Ages:
Naruto/Shirushi- age 4
Minato- age 28 (more or less I guess)
Madara- age 80+ (though I am ready to give him 100!)
"Speech."
Emphasis on the word
Edited by Floating On An Akatsuki Cloud
Chapter 4: Son
The unexpected death of three tailed beast's jinchuuriki was too troublesome.
It meant that he could no longer play the role of the young leader of Mist. After official reports and witnesses of the demon gracing the land with its walk, everyone would understand that Yagura was dead, and the monster was unsealed.
He couldn't go back to the office. But at least, his actions destroyed that country giving him a feeling of contentment, accomplishment.
He did not plan to lose time, so he and Nagato worked on the methods of resealing the beast. It wasn't easy, considering the amount of chakra it would take. Also, the statue for gathering bijuu had its shortcomings. They needed at least six powerful shinobi to successfully use the sealing technique, and even then, the process would take three days. There were four of them, and it irritated him that there were three shinobi aware of his existence. Zetsu just worked for him on his own free will, that said it all; he was interested in Madara's plans and was generally bored without something to do. Nagato was a different story. That naive man wanted 'peace'. It took lots of thinking to persuade him that Madara wanted peace too, only, he planned to reach it by war. It was surprising how easily some individuals could be manipulated if you had convincing arguments. 'People tend to feel fear, and fear pain. But only knowing that pain, they will fear it to a point where they avoid it. Let people learn pain of war, pain of losing, and they will do all in their power to prevent it from happening again. And then, only then, will people learn the true meaning of Peace.'
There was no need to convince his partner, Konan. The woman was loyal to Nagato and if he changed his views she would do the same. She learned to depend on him, and follow his plans. And if Nagato decided that capturing jinchuuriki of the bijuu was a step to obtaining means for creating Peace, then she would agree.
But now all of them knew his face, his name and status. It was wrong. He wasn't ready to discard his own safety and peace. Letting others know of his true identity was too risky. He hadn't been hiding for years for nothing. That was why he planned to change his tactics. They needed more people, powerful shinobi to be exact. Logically, you couldn't take shinobi from other villages; they were loyal to their leaders, so, you had to gather these shinobi without them being tied. The answer? Missing Nins. And it meant money, and goals. It meant forming a group, organization. And an organization needed a leader. Oh, no, no, no, he'd never plan on taking that position. Too risky. Too obvious. Too easy to spot. But then it meant... forming and creating bases, schemes and... He got a headache.
He couldn't do all of that.
Or could he?
He stopped in his tracks realizing that the beast roaming free in Water country brought trouble. He had an island with his private place and if he wasn't ready to get the demon under control he had to change its location. And if he planned to form some sort of organization, Nagato could always become its official leader. And as he was also the leader of Ame, the first base could always be formed there.
Not a bad idea.
Now, if they could get more members...
There was a failed attempt at killing the Mizukage, him in disguise, a short time ago. After that, the group known as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist fell apart. There were only two members of that group that one, were not taking part in attack, and two, were strong enough to be considered as an addition to his new organization he had been thinking of forming...
He smirked and continued on his way to the highest tower in Rain village. He wouldn't have to show his face to any more people. Uchiha Madara? He died long ago. He couldn't be a leader of any organization.
Nagato could be.
They decided to take a short break.
Two of them stayed on alert, ready to act if the enemy showed up in their line of vision. Up until now, no one caught up with them. They were in Wave Country, or close to it. Travelling on water for a very long time was almost stupid, but in doing so, there was no risk of anyone knowing of direction they travelled in. Their chakra reserves were incredibly low, so they took breaks in turns, glad that Fire country was not too far away.
They were not surrounded by mist anymore and their vision was clear. The swamps of Wave were like traps protecting them from all sides. They didn't start a fire, to avoid getting attention, and were revelling in their almost successful escape.
They were only days away from their freedom.
The blond boy keenly observed his captors, not making a sound. They tied his hands, fingers and mouth. Not that it changed that much. He didn't know any jutsu yet, so he wouldn't attack them with one, or use one to break free. And he wasn't stupid enough to annoy these ninja with his speech, so even if he could make a noise, he would still opt to observe them.
Sometimes they would speak to each other using hand signs, mainly for two reasons, to make as little noise as possible, and to separate him from conversation. But they didn't know he understood most of it anyway. As well as hand signs they used for techniques they were forced to use. For the most part, it confused the boy, as he would rather call their actions a speech. What was the point in speaking while using chakra? It was confusing.
He saw them use chakra in ways he wasn't aware of before. Walking on water and increasing speed by that were things he vowed to learn too. But they did not seem to see chakra like he did. And their eyes were usual too. It was a small advantage on his part, but meant little in these conditions.
One of resting men scowled at the blond and narrowed his eyes. "What are you looking at, brat."
The boy blinked and tilted his head, making it seem like he didn't understand why the man addressed him. A woman walked by and shot her comrade a short glare. "Leave him alone."
The man 'tsk'ed, deforming his lips and slightly shook his head. "He's watching us."
"He's just a kid." She replied tiredly.
The man directed his gaze at the tied boy and muscles on his face tensed. "Kids his age behave differently. They are scared, lonely, terrified. Children do not eye their captors like predators. And he's studying us. Like he understands who we are, what we do, and why."
The young man behind a tree laughed, keeping his stare on surroundings. "Aren't you exaggerating a bit? Damn, I didn't know you would be scared of a toddler."
"I don't like his eyes."
"You wanna speak of my likes and dislikes, man?" The younger male replied.
Their group was silent after that.
Water Country
Silence.
It was a first thing that greeted him.
No shouting, smiling, hugging and laughs. The house was empty and a feeling of coldness confused him. Usually, they waited for him and his presence made Aiko and Shirushi incredibly happy. Now, he felt like he was in a different place.
Walking outside he noted the air was humid, and a storm of sorts was close to area. His island would be fresh after the rain, and he thought about staying here for more than one day.
He abruptly stopped seeing a dead body among the grass, on the ground.
For a short moment he was frozen as his thought process was stopped.
Her skin was extremely pale, eyes opened, still staring in direction of a tree line. She had that white dress on, with miniature yellow flowers. It was her favourite. She often put it on, knowing that she looked younger in these colours.
Sometimes... she seemed to try to get his attention. Maybe she thought that he was a lonely and sad man, with money and power, and a son she was raising. Or maybe, away from other people and home, she forced herself to believe she loved him, and it eased her worry.
She was too kind. She never mentioned anything about her predicament. She never hinted that she wanted anything. She said she loved the boy. She said Madara made her happy. Always. She always said the same. With a smile on her face. Like an angel, that lived with a sole propose of making others happy. If there was anything she wanted to do, it was to give more of her never ending love. But he never let her get closer. No matter how good intentions she had, he didn't want it.
She said once, that he built a wall around his heart. She said that if he wouldn't stop he would become a monster. She was in tears then, shaken after receiving his refusal in answering her questions. He didn't say that he became a monster long ago, and it did not matter.
But sometimes, he asked himself why she wanted to change him so much. Was it for the boy?
He crouched by the body and tilted his head, inspecting it.
She was killed by shinobi. Now that he concentrated, he could sense the remainder, traces of chakra, different from his and Shiru's. It was even somewhat familiar... He looked up and slowly rose. With realization that the blond boy was not here and might have been taken, he made steps further in direction of the chakra. When after walking through bushes and trees he stopped, he finally remembered where he felt that energy before.
His fingers touched the thick grass below, and he noted that there must've been a 'window'. There were only few shinobi around who could enter genjutsu filled area undetected and leave it in the same fashion.
These had to be ice users. They killed the woman using a kunai, so they didn't want to attract attention. They were running away? How stupid.
He scowled.
It's been two days since Aiko was dead. If they travelled fast and barely used any techniques, he wouldn't be able to find them. And two days was a lot when it came to shinobi trained since they were able to walk. He could care less who they were, and what they wanted, but if it involved his property, it was a personal matter. This place was his, and that woman served him, and the boy was definitely his and no one else's.
He hummed thinking on how to track the offenders. It wasn't often he cared enough to be in a hurry. Finding and asking Zetsu wasn't a good idea, he sent him on a different mission just hours ago and letting him know who he wanted to be found didn't sound good. But anyone else was not fit for that kind of job, unless... Here he shut his eyes tightly and grit his teeth, asking himself if he really cared enough about the boy to do this.
After all, it's been years.
He rubbed his chin furiously, thinking if he should take the risk, and seconds passed by, as he was tormented by his indecision.
He paced left and right, making short, senseless steps as his mind was busy with comparing loses and wins he'd make if he followed one or another choice.
In the end, minutes later, he audibly sighed letting his Uchiha nature win, where his possessions were more important than the means.
He bit his thumb and made hand seals with precision. His right hand touched the ground and after a circle of symbols appearing under his palm, there was a puff of smoke. Before it dispersed, the voice spoke from within.
"I thought that day would never come, Madara."
"It's nice to know you still remember me, Hanare." He replied, standing. With wind blowing the smoke away, it was revealed that first voice belonged to an animal, large and dark brown, it had light yellow eyes and proud posture; its long bushy tail was wrapped around its paws. It was a fox, muscled and visibly trained, and the animal was scowling at its summoner with displeasure.
"To what do I owe the honour of being summoned?" It asked with bitterness, sounding insulted.
The man sighed again and looked down. "I wouldn't ever summon you if I didn't need you, right? And I didn't need you for years."
"Choose your words carefully, Madara. You never needed help from our clan. You weren't interested in having partners in foxes; all you wanted was our grand master, Kyuubi-sama." The fox spoke baring sharp teeth. "You disgraced our kind, breaking our connection with the human world and breaking your word."
The man nodded, staying silent. His posture was tense, and after eying him up and down, the animal snorted. "You'd never summon me if you could avoid it. It'd be an ...insult to your power. What could have possibly happen to the all mighty Uchiha Madara that he had to resort to summoning?"
"I need to track someone. And I don't have too much time for this."
The animal frowned and turned its head to the side. "It's unlike you." The man stayed quiet, waiting. "Who is it you are looking for and what would you give in exchange for my services? Understand that your name is cursed in our clan, and we will not serve you if it's not in our interests."
He hesitated before speaking, but inwardly slapped himself to come to senses. "I am looking for my... son." The fox looked up in disbelieving gaze, its forehead furrowed in confusion. "It's a long story; what do you want in exchange for your help?"
Hanare lowered his head, thinking. "...The human world has no memory of our clan, has no respect for us. Humans do not realize we exist and have more power than other summons. We want our glory, fame and recognition back." The fox looked up seriously. "Give us a summoner. One that has potential, battles to fight, and deserves our support."
The man was still for a minute. If they wanted a new summoner, it meant that once they had one, he would be erased from the contract, something that didn't happen yet due to him being the only connection to human realm the clan had. They had a right to do this, he knew that, but he still needed them. He had to find Kyuubi. His greatest summon was defeated by Yondaime and by unknown technique, and any sources he had, claimed that the nine tailed fox was gone, and there was no object or human host in Konoha that contained the demon. Fox clan from summoning realm was one of the few connections to the beast he had left. He needed their knowledge, and the first step he had to make was to fix the tense relations between them. It was true that he betrayed their trust, and giving them a new summoner was the least he could logically do.
"I understand. You may choose anyone you want."
The animal nodded. It let its gaze travel over surroundings and sniffed the air. The brown tail with yellow tip started to dance above the ground. "Let's start hunting."
Wave Country
Pain.
Fire.
He couldn't open his eyes as they were too heavy. His skin was covered in sweat. He was confused with the cold he felt outside of his body, and uncontrollable feeling of burning inside. He was trembling as sharp pain travelled from his lungs to his stomach, and then appeared in his heart, and again in his side. What did this boy do to him?
Flashes of memories blurred in his vision, from the moment where he fought with his comrades about killing the child, to the moment when he wanted to close the boy's eyes himself. He was brash, aggressive and it scared the blond. The boy tried to get away, but was unsuccessful.
His large hand covered the eyelids of the boy, and then he heard his own screaming, when strange, thick and red haze covered his hand, burning it till it turned black. For him, it was only proof that the child was too dangerous, but his comrades viewed it as the sign of power, and forced him to accept the fact that they would keep the boy alive to sell him.
Another flash of memory showed as he screamed in pain later, cursing bloodlines. Only one of them was a medic, and concluded that his hand was not only burned, but poisoned, which had something to do with his weakening chakra network. That poison affected his body, so he was drugged when that idiot cut his hand off, to save his life.
It didn't help.
It wouldn't help even if his entire arm was cut off.
Everything was on fire. His own blood was boiling inside, threatening to explode from inside of him.
He was losing his mind, so when that foolish sister of the medic started to protect the boy, stating that he protected himself and it wasn't his fault one of them was suffering, he snapped. He wanted to kill that child, maybe to protect his comrades or have revenge... But again, she tried to stop him. He was enraged when he attacked her, feeling that she betrayed them.
And she, unlike him, didn't suffer.
Her death was quick and cold, like ice.
He was gritting his teeth to stay quiet as he was slowly dying before their eyes. Then he started to curse himself. Because of him they were slowed down, and couldn't travel as fast. He was a burden. They didn't trust him any longer after his actions.
His half opened eyes searched their faces, to see detachment, sadness, and in some of them, pity. They have already buried her body, and did that with care and remorse. They knew that they could hide her scent in some ways, but those methods would be a sign of disrespect and cruelty, which she did not deserve, unlike him.
He was in agony when they said their last words to him, some of them forgiving him, others staying uncomfortably silent. And all this time, the child was there. They covered his sight with material, to make sure that incident did not repeat itself, but to him, it seemed like the boy kept watching. His face was blank, like he had no emotions or reaction to what was happening. For all the time he was with them, he barely spoke, which was even more confusing. He was tied, had his eyes closed, he could do nothing and was a helpless child, and still, unexplainably so, it felt like there was more to his behaviour and ability than at the first glance.
The blade of kunai slid across his sweat covered neck silently, and he was dead when his body was dragged into the swamp nearby. He didn't feel its coldness, or the way it pulled him deeper. His skin was covering itself in his own blood, as his form was disappearing within the marsh created by nature. It was his grave, where his scent, chakra and personal secrets were hidden from the world forever.
...
Nature was not on their side.
Winds, waters and time took away the traces of scent, chakra and any other activity. They had to travel across waters surrounding the country blindly.
Then, deducing that shinobi travelled to Wave and Fire countries, they blindly searched for signs of them being anywhere along the border. And when they did, it wasn't something he was expecting.
The first thing they found was a body.
It was a woman, buried about a day or so ago. What confused him were her wounds. The one who inflicted them possessed the same bloodline she had. Humming and storing that information for later, Madara sealed the body into scroll, thankful that temperature of earth below was low, keeping the skin intact. His curiosity led him to believe he could study the differences between this clan and other shinobi; he was especially interested in comparing them to Senju, even though any comparison was farfetched.
He was surprised how eagerly Hanare followed the scents. Sometimes too eagerly for his own likes, but he was thankful for that. In the end, by midday they caught up with them on the border to Fire country, where they managed to be witnesses of negotiation between refugees and border patrol.
There were four shinobi they trailed from Water country, with one of them missing, while the other they found dead. One of them, possibly a leader, held a boy in place by his side. Madara scowled seeing his hands and fingers tied, and his eyes covered. His clothes, which had to be the same he was in the day he was taken, were dirty and torn. His usually vibrant expressions, filled with joy, were replaced with detachment and coldness. The anger rose within him seeing the hand of that worthless man touch the child that could be touched by him only.
His gaze shifted onto the figures of the Leaf shinobi. There were three of them by the refugees, and he also noted that two more were hidden in the trees. All five of them were from low to high jounin level which was surprising; wouldn't the Leaf rather send a team of chuunin under a jounin commander? They must have had a mission of sorts in this area. And an important one, seeing their number and skill level, though, they were clothed like standard jounin, not ANBU. He narrowed his eyes at implications of that. It would've been better if he caught his quartet without any witnesses, but now he had little choice, wait till he could attack them when they were not in company of the Leaf shinobi or attack now, each and every one of them.
He almost snarled when one of shinobi on patrol laughed at something the ice user said, and stepping close to the boy, lifted the cloth off his eyes. With curiosity, the Leaf ninja one after another looked into the purple orbs as the boy glared at them with ferocity.
Now he shouldn't wait till they left.
They saw something they had no right of seeing. He couldn't let them spread the information about existence of the new doujutsu.
He barely noticed Hanare growl as he rushed ahead with the speed that left his image disappearing. Unnoticed, he stole up to two of Konoha shinobi under cover and got rid of them without a sound, using a chain to successfully stifle them. Then, even faster, he slit the throats of three other jounin. They didn't know what happened as they fell on the ground dead. And with a glint of bloodlust in his eyes, and a blood covered blade in his hand, he faced those four that were the cause of his headache for the last three days.
The refugees regained their mobility in mere seconds after witnessing the fast defeat of their potential escort and protectors. Three pairs of hands formed seals and they reached for weapons. Thanks to their bloodline, they had the speed that was rare among shinobi, but even they could not stop the gashes that appeared on their bodies in a blink of an eye.
Crimson liquid covered the black sleeves of his cloak and he shook the blood off the blade that started to slide over the handle. He turned to the last one, who was panting in uncertainty, as he held the edge of kunai very close to the neck of the child. His pale forehead was marred by the deep frown and he made hesitant steps back, fearful of the killer whose red eyes murderously glared.
Hanare was intently watching the scene, keeping his gaze on the boy. Since the beginning, he could smell that he was not Madara's child. Usually, someone's scent could tell which pack he belonged to, as families often shared certain traits. The boy didn't smell like Madara and neither looked like him; but he could tell there was a bond between them, if the man's actions were anything to go by. And that wasn't all that had his attention. The child... it smelled differently. And at the same time, he could tell it was human, but with something inhuman about him. It was the reason he was so intent on finding and meeting the boy. There was a connection the boy might have with summons or summoning realm in general, but he couldn't pinpoint that; also, it seemed Madara himself didn't know of it, as he hasn't mentioned it nor gave a hint.
The fox lowered its head and stared at the violet eyes. He wouldn't tell the Uchiha that the boy was special in that way.
The last ice user trembled under the powerful gaze and was shocked to see as his right hand, which previously held the blade at the boy's throat, slowly rose. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the killer, and it was a puzzle at the back of his mind as presently, he noticed that his right hand came dangerously close to his own neck. There was a second of realization, when suddenly, without understanding, he willingly plunged the metal in the base of his throat.
The stream of blood that followed that action reached the boy's shoulder, where it became stains of colour. Still with the shocked expression, the man dropped on the ground, dead.
For a moment, Madara was still, and then he finally looked down at the boy.
It was unknown if Shiru saw a monster then, or a saviour. He was still shocked after the death of his surrogate mother, confused about his kidnapping, and terrified of the thought of becoming a slave and never seeing his father again.
The cold fire in man's eyes softened and he stepped closer to the blond, moving down on one knee. Without hesitation the boy slowly reached him and wordlessly hid his face in the man's chest.
He sighed with relief, glad that after all that happened his son recognized him. Thinking of the blond as his child was still new to him, but he was getting used to it, seeing as he couldn't help it after all this time. He embraced him gently and severed the bonds on his hands. The blonde's hands quickly found their place on the man's shirt, and he held the fabric in a tight grip.
He rose with the boy in his arms and pressing his face to the top of his head, quietly inhaled his smell; the smell of young, warm and pure. And it was his. He was surprised that he even hesitated before going after the captors. His son was worthy of his worry, hurry and care.
"Dad."
The boy whispered with confirmation, and relaxed, finally feeling that he was safe.
The fox rose from its sitting position and walked to them. It ignored the bodies on the ground and stopped in front of the black clad man. They exchanged calm but serious gazes and the animal spoke.
"Summon me two days from now. We shall discuss the terms of the deal."
At Madara's nod, the fox disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Fire Country, Konoha
Since the moment she entered, she was quiet, except for the formal greeting exchanged by them.
He motioned for her to take a seat, and she did.
After that, both of them stayed quiet.
He kept rereading the report on his desk that he kept under his gaze. It stated that for the last year Hyuuga Hikari was reserved, barely responsive, ignored her duties, ignored her son, and just last month, attempted to commit suicide.
His observation showed that she didn't sleep well; shadows under her eyes could not be covered, no matter how large amount of make-up was applied. She lost some of her weight and seemed to be absentminded most of the time. With a pang in his chest he realized that her eyes looked almost the same as they did the day she saw her husband dead.
Sitting in front of him in a guest chair, she was motionless, like she was alone in the room. When from the beginning she realized he wanted her to speak to him, she opted to avert her eyes and ignore him. She probably knew that this visit though initiated by Minato himself, was not official and would have no repercussions; but he suspected that she didn't care either way.
The report also stated that there were at least two people, relatives that tried to reach to her; her older sister, Hiashi's wife, and her closest friend in the branch house. As it was easy to see, none of them could help her get over the tragedy. In the end, she would most likely try to kill herself again.
He glanced at her clothing. It was expensive, a white and lavender kimono. It was simple, modest in its design. Her small feet were clad in soft white socks and geta. Her black, long and silky hair was put in a bun, and her forehead was covered with a white band.
Not willing to look at him, she stared over his shoulder, at the window, or through it. He sighed inwardly, understanding that she would not feel intimidated or encouraged to speak unless he simply talked to her.
He leaned back in his own comfy chair and rested his hands on the desk. He thought on where to start from, and closed his eyelids taking a breath in before whispering.
"Kushina-chan was my wife." He gulped, realizing that it would be harder than he thought, but he gathered himself, and let the fingers of his right hand play with a brush he picked off the desk before continuing. "...She died in my arms, four years ago. ...She gave a birth to our baby." His gaze travelled sideways to the corner of his desk, where he kept the picture of her.
It was his favourite. She was widely smiling at him as he held the camera, and her beautiful red hairs were shining in the rays of sunlight. Her greyish eyes were so childish then. There was mirth, love, playfulness, care, affection, joy...
"...Neither she, nor our son, are here." He turned to look at the woman who stared at him with empty gaze. "I lost them that day. ...I cried. ...I died, inside. I blamed myself. ...I hold myself responsible till this day." She broke the eye contact and he too, opted to look away.
"I never admitted to... to having intention to... kill myself. I had nothing to live for. ...So, I think I was convinced then, that I didn't deserve to live." He felt a moisture gathering in the corners of his eyes and rubbed them to hide it before it was visible. Then he laughed shortly and smiled before speaking a bit louder. "...I... I was told that I was a fool. I was told that I am a coward if I want to end my life and stop trying. ...Sensei, he made me believe, that I still have a reason to live."
He looked up and felt a bit easier. "You see... I have responsibilities. I am Hokage. I have people I have to protect, and a son to find. If... if I give up, leave, it would be selfish. ...It would mean I don't respect myself. It would mean I do not care about my closest people. ...Hikari-san," He addressed her, and she started, before slowly turning to look at him. "...Do you not care about your closest, most important people? Do you not respect yourself?"
She pressed her lips tightly and lowered her gaze. "I... I don't know anymore." She mumbled almost to herself.
He saw her withdraw into herself; it was noticeable in her hunched position, lowered head and folded hands. He sighed before speaking a bit harsher than he intended.
"Then you better do and soon." He reached under the file of report and took a short document that had a signature of Hyuuga clan head at the end of it. "This... is a request from Hiashi." He looked up at her with a strong and unbreakable gaze.
She was confused but silent, so he continued. "If I sign it, Hyuuga Neji will be put under the care of other members from the branch house. Understand that this is an important matter, because once that happens, you shall no longer be his mother. Do you understand the situation you are in?"
She gasped, and it was the strongest reaction he got from her since she walked in. He saw fear, realization and pain on her face, and it was a strange feeling of satisfaction for him. He managed to reach through, and there was still a hope for her.
He deliberately slowly hid the request back under the file. "One month. I am willing to give you one month, before I decide to sign, or not sign this document. Am I doing a right thing?"
Absently, she nodded and he sighed with relief.
Ame
When they stood in front of him he asked himself if there was anything he forgot about.
After a minute of trying to remember what it was he came to conclusion that there wasn't anything he had to remember which would refer to this.
The light in the building was low, somewhat gloomy but he still could easily see their features. Madara's were strangely apologetic, and asking for understanding, while the boy's were confused and curious. Both of them stared at him while he could only blink and wait for explanation. He raised his stare at the red eyed man and let him see that he was not pleased with anything Madara did or was going to do. They were in the corridor, leading to the main hall in his main building, and Madara called him when he was busy with testing one of his new bodies. Furthermore, he did not expect Madara to be back this early; they met and discussed their plans several days ago... He blinked again.
"Shiru, I want you to meet someone. This is my ...friend, Nagato. We work together." The Uchiha said still looking at the man in front of him, and then he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Nagato, meet Shirushi. He is my son."
Nagato blinked, perplexed.
The boy tilted his head and studied the strange shinobi. He too, like he and his father had eyes different than usual, but he also had some strange black sticks and elements in his body. They were on his face, in his nose, ears, neck, under his lips, in his hands, and if he concentrated, he could sense them in the rest of his body. He immediately liked his colour of hair, it was orange. The man also had a forehead protector, and if he was correct, as he remembered the history lessons, it had a symbol of Ame; strangely, it was slashed. He was wearing a long black cloak, similar to the one his dad wore, though without a hood.
"...Um, nice to meet you." The boy mumbled and Madara smirked.
Nagato, or rather, Deva Path, raised his left brow. A moment later he grunted, and directed his gaze back at Madara. He spoke a minute later, breaking the silence.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
The red eyed man shook his head slightly. "I'm serious; and by circumstances, I am forced to ask if he can stay here."
Nagato thought over it for a minute, staying completely silent and motionless, and then, he gave a curt nod and turned on the heel to walk in direction of the hall.
Somewhere on the border of Kusa and Taki
He knew that both of them were freaks of nature.
It wasn't hard to tell, considering that one of them was blue, and the other was two coloured; both of them were tall, strange in their form, speech and generally out of standards.
Why did he agree to this again?
Money; strong opponents, and lots of fun...
He glanced at his companion and if it wasn't for being immune after years of seeing strange, odd and ugly, he would've cringed. No surprise he was offered a position in the group, and so easily accepted. If all of them were going to be this out of picture, they definitely could call themselves a family.
They were travelling somewhere on the border of Grass and Waterfall. It was grassy all right. ...Trees and bushes here and there. Sometimes they crossed the rivers.
This particular mission was simple; find one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who gave up his title a year ago, but was still known to be one of the strongest.
He remembered him from before, which was probably the reason he was here, looking for that man. Kuma Dzurui wielded two swords, which was rare among swordsmen; the fact that both were heavy zanbatos only made him even more unique. His appearance, of a man taller and bigger than Hoshigaki Kisame himself, made him an intimidating, formidable and overall scary opponent. Though Dzurui didn't have as much chakra as Kisame did, he had many tricks up his sleeves, physical power, and speed. He could fight against dozens of opponents at the same time, finish them in the record time, and walk away from the battlefield unscathed. He would be a great addition to the organization, seeing as he loved money, fighting, and didn't like to stay in one place for too long.
Now if only they could find him.
For that reason, as Kisame was no tracker, Zetsu was ordered to become his temporary partner.
And as the plant man claimed, they were on their way to reach him; he must have had ability to ask trees if two swords wielding man walked by... but that wasn't Kisame's business.
Maybe Dzurui wasn't known as someone who could sense chakra at the distance, but Kisame was sure that if he could he would've dashed in their direction, eager to fight. That was why he glared at the back of the lazily walking man when they finally caught up with him. The bastard didn't even turn around. What the hell was wrong with him?
Zetsu hummed and both of them stopped, noticing that their target ceased strolling.
Kisame grimaced. The wind was blowing sideways, and the sun was hidden by thin, white clouds. All three of them were quiet for what seemed like eternity... It was all too damn dramatic.
He looked at his temporary partner to see that even though the man got used to him in the last few days, he was wary of their target, so he was quiet, and if Kisame had to guess, considered hiding somewhere underground. What a weakling.
He looked at his old friend, and realized he was in no mood to talk. ...To hell with it.
"What the f... is wrong with you, Kuma, won't you even greet your old comrade?"
His speech followed tense and heavy silence, so he scowled.
The back of the man, with strapped, heavy swords crossing each other, finally turned and he graced them with his front. Seeing it, Kisame turned his head puzzled.
It was a first time he saw the man covered from head to toes. No kidding, even half of his face, his hands and feet were hidden behind clothes. If he remembered correctly, Dzurui never liked to dress up, as he always complained about hot weather and fabric being a nuisance. Why the sudden change?
"What do you want." The man half asked and half stated, in a voice completely unfamiliar to Kisame. His yellow eyed companion noticed his change in demeanour and addressed him.
"Is something the matter?"
"Damn yes... Something is wrong with him."
Zetsu blinked with one eye and looked at their target. Not waiting for him to come to conclusions Kisame continued to speak.
"Actually, we're here with an offer. But before I state it I'd like to know what happened to you. You've changed, but it's not like we parted ways decades ago. Did you have to chew more than you could swallow?" He asked with a grin, suspecting that the man got in a fight which after he had to hide his horrific, scarred appearance.
"You could say that." The figure replied cryptically, and that brought another frown to shark like features.
"We are here to ask if you'd be interested to join our group..." Zetsu started but the man cut him.
"I'm not interested in joining any group. I work alone."
Kisame 'tch'ed and reached for the handle of his wide sword. "I think I'll have to beat some sense into you. You're getting annoying, Dzurui."
With that he quickly appeared before the covered man and swung Samehada at his midsection. He expected the man to stop the attack with one of his swords, but he jumped sideways instead. Kisame attacked again, opting for a close range fight, but the man's dodging irritated him to the point of eye twitching.
"Dodging? It's not your style!"
Responding to his accusation, the man reached for the sword and blocked the wrapped Samehada. Kisame tilted his head and studied the man's arm suspiciously.
"That's too stiff, don't you think?" He overpowered him and suddenly, the form of the man went still. It seemed paralyzed. "Huh? You had more chakra before..." A second later, with disappointment clear on his face, Kisame cleaved the man from his top shoulder to hip and was surprised when from the back of the figure something jumped back...
A. N. Kuma Dzurui: Cunning Bear
