Hello all, and welcome to chapter 4 of A Kitsune's Vengeance! This chapter covers some interesting topics (again, you'll have to read to find out what those are!), as well as a tiny bit of fluff between our two main characters. All in all, I'm pleased with this chapter, though I just wish I could have gotten it out sooner. Sadly, that was not meant to be, since I had a lot of stuff that came up in real life, so that's why the somewhat longer delay. I'll be starting chapter five shortly, but remember, reviews help serve as my motivation to write more, so be sure to leave a remark or two, even if it's only a 'good job', or something along those lines.
Warning: This chapter is the first chapter where this ficlet really becomes M rated; there's no lemons (yet, obviously, due to Naru's age), but this chapter does contain some rather vivid imagery of the gruesome kind, so I'll let this serve as the warning for those of you who might be a little squeamish about those kinds of things.
Anyways, I don't own Naruto or it's characters/plot/locations/etc. in any shape or form; those belong to the author, not me.
Here's the key and mumbo jumbo for this chapter:
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
"Demonic speech"
"Naru/Kurama mindspeaking"
Enough of my rambling, on with the show!
Nothing could have prepared Naru for the scene of death that stretched out before her. Sure, she had been beaten within an inch of her life a few times back when Kurama was still caged inside of her, but this was the first time she had seen someone just after their death.
It was horrible. Beyond horrible. She didn't have to witness anyone being killed, but the aftermath of said killing was just as bad; bodies littered the inn's floor, most brutally ripped open or sawed into bloody pieces. Some people even looked as if they had been bludgeoned to death, so deformed were their carcasses. Blood lay splattered and drying all over the common room—on the walls, the floor, the tables, even a little bit on the ceiling. It was both sickening and exciting at the same time; the cultured part of her couldn't help but be disgusted by the carnage she was viewing, but there was another side of her that reveled in the death and destruction.
And that scared her.
Was this what it meant to be a demon? To revel in the deaths of others, watching in fascination as their lifeblood slowly fled their body? Or was this feeling merely her baser, more primal side being awakened to help deal with how sickened she felt at seeing all of this?
Either way, Naru couldn't help emptying her stomach over the banister. No one—except, perhaps, for the worst kind of criminals, though even that was stretching it—deserved the kind of end these people had encountered. It just wasn't right, any way you looked at it.
It was with that thought that all vestiges of the sickening sensation fled her body, to be replaced by a deep-seated anger. The excitement she had felt over seeing all this death remained, however, fueling her anger in a twisted sort of way. But she no longer cared about that; all that mattered to her now was that she would deal whoever had caused this massacre the same kind of gruesome end as the victims that lay sprawled before her.
Little did Naru know it, but she had just awakened her demonic hunting instincts for the first time, where almost all rational thought was clouded out in favor of a more animalistic behavioral spectrum. Kurama noticed her change in behavior, of course; how could he not when she was practically radiating bloodlust? But, given that they would most likely share the same fate as the other victims if caught off guard by the assailants, he didn't bother to snap her out of it. Instead, he allowed himself to slip into the same kind of trance, before they both blurred out of sight in a burst of speed.
It was time for the hunt to begin.
Blood pounded in her ears as she thrust her tiny fist through another man's chest, killing him instantly as she pulled out and crushed his heart with her bare hands. A twisted, maniacal grin was plastered on her face as she did so, sending shivers down the spines of those who had not yet fallen by her hands. Kurama was right beside her, using his fangs and claws to rip and slash the jugulars, arms, and legs of anyone who dared get close to him. Both of them were covered in blood, but neither cared, instead reveling in the fantastic feeling that pulsed through their veins each time they took down another opponent; the feeling of completing a kill.
They had come across a group of bandits acting under the leadership of a few missing nins almost as soon as they'd left the inn. Now, normally this might have caught them off guard, given just how many opponents they were faced with, but this time it was their opponents who were surprised. After all, who wouldn't be startled when a small, seemingly harmless girl and her vulpine friend were suddenly in the midst of your chattering comrades, butchering them with brutal efficiency? But the answer to that question was, in fact, a moot point, since before they had even lifted a finger over half of the thirty or so bandits were already dead or dying, and the other half fell just as quickly.
In total the one-sided slaughter took less than three minutes, scarcely long enough for one of the missing nins to escape into the nearby woods. The other one, formerly from Tanigakure, was about ready to crap his pants in fright as Naru and Kurama turned their attention to him.
"And then there was one..." Naru said, disappearing faster than the missing ninja's eyes could follow, before reappearing with her arm buried up to the elbow in his left eye socket. It was after she removed her arm from the now-dead ninja's skull that her anger—and with it the last remnants of her instinctual haze—disappeared, leaving behind only a kind of sadness, though it didn't take long before her body started to convulse in shock over what she'd just done.
Instantly Kurama was at her side, nuzzling her with his nose and sending comforting thoughts through their soulbond. He had known this was going to happen once she came down from her demonic high, so he wanted to be there for her. As it was, Naru latched onto him like a lifeline, burying her face in his silky coat before crying like she never had before. She couldn't help but shudder in remembrance of that twisted excitement that flowed through her body every time she took down another one of the bandits. It sickened her, but at the same time it also left her turned on in a way; just remembering it was enough to bring back a less powerful version of the feeling, making her shudder with a sick kind of pleasure.
Had she been older she would have known that this was a common side effect of coming down out of the battle craze, and that oftentimes people would participate in sex after similar scenarios just to override the feeling with a better one. But seeing as she was still only six years old, that option wasn't available to her. So she was forced to endure it as the twisted feeling washed over her, with Kurama as her only method of stabilization. But even as it did so, a small, increasingly more vocal part of her was saying that she had done the right thing by killing those bandits. Sure, their expressions as they died would forever be burned into her mind, but even if she had done the deed in cold blood the world was now a safer place, if only slightly.
As it was she didn't have to endure the feeling for long before a welcome distraction appeared; an elderly man and his family had just come out from hiding in a hidden cellar, and were approaching their position cautiously. Immediately relief washed over Naru, banishing the twisted form of pleasure back into the recesses of her mind; she could rest easier knowing that at least a few people had survived the bandit onslaught, even if it was only one family.
When they—they being the elderly gentleman, what appeared to be his son, the son's wife, and their child—finally came to a halt a few meters from our favorite vulpine and his soulbonded twin, it was a few minutes before anyone from either party spoke. Instead, Naru and Kurama merely observed the new arrivals, to determine if they were a threat. Appearances could be deceiving, after all.
"...Are you all right?" The elderly gentleman finally asked, after regaining his voice. Naru was about to reply when she thought better of the matter, instead opting to merely nod her head. When he said nothing else, she cocked her head to the side slightly in confusion. Why were they all so hesitant to speak...?
"It's because you're covered from head to toe in blood, and they're not sure whether any of it is yours." Kurama's mind-voice echoed dryly in her head, clearly amused at the whole situation.
"Oh..." She had the decency to look slightly sheepish, before voicing a question out loud.
"Is there anywhere I could...ah...clean up a bit?" She gestured to her blood-stained clothes, her cheeks now tinged slightly pink with embarrassment. The old man smiled slightly.
"I don't see why not; my house is right over here, so if you'll follow us...?"
This time it was Naru's turn to smile.
Once she had cleaned up a bit (and soaked in the first hot bath she'd had in a long while!) Naru decided it was time to get on with the introductions.
"I'm Naru by the way, and this is my partner Kurama." She said, once everyone was seated at various places around the dining table—minus Kurama, of course, who was resting on the floor by Naru's chair.
"The name's Seimei, and this is my son Tsukune—" the younger man nodded in Naru's direction. "—His wife Natsumi, and my grandchild Akane."
Naru nodded to each in turn as they were introduced, unable to keep herself from smiling when Akane—who was around her age, or perhaps a year younger—asked his parents if he could play with the 'foxy-fox'. When Seimei finished the introductions, however, her attention returned to the elderly man because of the curious look in his eyes.
"You said Kurama was your...partner?" He asked, watching as the giant fox played gently with his grandchild. Naru giggled at the boys' antics before replying, though when she did so almost all traces of happiness fled her face.
"Yes...he's been with me almost since I was born, acting as my 'guardian' of sorts."
"And what about your parents? Where are they?"
"They're...gone." The young demoness had to fight back a few tears before continuing. "They died shortly after I was born, so I never really knew them..."
Almost immediately Seimei's face took on an expression of sympathy. "Forgive me if I brought up any unwanted memories; I didn't mean—"
"It's not your fault." She interrupted with a bitter laugh. "Given that I'm not from around here, well, it's only natural that you would be curious."
"Yes, well, I'm still sorry that I brought it up. Speaking of curiosity, though, what were you doing in that pile of bodies when we found you?"
Naru merely sighed, before calling Kurama over to her through their mental link. She was going to need his support and help when she tried to explain this; after all, she doubted that Seimei or his relatives would believe that a small girl such as herself had killed those bandits, even if she had done so with Kurama's help.
"How the hell am I going to tell him that we went into a crazed frenzy and killed them?" Kurama simply stared at her for a few seconds before replying.
"Why not just tell him the truth? It's not like anything we make up will be any easier to believe, you know."
"Yeah, but still. What do we do if he doesn't believe us?
"Why don't we just cross that bridge when or if we come to it?" Kurama countered, growing slightly annoyed at his partner's anxiety. "It's not like it'll make a difference if we fret over it now."
Naru sighed slightly, before straightening up. "Alright then, we'll do things your way. So how does this sound..."
Seimei, meanwhile, watched this exchanged with interest. Even though he couldn't hear what they were saying to each other, it was obvious to him that there was some form of communication going on between the girl and her kitsune companion. How they were doing it without saying anything, he didn't know, but the fact remained that they were doing so somehow.
'Interesting. I've never seen anything like this before. It's almost as if...' His eyes widened as he considered that possibility. Being well versed in the topics of the spirit world due to both his incessant curiosity of the unknown and his old age, he was somewhat familiar with the concept of soulbonding. Not as much as anyone who studied such things regularly, of course, but at least he knew of the topic. And yet, from what he remembered the process was said to be incredibly painful...
'So either this girl has a high tolerance for pain, was forced to endure it by someone else, or this is something else entirely. The third option is basically out of the question, as nothing else I've ever heard of even comes close to this; even the Inuzuka from Konoha have to speak in growls of sorts to communicate with their canine partners. The second...well, if someone out there can force two beings to soulbond, then the world as we know it is in deep shit. That leaves the first option, which, as strange as it sounds, is probably the most likely...hm.'
"Naru...?" The young demoness paused in her heated debate to raise an eyebrow eloquently at the elderly man.
"Yes Seimei?"
"Would you...ah...happen to know of a process called soulbonding...?" As soon as the words left his mouth Seimei knew he had made a mistake in asking about it; it was only a heartbeat after he completed the last syllable that he found himself on the floor with one Kurama's claws held over his jugular. Given his new position he remained surprisingly calm, however, though his surprise at how fast the two of them were able to move was clearly evident on his face. His mind had scarcely registered Naru knocking his feet out from under him before he found himself looking a vulpine incarnation of death in the eyes.
"Where did you hear of that?" Kurama hissed, surprising the man once again with his vocal capabilities. The fox slowly increased the pressure over the man's neck when Seimei remained silent. When the old man felt a trickle of blood run down his neck, he knew Naru's partner wouldn't hesitate to kill him if the answer he gave was less than satisfactory. So, after letting out a rather withdrawn sigh he simply told the two demons the truth.
"I found that particular subject by accident. You see, I chanced across it in a musty old book when I was looking for a way to make my crafted swords more responsive to those who wielded them. I'm sorry if I touched a touchy subject for you two; it's just that I never found what I was looking for, and I guess I got ahead of myself..."
Evidently he had said the right thing, because a few tense moments after he finished speaking Kurama's claw disappeared from it's place against his neck. Breathing a rather shaky sigh of relief, Seimei stood up, before glancing warily at his two visitors.
"I don't suppose you two would be able to help me progress forward with my crafting research, would you?"
Naru pursed her lips in thought, then cast a sideways glance at Kurama, who was still frowning.
"Can we get back to you on this? I think we need some time to cool off after...that."
Seimei inclined his head in understanding. "Certainly; I would have to do the same thing if I was in your position. Just let me know when you've come to a decision, okay?"
"Alright, we'll do that. C'mon Kurama, let's go for a walk."
"So what do you think, Kurama? Should we take him up on his offer...?" Naru asked as they walked through the deserted streets of Takumi Village. Really, after the bandit attack it seemed more like a ghost town than anything else, but that was beside the point.
"I don't know...I'm getting the vibe that while he might seem trustworthy, at least part of that is an act of some sort. Though what exactly that means I'm not certain yet."
The young demoness sighed. "You're not the only one; I noticed that too. The question is, though, do we really have a choice? I mean we did come to this village to get me a weapon of some sort..."
It was here that they walked over to a small grove of trees, before settling down so they were leaning against each other. After they had done so it was Kurama's turn to sigh as he closed his eyes in frustration.
"That might not be necessary anymore, now that I think about it; with the influx of power you received from killing those bandits, your body may be experiencing some changes soon...the most important of which will be your nails gradually changing into claws."
This time it was Naru's turn to frown. While she couldn't say that she was completely taken off guard by Kurama's statement, it still came as a small surprise to her.
"While I have to admit that the idea of having built in bodily weapons like you does sound cool, how soon are we talking for that particular change? I mean, I wouldn't mind having claws, but depending upon how long it'll take for the change to occur we might as well take Seimei up on his offer."
"That's what I don't know." Kurama shook his head slightly in emphasis. "It could happen by tomorrow, or as long as in another moon; it all depends on how fast your body assimilates the power it has accumulated. If it's anything like your stamina it'll probably happen overnight, which would mean that getting you another weapon would be rather pointless. However, I don't know if that's what'll happen; all I know is that you should have enough latent power now for the change to take place."
The fox smiled slightly as Naru snuggled up closer to him, before returning the favor by wrapping himself around her so she was cocooned in his warmth.
"I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I'll leave the decision up to you—just be on your guard for any fishy stuff. We don't know it Seimei or his family have an ulterior motive for helping us."
"Yeah..."
Having finally reached an agreement, Naru let out a rather large yawn, the strain of using her instincts for an extended period of time finally catching up to her. It didn't help matters that Natsumi had let her take a nice, hot bath either...
"I think I need to take a nap; I'm feeling rather tired all of a sudden..."
Kurama only chuckled as she buried herself further into his fur, her breathing gradually evening out as she slipped into unconsciousness. He wasn't surprised at all that she had just passed out from exhaustion; they had been through more than a few tense situations in the past twenty-four hours, after all. The exact same thing had happened to him when he was younger, though this time he was on the watching end rather than the sleeping one. So, after resigning himself to the fact that he'd have to serve as her pillow for the next couple of hours, he closed his eyes as well—but not before extending the rest of his senses to the surrounding area out of habit. It wouldn't do to have anyone sneak up on them, regardless of whether or not they meant to cause the two demons any harm.
When Naru finally came to from her resting, time had progressed a fair deal; they'd killed the bandits after nightfall, so with all that had happened afterwards it was now almost dawn. Now, seeing as they were now in the Village of Artisans, people were already moving about the streets, though the population doing so was noticeably less than the night before. What weaponsmiths remained after the bandit attack were already hard at work at their forges, hoping to make up for the lost manpower in any way they could.
After doing their morning ritual of stretching followed by some light exercise, our demonic hero and heroine headed back towards Seimei's house, intent on discussing what exactly Seimei wanted out of them in regards to his weapons crafting. After all, how better to make a decision than with important knowledge over what you were going to have to do?
"So you want to know what you would be doing before you make a decision, eh?" The old man asked, once they'd come back inside. Granted he'd been surprised that they'd spent the whole night outside, but he chalked it up to just another one of their quirks.
"Yes. If it's within our capabilities I think we'll be able to help you out, but until we know exactly that help requires I'm afraid we'll have to decline your request." Naru said matter-of-factly, her tone implying that there was no room for argument.
"Well, I can't say I blame you for being cautious; we did just come out of a bandit attack, after all. Anyways, if you'll follow me to the forge, I'll explain what I want you two to do."
"This is where I make my weapons." Seimei said gruffly, gesturing to the room after they had arrived. It was a basement of sorts; there were swords, axes, and other weapons of all kinds hanging on the walls, all in various stages of completion.
"Now, as I mentioned before I've been researching ways to make my weapons—specifically the swords you see on the western wall—more responsive to their wielders. I've tried imbuing the metal with specific types of chakra, making it chakra conductive, you name it; but while those had somewhat of the desired effects, I'm still looking for a way to have the weapons themselves bond with their wielders. That's where you two come in—I'm pretty much tapped out of ideas for how to accomplish this, but I was hoping that you two would be able to provide a different perspective because of the soulbond between you two."
"So wait, let me get this straight; you're trying to make something of a sentient weapon almost?" Naru asked, pressing her forefingers to her temples in thought.
"I suppose you could put it that way...though I would think it would be more along the lines of your soulbond, in that both the weapon and its wielder become almost one entity. Though now that you mention it, sentient weapons might be the missing link I've been looking for..."
Naru and Kurama shared a glance as Seimei drifted off into thought. The idea that there could be weapons that bonded like they were was both fascinating and a little bit frightening, though how the old man was going to accomplish this feat they didn't know.
"Wouldn't a sentient weapon require some sort of soul though?" Naru asked, more out of curiosity than anything else. "I would think that would be the main requirement, if it's possible at all."
"Yes, I think you're right on the money. But how to add a soul to a weapon, hmm..."
This time it was Kurama who spoke up. "What about Fūinjutsu? You'd probably have to be a master at it to get anywhere close to what you're trying to accomplish, but if anything can do it, it would be that."
Seimei looked rather startled for a moment, before realization crossed his face.
"That's it...! Thanks for your help you two, but I think I've got work to do." Scarcely before he finished his sentence Seimei was off like a shot, heading to the local library. Naru shook her head in amusement at the old man's antics, before heading back outside with Kurama. Things were certainly looking to be interesting in the next couple of days...
Alright, another chapter down. While this chapter was mostly filler material of a sort, it was still important to get out nonetheless, as it highlights some of the character interaction. And yes, Takumi Village and Seimei's character are Anime only, but I figured I could add it into this story for good measure. After all, who better to get a weapon from (yes, I've decided Naru will get a weapon from Seimei, though what it is will remain secret for now), than the head honcho of a weaponsmith village?
Next chapter will be the final one where our hero and heroine are in Takumi Village, and after that it's moving on to new horizons.
Anyways, thanks for reading, and please review! Reviews tell me what I'm doing right and wrong, and, like I mentioned in the A/N at the beginning of this chapter, they also serve as motivation for me to continue writing. So follow the three R's (read rave review) and you'll be golden in my eyes. If you have any questions about this story, feel free to PM me or give this story a review (preferably the latter, though I won't complain if it's the former), and I'll get back to you either by PM or by a review response in the next chapter.
Alrighty then, this is ZariGS, signing out.
-ZGS