Part the Sixth…
"Get some rest…"
That's what she had said, the woman called 'Mao' had told him, almost commanded him, before taking a quick seat against a large old tree and closing her eyes. To sleep or mediate Naruto didn't know, she was just ungodly still and he was hesitant to defy her orders.
-She's like everyone I ever feared and respected rolled into one being… I simply can't say 'no' to something she says…-
He snorted as he turned over on the soft dirt he was sleeping on. Sure, not the best bed in the world, but he'd had worse, at least the ground was soft, and the area was quiet and peaceful, it made it almost seem safe.
-It's almost like there's a presence nothing everything's afraid of… all the animals left this area, and nothing will come near…-
His cerulean eyes traced the still form of the brunette. She sat up straight, not slouching in the slightest, shoulders broad, head leveled, body completely symmetrical with her hands together in the dragon seal parallel to her stomach. Never once did she move or twitch. She was just perfectly still.
-I guess one thousand years would give you that kind of patience…-
Naruto's face scrunched up at the thought.
-Do I even want to believe that crap she told me?-
No matter how much he wanted to rationalize it, his heart kept telling him she was right. Then again, that twinge did feel a bit lower; maybe Kyuubi was trying to harass him about this weird woman. He turned over and scowled, "Tch…"
-That bastard's been silent for this long, why'd he bother to start bringing shit up now? With this woman?-
The blonde's brows furrowed even more, just thinking of that cretin. The beast in his belly that used to fight him at every turn, take any opportunity to demean him it could, had been silent for too damn long. He just suddenly shut up and took a backseat to everything the blonde did, not bothering to argue whenever the blonde would forcibly take its power by choice or anger. It just sat there, silent.
-Now I get this feeling he wants to start some shit up again just because of this woman's presence…-
Naruto thought about this for a moment. Why would the Kyuubi, which had all but turned its back on him, suddenly stir because of Mao? He glanced over his shoulder to find her still in the same position, still as stone under the tree; he even began to wonder if she was even breathing, if she even needed to…
-Well the fuzz-ball does… all the time, snorting at me while he was cursing me…-
Did demons even need to breathe? Or did they just go through the motions to annoy other beings? She was so ungodly still it didn't seem to make sense in his tired mind that she'd bother with the motion of breathing if she didn't have to… but still…
-Ugh!! Why am I even thinking about this?!-
He roughly turned over on the soft earth, his blue eyes just glaring at her, examining the still form for even the smallest hint of motion. He found none. It was eerie to say the least. He got the feeling she was still breathing, but for some reason the motion wasn't obvious or visible. He felt absolutely nothing coming from her, no breathe, no chakra, not even a presence…
-But something does feel creepy about this area… like it's wrapped in something I can't see…-
He was distinctly reminded of the first time he had met the fox. The area in his mind was permeated with its youkai, but at the time he had no idea what that was, it was only years later he learned that the demon's chakra was that different. When he learned about youkai, it scared him, terrified him to his very core, it was energy, like chakra, just a demon's version, and about a million times more potent, and acted completely to the demon's will. Many permeated areas with their youkai, claiming it as theirs, the Kyuubi did it with the cell around the seal to try and scare Naruto, since apparently anything mortal had a natural aversion to the stuff, it simply left a feeling of discontent, and often consumed people with whatever emotion was infused within it.
-If she is a demon… like she claims… would that mean this area is permeated with her youkai?-
His eyes looked around the area; he didn't find a hint of anything burning, melting, or overall being destroyed by the presence that settled in the area. In fact he didn't see anything really out of the ordinary… just no animals…
-Silence and stillness huh?-
He looked at his brunette confidant, grunted, and turned back over shaking his head.
-There's just no way she can be a demon… she's just too… human…-
His mind flashed to the look in her eyes when she told him about her life, what she was and where she came from. There was a distinct sorrow and sadness in them, the only time he saw a distinct 'Hatred' was when she talked about her scars, and when she spoke of him there was only a heavy disappointment. He pouted, scrunching up his face, uncomfortable with the memory.
-Demons don't feel pain, they don't get sad, feel 'sorry' about anything… hell they CAUSE pain and suffering, why would they feel it?-
Due to his rather limited exposure of demons, I.e. The Kyuubi no Kitsune, and the horror stories he'd heard around, he was of the opinion most, if not all, demons were vicious, evil, and enjoyed cause mayhem and destruction.
-But 'Mao' doesn't…-
Now he was at an emotional dilemma, on one hand, demons were evil, on the other there was Mao. For all intents and purposes she wasn't evil, aside from a few personality quirks, which Naruto had to admit followed oddly close to his way of thinking… yes, she wasn't evil. She'd yet to overtly threaten his life for no good reason, and wasn't burning off youkai in an attempt to intimidate him or blow up the local area. She didn't seem the least bit interested in terrorizing humans or consuming their flesh, then again, he hadn't seen the woman eat once the entire time he'd been following her…
-Do demons eat? I mean the Kyuubi always said he'd eat me, but that was more a threat than anything else…-
The blonde shook his head. He'd have to leave this debate up for later. As of right now, he would say he didn't believe she was a demon, something not quite 'human' sure, how she 'slept' seemed to prove that, but a demon? He wasn't convinced.
-Besides, if she was a demon, would she just look like an ordinary person? I mean she makes Kotetsu and Izumo look exotic if it weren't for her scars… and then she puts Ibiki to shame…-
Naruto closed his eyes; he would try to get some sleep. He didn't know what part of her story to believe, the scars probably, they were in fact right in front of him and sheer rage he saw in her eyes was no lie, so he would believe that. But the whole thing about the village? Him, dying? Her being a demon? No, not really, he'd have to wait until tomorrow to make his own conclusions, there were a few things he had to see to make sure.
-And then… only then… will I believe her…-
The voice in his mind held a deep determination, he would eventually find the truth of what was going on, and then… then he would find out what he had to do.
