Alrighty then; here's chapter number 7, my freaky darlings!
I'm very sorry that it took so long. Life's a bitch sometimes.
It's a bit shorter than I wanted, but I didn't want to start up the next "event" at the end. Have fun.
Her blood tasted like cherries, as opposed to the coppery tang a human might taste. Then again, a human would be dead.
Tsukiko felt something burning in her stomach, but it was far less intense that what had...
"Wait... what... where...what happened?", She asked herself, opening her eyes.
The color of the sky and the relative darkness that cloaked Sanctuary let her know it was night; a long time since she had been knocked out. Then, it came back to her; the Rasengan, the burning pain, Hikari... Hikari!
"H-hikari-chan?!", Tsukiko croaked, suddenly realizing how parched her throat was; talking hurt. A hand tightened around her own.
"I'm here, Tsukiko-chan.", Hikari's voice assured her. As her vision cleared—Tsukiko hadn't realized how blurry it had been until the world started clearing up— Hikari came into view. The elder Demoness was leaning over her, looking relieved. "How do you feel?"
"A lot better than I should...", Tsukiko whispered, wincing. She flinched slightly when Hikari actually glared at her and growled.
"What were you thinking?!", she shouted, startling Tsukiko, "I could have taken that hit with no problem, and the recoil would have hit your father harder than the full attack hit me!"
"I-I...", Tsukiko started, feeling foolish for having done so. It didn't feel wrong, she realized, but foolish nonetheless. "I didn't want to see you get hurt... I didn't know you could take it."
Hikari's expression softened, sighing a moment later.
"Next time, trust that I can take a hit from a human, alright?", Hikari quietly said, "Your chakra wasn't dense enough to absorb the blow, and it won't be for some time."
"Hai... gomen...", Tsukiko rasped, throat a little dryer for some reason. She flushed and diverted her eyes. Hikari giggled.
"Here, drink this.", Hikari said through a smile. Tsukiko felt one of Hikari's tails gently lift her torso up into a sitting position. The Juubi had a small stone bowl in her hand, in which was a clear, cool pool of water.
Not trusting Tsukiko's motor skills, Hikari brought the dish to Tsukiko's lips and tipped it. The water seemed to quench the girl's thirst, at least in part, if her expression was anything to go by.
"Thank you, Hikari-chan.", Tsukiko sighed, feeling much better. She was a little surprised when Hikari slipped something around her neck. "Wha-...?"
It was a small amulet, and through some miracle Tsukiko was able to get her arm up to grab it and bring it up to inspect it. It reminded her of a totem the she had seen in a book once, but at the same time the ten tailed fox it depicted somehow looked exactly like Hikari—even in her humanoid form.
"Hikari, what is this fo-...oh...", Tsukiko started, stopping when Hikari held up her hand, ring gleaming in the starlight. "O-oh... oh..."
"I couldn't really think straight when you gave me the ring either, to be honest.", Hikari said with a wry smile. "I... I love you, Tsukiko-chan.". It sounded awkward, but it still sent a shiver down Tsukiko's spine; a very pleasant one at that.
"I love you too... Hikari-chan."
It was like some terrible weight had been lifted from her shoulders; Tsukiko and Hikari were content to ignore the world as they sat there, having a moment.
"Don't relent!"
"Oh Goddess-Dammit...", Hikari swore, shooting a glare at the hill. Tsukiko followed her gaze to see a small army of wounded ninja rushing them... and being repelled by a Nibi Kenji and a worn-out Sasuke.
"T-they're still fighting?! And why is Sasuke over here?! What happened?"
"Your fellow ninja are... persistent, if nothing else. Kenji has been keeping them at bay; your friend joined in after a while to help protect you. It's treason, if I'm not wrong, but it was appreciated.", Hikari looked sad for a moment, "If a ninja had gotten through before I finished healing you... it might have been the end of you."
"But we can't just let them... Kenji will-"
"He's not using lethal force, but he's making sure to weaken them as much as possible. I don't know which side will crack first though.", Hikari sighed, "You're not strong enough to resist capture, and if you get hit by anything..."
"Can't we at least show them I'm alright? They can't see me because of the grass, but maybe they'll stop if...well...maybe, anyway.", Tsukiko trailed off. It would take a miracle to end this without something tragic happening.
Tsukiko could hear her father shouting orders, and could feel his anger from this distance... wait...
"It... he feels so... desperate? Does... does he think I'm dead?". Tsukiko suddenly felt as though this entire debacle—her father's desperation, Sasuke's defection, and all of the injured ninja—was her fault. She realized, in some ways it was; that thought brought something forth from her core, where it had been bubbling in anger.
"STOP FIGHTING!"
Tsukiko's cry had come out with the boom of thunder, rolling over Sanctuary and flattening some of the grass near her. Whatever words that she had meant to say next fell from memory as she realized that all eyes were suddenly on her.
Kenji picked that moment to fall to the ground, laughing hysterically.
"O-oh that's fucking rich!", he managed to say though the bubbling mirth. Sasuke stared at the demon as though he had lost it's mind.
"Ts-Tsukiko?!", Kushina cried, overjoyed to see her daughter alive. When the Rasengan hit, she had feared the worst. She wanted to run over and embrace her daughter, but there was a demon in the way... not to mention the one the was supporting Tsukiko.
"Everyone, stop fighting!", Tsukiko shouted, voice not as thunderous as it had been a moment prior. "This... this has all been a misunderstanding.". Tsukiko realized how foolish it sounded, but she could think of no better way of saying it. "Kenji didn't kidnap me, and if you think Hikari threw me in the way of the Rasengan... I'm the one who used Kawarimi. Hikari healed me. Just... stop fighting. Don't let anyone else get hurt because of me."
There was a tense silence that weighed down the field like lead. Tsukiko watched as Itachi—bearing several cuts on his torso, more than likely from failed attempts at getting past Kenji—whispered something to her father. They had a small conversation that she couldn't hear, though it looked like Hikari could.
"Your Father is being told that this is no illusion, and that there is no genjutsu affecting you. If you want, I'll allow your mother to cross the line and see you for herself; I can see her near your father.", Hikari quietly offered, adding a small growl a moment later, "But I will not let you out of my sight. Not after what has happened."
Tsukiko almost wanted to argue it that her injury hadn't been intentional, but she realized that part of it was likely their freshly started Courtship.
"Alright...", Tsukiko replied, throat feeling a bit dry again. "Do you have any more water?"
"Yes, just let me make some more.", Hikari replied, expression softening. She took the bowl and aimed a tail tip to it, smiling. "You'll be able to convert air and earth to water one day; conversion is far more difficult than manipulation." After a few second she brought the bowl to Tsukiko's lips and let her drink again. "Kenji, let Tsukiko-chan's mother by."
"You sure?", Kenji asked, still laying on the ground. Hikari's nod made him sigh, jumping up a moment later. "Hey, which one of you is Tsukiko's mother?"
Kenji knew, from glimpses he got from Tsukiko's eyes and from her visit to Sanctuary, but he wanted to make sure that Kushina stepped forward and that it wasn't a ninja in a genjutsu; his eyes could tell the difference. Luckily for the sake to time, however, she did step forward.
"I am.", she shouted back, standing tall as Minato moved beside her. Gone was the kimono she wore at the house, and in it's place was the armor of a retired Anbu.
"You can go check on Tsukiko if you want." Kenji shouted, stretching; most of the ninja were too injured to come at him for the time being; there were plenty of medical ninja fixing everyone up, but it still took a bit of time. "Just you though. Anyone else who tries to cross is getting cut up, as usual."
Minato looked at his wife, not trusting the demon in the slightest. He had more than a few cuts to prove that the red-haired one was more powerful than a normal ninja by any standard, and he had felt the power of the blue-demon through his clones.
"Don't you dare tell me not to go.", Kushina harshly whispered, walking towards the line before Minato could speak. The dull murmurs of the gathered ninja died to silence as she neared Kenji, who was absently fiddling with a long blade of grass. Sasuke tensed up as she passed Kenji, but the demon did nothing as Kushina walked by him.
"If she tries something, she's going to get hit... hard...", Hikari whispered, eyes on the approaching mother.
"Hikari-chan..."
Hikari didn't respond, Kushina being far too close for her liking; at the moment she wasn't really fond of any human. The kunoichi stopped a few feet away, trying to judge if she could get any closer.
"Are you okay Tsukiko-chan? What...what happened?", she asked, biting her lip when her daughter broke eye contact. "Please... at least tell me you're alright."
"I'm...I'm fine. Hikari-chan is healing me." Tsukiko replied, not wanting to look at her mother. She felt some level of embarrassment at being shown for the Demoness she now was.
"...Can I get closer?" Kushina asked after a moment of silence.
"...If you try anything, you will not enjoy the consequences, regardless of your relation to Tsukiko-chan." Hikari replied, eyes locked on the older kunoichi.
Tsukiko felt her mother move in and kneel beside her, biting back tears when Kushina gently cupped her cheek and made Tsukiko look at her.
"Tsukiko-chan... please... tell me why you look like...like-"
"A Demon." Tsukiko finished, closing her eyes. The action squeezed out a single tear. "I made a deal with Kenji that let me have eight of his tails in exchange for his freedom. We didn't know he was getting out alive, even he was counting on dying be-because of the seal."
"Kenji? Is he the red-demon?"
"Kenji... he's... he was the Kyuubi."
Tsukiko could feel the shock from her mother, rolling off of her in waves and in the air around her.
"Tsukiko, Why would you do such a thing?! We told you time and again never to talk to the Kyuubi! And who is this... Blue-Demon?"
"We have names and I'd appreciate it if you used them.", Hikari cut in, gaining Kushina's attention in an instant. Tsukiko had a feeling that her contributions to the conversation were about to be miniscule. "His name is Kenji, and mine is not "Blue-Demon", it is Hikari Avaron. I'll also have you know that Kenji is a Nibi Kitsune at the moment, and it will be quite some time before he becomes a Kyuubi again. As it stands, the only Kyuubi in this valley is your daughter."
Tsukiko could feel her mother's gaze directed at the nine tails, but she still couldn't open her eyes.
"I'm getting the distinct impression that you don't like me."
"Your husband nearly killed my Tsukiko."
"Your Tsukiko?"
If she had the muscle control, Tsukiko might have facepalmed.
Kenji shuddered, drawing Sasuke's attention.
"Is something wrong? Are they about to charge?", he asked, gripping his kunai tight. He barely had any chakra or energy left.
"I sense a disturbance in the force..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, no matter what you hear or sense, keep your eyes and body facing forward and don't fucking look behind you."
"Why?"
"Because hell hath no fury like a mother and daughter-in-law meeting for the first time over the body of the injured daughter who was hurt by the father." Kenji replied, keeping his eyes forward.
"Okaaaa-wait, what?", Sasuke asked, head snapping towards Kenji.
"Yeah... not my place to be discussing this sorta thing... but Tsukiko and Hikari are... I think the human equivalent is engagement." Kenji scratched his cheek with a single claw, drawing some energy from some nearby fires—which came from several failed fire jutsu—to heal up a bit.
"O-oh." Sasuke shakily replied, face a bright red. "Um... Hikari is the blue one then?"
"Yep."
"Okay." Sasuke waited a moment, not knowing why he had to build courage, or something akin to it, for what was on his mind. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha; I don't think you'll appreciate me calling you Red-Demon."
"Not really. Name's Kenji Ginsora."
"So... What's with...y'know...?"
"Tsukiko?"
"Yeah."
"Long stor-"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
"Aaaaand there's the disturbance again." Kenji sighed, keeping his eyes forward.
"I'm... just gonna pretend that whatever is back there is a prerecorded message and keep guarding."
"Good plan."
"Itachi... can you hear them?" Minato asked, keeping his eyes on his wife, daughter, and the blue-demon.
"Hokage-sama... after that I'm not entirely sure I can hear you."
"Just checking."
"I'll say it slowly since you didn't get it the first time; Tsukiko and I ar-", Hikari started, getting cut off by the furious mother.
"I heard what you said, I want an explaination!"
Honestly at this point Tsukiko didn't know if her mother was legitimately mad or if it was just the stress of the day compacted unto a discovery she probably didn't find pleasant.
"I fail to see why one should be necessary."
"Well I-"
"Mother, Hikari, knock it off." Tsukiko interjected, getting two sets of glares and returning them as best she could. "Hikari, please don't piss off my family if you can help it. Okay?"
"...I will try."
"Thank you. Mom... Hikari and I... " Tsukiko just didn't know what to say.
Kushina looked like she was about to respond, but she stopped herself as Tsukiko sat up.
"Tsukiko-chan! You can't be moving yet!" Hikari protested, though she couldn't complain when Tsukiko leaned her back against her chest. "You need to stay still, your organs haven't healed completely."
Kushina almost asked what she meant by organs, but she remembered the Rasengan and silenced herself. Seeing Tsukiko so happy with this...Hikari... brought forth some memories that she would rather remain buried.
"...am I going to get an explanation about any of...this?" Kushina asked, pausing to motion towards Tsukiko and Hikari.
"It's a long story, and I've had a really long day. Can we do this after we're sure my organs aren't jelly?" Tsukiko asked. "And when there isn't a small army of ninja trying to get over here?"
"Tsukiko, I'm being reasonable and I'm not leaving without some explanation."
"We met, I taught her a few things, we fell in love. Tsukiko-chan wanted to make a deal with Kenji to become a demoness so that she and I could be together, and it had the unforeseen consequence of letting Kenji out. Right now I'm trying to focus on keeping your daughter from being injured any further, and redundant explanations aren't furthering that goal." Hikari said, voice still agitated.
"You lis-"
"No, you liste-"
"Both of you shut up! I just had my organs ground up, burned away, and they're still trying to fix themselves; listening to you two argue about whose going to get to play doctor—and I know that's where this is going—isn't helping!", Tsukiko shouted, cutting both of them off. Kushina seemed slightly taken aback by the sudden outburst; unsure of how Hikari had reacted, Tsukiko shifted to look at the elder-demoness, who seemed more surprised than anything, thought seeing her ears perk and her eyes wide was cute in a way.
"...I'm sorry Tsukiko.", Kushina sighed, pushing her anger away; her daughter's safety was more important. She turned her attention to Hikari and addressed the Juubi, "We can argue later, healing Tsukiko is priority at the moment. How much did you do?"
"...I burned the mush to nothing, them used my chakra to keep her alive and nudge her chakra to begin the regeneration process; it was a delicate process, and if Kenji and..."
"Sasuke." Tsukiko added, realizing this was the first time Hikari had seen the boy.
"Thank you; if Kenji and Sasuke weren't holding the line, and a ninja got to me, Tsukiko might have died from the fluctuation in my chakra. As it stands you should be resting; your organs are barely functional right now, and most of them are probably still offline at the moment." She finished, directing the last bit at Tsukiko.
"Can you do anything else?", Kushina asked, knowing that they had plenty of medical ninja that could heal Tsukiko up quickly.
"Healing... is not my forte. I can only keep her stabilized while her own regeneration fixes her body."
"Which will take how long?", Kushina asked.
"Given that she hadn't even really gotten used to her new chakra to begin with, it's having a hard time fixing itself without targeting itself as part of the problem. I'd say a decent week before I'd be comfortable with her walking. She only got this far this fast with my chakra speeding up the process, but one demon can only take so much chakra from another before... bad things happen."
"Bad things like what?"
"Bad things like explosions. I can only offer stabilization at this point, which is basically just me keeping her chakra in her body so that it stays on task; organs, bones, muscle-mass... if it starts seeping out then it'll take even longer."
It wasn't a pleasant thought for anyone involved, and Kushina wasn't sure how either would respond to her coming suggestion.
"We have medical ninja that can fix most muscle and bone damage, though organs are... more complicated." Kushina offered. "If you let them come down here, they'll be able to help."
"The use of chakra in general is a bad idea, at least for a few days. I'm not sure if Tsukiko's chakra could tell the difference between human and demon, but I know it'll recognize it as foreign and attack it after my intrusion."
"Is there anything we can do at this point?"
"You can leave sanctuary so Tsukiko isn't any more stressed than needed. Or at least get the ninja army to leave." Hikari added after a subtle jab from Tsukiko's elbow. She knew that it must have taken effort to do it.
"That's not going to be easy to do." Kushina replied, casting a glance over her shoulder at her husband. "Minato is not going to back down so easily."
"Well he can leave or he can cause his daughter undue suffering." Hikari replied. Kushina sighed, an annoyed looked sweeping across her face.
"Tsukiko, please tell me she's nicer than this when people aren't looking."
"I don't think in-laws ever get along." Tsukiko replied, almost laughing at the confusion she could feel from both Hikari and Kushina.
"You're going to have to explain that when you're better." Kushina sighed. The ex-anbu rose up and groaned at the cracking that came from her legs; the years spent pushing her limits as a ninja were catching up a lot faster than she cared to admit. "I'll do what I can to get some of the ninja to leave, but you're going to have to give me something to negotiate with."
"Meaning you want Tsukiko to leave with you as soon as possible while the most elite ninja remain here to make sure we don't dash off with your daughter." Hikari deadpanned, getting another elbow in the ribs from Tsukiko; it's lack of strength was worrying her.
"I was going to word it a little more invitingly than that, but that's the gist of what I'm going to need." Kushina replied, folding her arms. "You said it would take a week for Tsukiko to heal, so in a week we want her out of Sanctuary and back in Konoha. During the week we'll keep ten anbu stationed here, for observation purposes."
"Five of the masked-ones. I do not want any more destruction to Sanctuary." Hikari replied. After a moment of thought, she added something. "And the one who fought to save your daughter's life, I think his name is Sasuke, isn't to be considered of guilty of any crime."
Tsukiko, at this point, had given up on really contributing to the conversation. She didn't have the energy to argue with a higher-ranked demon and her own mother, though the former seemed to be arguing in her favor at least.
"I'll see what I can do about Sasuke and the anbu; are there any issues with Tsukiko's departure?" Kushina asked, slightly surprised that it hadn't been first.
"No. In a week she can go back to Konoha." Hikari replied flatly, as though the asking had almost annoyed her. The answer surprised the two kunoichi though.
"Alright... I'll inform my husband and we'll see where it goes from there."
Hikari and Tsukiko waited for Kushina to be out of earshot, a great distance indeed for an ex-shinobi, before they began speaking.
"I'm sorry, I just don't want anything else to happen to you." Hikari apologized, voice once again smooth, if a little too close to tearful for Tsukiko's liking.
"It's alright. I can't really talk for myself right now." Tsukiko replied, trying to smile at the silver-eyed Juubi. "Or at least walk for myself."
"I hate to say it, but regeneration is a bit like a talent; it gets better the more you use it, so if it's any consolation it'll be fairly quick after this..." Hikari offered, forcing a smile. "But next time, trust that I can handle myself in a fight; I am the Juubi, after all."
"I'm allowed to worry, thank you very much." Tsukiko replied with mock anger; she failed to suppress a giggle when Hikari lightly cuffed her upside the head with a tail.
There was a moment of silence while the two watch Kushina speak to Minato and the gathered ninja, the joy of the prior moment seeming to turn to sand the quickly slipped through their fingers.
"How are the negotiations?" Tsukiko asked, tone reflecting the silent mood switch. She felt a deep sigh within Hikari's chest.
"Well enough. Minato isn't entirely sure we won't kill people, among other things, but he's willing to forget a lot of what a ninja calls common sense to get you back." Hikari replied, mentally shouting at herself to figure out what had gone wrong with their little moment.
"Hikari... why did you agree to let them take me back to Konoha so easily?" Tsukiko asked, voicing the concern that had been bugging her since it arose. "Are we not supposed to be...I mean I don't know how Courtship really goes still..."
"Only an idiot makes a deal with a fox, to be perfectly honest." Hikari replied, almost offhandedly. A second later she had her lips right next to Tsukiko's ear, breath tickling her skin. "I said you could go back to Konoha, and they said they wanted you back. Technically you're not required to go, and if you want to be a bit more realistic, you never agreed to it anyway."
"Oh wow... foxes like loopholes I take it?" Tsukiko asked while an amazingly pleasant shudder rand down her spine. She felt Hikari shrug.
"We just know how to exploit what people say." she responded, moving her head away from Tsukiko's ear somewhat reluctantly. Hikari wasn't sure if Tsukiko was aware, but underneath the scent of her shampoo was her natural—and extremely pleasant—scent.
"I don't know if I want to tempt pissing my parents off though..." Tsukiko muttered, sighing a moment later. "I mean, I want to stay out here with you, but... I mean I still love my parents and I still have friends in Konoha..."
"You can go back if you want, but I'd prefer to go with you if you don't mind." Hikari replied, reaching to put her arms around Tsukiko's waist and stopping half-way to retract her arms.
"No, you can do that if you want; I wouldn't mind!" Tsukiko hurriedly said, a little annoyed that Hikari hadn't put her arms around her.
"I'd love to, but your organs wouldn't like me doing it." Hikari replied, sounding a bit put off.
"Oh."
"We can... I think the word is cuddle... later when your organs are healed." Hikari replied, smiling despite the fact she knew knew Tsukiko wouldn't see it. She was a little tempted to bury her face in Tsukiko's hair, but she wasn't sure what Tsukiko was really okay with; they had spoken of courtship and mates before, in passing due to Tsukiko being fairly skittish with the topics, but Hikari wasn't sure how humans were raised to handle such things. And besides that-
"Hikari, do Demons speak another language? You take your time with Japanese sometimes." Tsukiko asked, interrupting Hikari's thought trail.
"Hmm? Technically each species can communicate the same way the animals that we are similar to would, but are you asking if there's a universal language for us?"
"Yeah."
"There are a few for different regions. I can teach you the one from my home in Spring Country if you'd like. I haven't spoken Fire Country Language in ages; it's where the Kitsunes make their home. Kenji could probably teach you, but I don't think he left his fox form long enough to really talk to anyone for quite some time, so he's probably rusty too."
"Is it... hard to learn?" Tsukiko asked, not really sure if she wanted to commit the time to learning a new language. She reminded herself she was a demoness now though, so learning a demon language or two would probably be a good idea.
"Meh, it varies. Your mother is heading back to tell us your father wants seven anbu here, not five. Just thought you should know."
"I'm going to be done healing by the time you guys are done regenerating." Tsukiko muttered, getting another playful swat from Hikari's tail. "As soon as I figure out how to do that, I am swatting the shit out of you with all nine tails." Tsukiko taunted, tone playful enough to get her shoulder buffeted by another tail.
It was going to be a long night, but at least she could spend it with someone so precious to her.
And there's the long awaited chapter. I am so sorry it took so long to get out; A lot of shit was going down in my life and I didn't have much time for anything other than drowning my sorrows in DFO and my girlfriend(Don't kill me for saying that honey, I love you!).
Speaking of my girlfriend though, you can all thank her for making me pick this story back up. She read it and the smiles and emotions it brought upon her were motivation enough to get my shit going again.
Much love to all of you, my most Freaky Darlings. I am in College now, so I can't say anything for an update schedule, but I'll try to get the next chapter out asap.
