent if they did that."
"I suppose," said Kakashi. "Show me the spot."
Guroko nodded, his forehead protector shining in the sun. "This way."
* break *
Next to a corner was a stack of crates. Sasuke noticed this in particular as every so often a short-haired girl's head would go peeking around it.
He moved to get a better view, on the off chance it would turn out to be something less annoying and more of a professional concern. Just in case.
It was, as he'd already thought, that Karin girl. Who was, apparently, doing a fair "agitated fangirl" impression.
Well, maybe not entirely.
She was not, however, looking at himself. Which would have been understandable as he WAS Rookie Of The Year and the Last Uchiha and, well, himself. No, she was looking at Naruto.
Which caused Sasuke to consider Naruto himself, and realize a couple of things. First, that Naruto was taller. Since he'd activated that kekkei genkai of his, which Sasuke had a few suspicions about were not quite what they were reported to be, he'd shot up about four inches in height. As it had just been a tiny bit each day, it hadn't been so noticeable - but now that he thought about it he'd spent less time looking literally down upon the class clown. Naruto had also filled out. Not chubby though, he was showing considerably more muscle than was strictly normal for their age group. If he had not known Naruto and was considering him from the viewpoint of someone who had just met him, as he was considering from the shrine maid's point-of-view, he would think Naruto to be a bit older than a mere twelve. Possibly fifteen or so.
Sasuke watched, not completely understanding what was going on. Oh, he had some suspicions. Something clearly was off about the dead last of the Academy having a kekkei genkai that apparently included competency.
Not that he was complaining. When he'd originally been paired up with Naruto and Sakura he'd labeled them The Load and Mostly Useless Fangirl. Now that Naruto was less the Load and more the Lancer, that meant that his own quest for power in order to enact vengeance was less impeded.
This though - this was sufficiently different that he was at first having trouble crediting what he was seeing.
"WHAT THE HELL?" screamed Naruko as she stared at the cut she'd gotten on one finger while tossing a kunai from one hand to the other.
Sasuke made a quick blurring move so that he ended up behind the shadow clone, and saw the trickle of blood on that hand. "So you're not the original?"
"N-no, I-" said Naruko, turning to look at Sasuke.
Sasuke pursed his lips at the sight. The shadow clone was about to freak completely out. Well, one way to test it.
Sasuke's fist drove into the shadow clone's stomach with enough force that she landed on her butt three feet away. And was coughing badly.
She did NOT dispel. Nor did she break his hand.
The original apparently saw that part and ran over. "Teme? What the hell did you-"
Sasuke interrupted by backhanding Naruto in the face. This did two things. One, the lack of Naruto vanishing indicated that this was not the shadow clone. Two, that really really hurt. Not Naruto, his hand felt like he'd tried to smack an anvil. One of the big ones they pounded out swords on. Therefore this was the original real Naruto.
"Wha?" asked Naruto.
"She's not dispelling despite the injuries," said Sasuke, pitching his voice lower. "She's bleeding."
"Yeah... oh," said Naruto.
"Yeah," agreed Sasuke.
"What the hell?" said Naruko as she could finally breathe. "What was that for?"
"You were freaking out, in front of civilians," said Sasuke, inclining his head to the somewhat-distant but watching contestants and judges. "Keep it together, we'll talk to Kakashi when he gets back."
* break *
Pakkun blinked as he considered the woman before him. "How is that even possible?"
"It goes to the inner nature of things," said Keri, "and as everything else in life - it gets complicated."
"Huh, well I have to get this back to Kakashi," said Pakkun. "Who'd have thought it. Is there a manual or something the kid can look at?"
"Yes, actually," said Keri. "However, I don't think it's in Naruto's nature to consult it."
"Actually, that's kinda my impression too," agreed Pakkun.
* break *
Sakura had the top scores in the Academy for a reason. She was able to multitask and could memorize details quickly. Both of which usually had her labelled as a 'genjutsu type' though she didn't have a lot of genjutsu learned. As in she had the basic how-to-recognize genjutsu and basic dispel down. She did have the basic underlying mindset though, as she understood it.
As it turned out, this helped in infiltration work as well. Sakura understood that she was basically playing a role as an actress or stage performer would.
Sakura Haruno: Just your average farm-worker from an unaffiliated farmstead to the North. Hobby: Singing and puzzle games. Age: 12.
Her eyes flicked to the girl now posing for the camera, and doing a rather more risque job despite that she was also in the Junior division.
Rossignol: daughter of travelling merchants. Hobby: singing. age: 13.
There was something off about girl with the dark purple hair and heavy eyeshadow. Not the black nail polish or odd tattoos. No, it was something in the way she carried herself.
She was confident and aggressive, whether it was revealing herself in these tiny little swimsuits or just a comment directed to Sakura - "try to handle your losing to me with some dignity" - that indicated she had some special ability.
Sakura frowned slightly, wondering if this Rossignol was a foreign-nin or missing-nin. That would explain a few things, wouldn't it?
The other possibility was Tsunako. She seemed VERY suspicious.
* break *
Anko looked over the competition and dismissed most of them in very short order.
Tsunako was under some sort of henge, it was revealed when she'd make a grab for something and her arms were too short to reach. Little things like that. She also looked kind of familiar. Probable foreign-nin. Maybe from Waterfall or Cloud?
Rossignol was the one currently posing for the photoshoot. A little kunoichi-wannabe type. Such an obvious poseur, trying to project the whole deadly-flower image, and no real clue how to pull it off. In a few years, with the right training, maybe she could be a real bad girl instead of a fake.
Shizune looked familiar, and the name sounded familiar, but heck if she could place it right off the bat. She seemed awfully self-conscious about the swimsuit for a kunoichi though, and what was that pig? An emergency food supply or pet? Well, if she WAS a kunoichi on a mission - give her points for having something like that as a prop for her backstory. She acts like she doesn't want to be here, and she's constantly glancing at Tsunako. On the same team or from the same village maybe? Or maybe they recognize each other?
Yugito - if there was ANYONE that was an obstacle to overcome, it was that girl. She could do the "catwalk strut" like nobody's business, didn't have any problem showing off her curves, and if anything seemed professionally bored with the whole thing. Also plays the shamisen well, though one of the judges was saying something about technical proficiency but lacking in artistic merit? I don't get it, but from the slight reaction this 'Yugito' had - something she's heard before?
Fuu - another junior division type to keep an eye on. She obviously didn't know a thing about being here but was way too clumsy to be a shinobi infiltrator. Girl's got a chip on her shoulder the size of the Hokage mountain. Friendly tomboy type who didn't have the social skills to be a polished kunoichi. Still, there's too much odd about her to just accept...
What in the Nine Hells are those genin doing over there? Why was she freaking out? Why did he punch her out? And why is there a girl spying on them from behind those crates?
* break *
"You didn't need to hit me," said Naruko as soon as she'd recovered.
"You didn't dispel," pointed out Sasuke. "You landed solidly."
Naruko got wide-eyed again and started breathing hard.
"Knock that off," said Sasuke coldly. "If you're going to do something like that, go off and do it by yourself."
"B-b-but," stammered Naruko, her hands going to a hand-seal. She concentrated.
"Stop that," said Naruto finally after a few seconds of nothing happening. "You're not dispelling. Dang. This is freaky."
"Hnn," said Sasuke, considering the girl-version again. "You seem to be fairly tough and solid. Just not as solid as Naruto."
"Gee, sorry," said Naruko, not sounding very sorry.
"We'll have to ask Aunt Keri when we get home," decided Naruto aloud.
"What's keeping sensei anyway?" asked Sasuke with a frown. He hated being out of the loop, but it wasn't likely he'd get answers from Naruto who was obviously grasping for answers himself. As for Naruko, she still looked as if she were going to freak completely out at any moment. He. Whatever.
* break *
"Odd," said Kakashi.
Guruko, one of Kakashi's ninja-dog summons, nodded. "Note that there are no physical tracks, even though the scent trail remains. Up until you get here at least."
Kakashi looked over the spot, considered, then raised his headband.
"Anything you see with that Sharingan that I can't smell?" asked Guruko.
"Yes, actually," said Kakashi. "There's a genjutsu."
"With a smell component? That's unusual," said Guruko. Most ninja would neglect details like that because they didn't assign a great importance to the lesser-used senses.
Kakashi walked up to an empty area and casually sliced through something. Two poles appeared, to which two unconscious girls were tied.
"Curious," said Kakashi as he inspected the cut paper and a sigil drawn on the ground.
to be continued