naruto characters are (C) of Masashi Kishimot while the rest are (C) to me
Chapter VI: Secret Revealed
Chapter VI: Secret Revealed
(Next day)
I woke early the next morning in order to be on time for my training with Kakashi. I remembered being chastised by him for hours just because I was a minute late for practices back when we trained with Minato-sensei and Yoko-sensei.
White Fang had been ecstatic after I'd told him about Kakashi being alive. The wolf had immediately become more chipper to match my mood. I'd never realized how depressed I had become after Kakashi's death but White Fang served as a good example. He would copy my mood or just give me space depending on how I was feeling. Everything was back to normal now.
I had a tough time deciding what to wear: my normal outfit or my ANBU uniform? I decided on my normal outfit since I wasn't going for ANBU training and this way I wouldn't have to hide my face behind a mask.
Putting on clothes turned out to be a bit of a hassle. My cut was still tender and I ended up reopening the wound. I changed the bandage and put new bandage wraps in my backpack.
After getting dressed I packed a lunch in my bag for the two of us as well; salmon sushi with naruto for dessert. I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder and headed out the door.
I arrived at the clearing about ten minutes later and the sun was just beginning to rise. I sat on top of the giant rock and waited for Kakashi…
An hour had gone by and he still hadn't shown. The sun had almost completely risen and Kakashi had said to meet at sunrise or had I heard him wrong?
A few more minutes passed and then I felt my eyes involuntarily close…
"Hey Tatsue, wake up," I groaned as something nudged my shoulder.
I opened my eyelids but my vision was blurry. Light flooded in them which made it even harder to focus on the face above me. Kakashi's navy blue, masked face moved directly overhead and blocked out some of the sunlight. He wore his headband so that it covered his left eye.
I sat up slowly and realized that Kakashi was wearing his green vest and navy blue pants. It was very different from his navy blue outfit with the white shoulder pads and leather straps that he'd used to wear. He'd never worn his vest before after becoming a Chuunin and I could see why; even with his growth spurt over the past few months the vest was still slightly too big.
"Your outfit would look better if that jacket actually fit," I informed him. "It's really hot out too; you might as well just take it off."
Kakashi nodded in agreement and took the vest off and placed it beside me. The tight navy blue shirt the he wore underneath showed off his muscular arms and chest. I swooned but quickly stopped so that Kakashi wouldn't see. I stood as Kakashi rose from his squatting position next to me. It was really bright out and I looked up at the sky; the sun was directly overhead, it was noon!
"Where were you? I thought we were supposed to meet at sunrise!" I turned on Kakashi angrily.
"Oh yeah… Well you see the Hokage wanted me to go on a little mission," Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," I eyed him suspiciously.
If he'd gone on a mission then why wasn't he wearing his ANBU uniform? Oh well, I let it slip.
"So what are we going to work on today?" I danced on the spot excitedly.
"I thought we'd do the Bell Exercise Yondaime made my squad do one time," Kakashi smiled and held up two silver bells.
"Okay, what are the rules?" I was confused; I'd never done this exercise before.
"I'll have to change this around a bit, but we both are going to have a bell," he handed one to me daintily. "The objective is to hide in the forest around the clearing and we'll both try and steal the bell from the other. Whoever loses has to be tied to a tree and watch the other eat their lunch," Kakashi smiled under his mask and tossed his bell up in the air.
"You're kidding right? That's way too easy," I looked at him incredulously.
Kakashi just smiled and attached his bell to his belt near his left hip. I sighed and did the same. I looked at him again, making sure that this was really what he wanted to do. I turned swiftly and jumped into the trees. I leapt from tree to tree as silently as I could and stopped on an extremely thick branch that I thought could support Kakashi's weight as well if he found me. I looked back towards the rock and saw Kakashi scanning the trees for any sign of me. I made the hand signs for my Wolf Senses Jutsu and waited for Kakashi to make the first move.
Two hours had passed and Kakashi and I stood facing each other on top of the rock panting, kunai drawn. We hadn't a scratch on us but we were tired from blocking each other's attacks and the lack of food probably had something to do with it as well. Both of our bells were still firmly attached to our hips and not one of us had even been able to touch the others.
"We're too evenly matched. This'll take forever," I complained, eyeing Kakashi's bell.
"That's why it's good practice," Kakashi replied with a smirk.
I sighed, there was still a bit of the old Kakashi in there; the one that pushed me to my limits. I quickly racked my brain for something that could help me win. Ninjutsu and Taijutsu had proved to be ineffective since we were evenly matched and there was no point in wasting chakra by using Sharingan. All that was left was Genjutsu, but would mine seem as real as Yondaime's?
I widened my eyes in fear as I looked behind Kakashi. I raised a shaky finger and pointed in the direction the giant monster was coming from.
"What?" Kakashi turned his head to look where I was pointing but still kept me in his line of sight.
Kakashi jumped closer to me as a giant beast with shaggy black fur emerged from the trees. I took a step back in fear as the creature advanced. It drooled and its glowing red eyes never left Kakashi's face.
"Let's back up really slowly," Kakashi whispered; had I fooled him?
I whirled around so that our backs were almost touching. Another monster, identical to the first, slunk out of the forest in front of me.
"We're trapped," I informed him, adding a hint of fear to my voice.
The monsters crept closer to the rock and Kakashi and I backed up into each other. Our backs touched and we were as close as physically possible. I smiled wickedly and brought my right hand close to my equipment holster. My monster eyed me cautiously as I felt Kakashi do the same. Kakashi's bell jingled from where it lay on his left hip as he did so.
I brought my hand a little further back, closer to Kakashi's bell as my monster advanced.
"When they pounce, throw a kunai," Kakashi directed me and I nodded, the top of my head hitting the base of his neck.
The monsters snarled and made a high leap into the air. I quickly clasped my hand around Kakashi's bell and yanked it back to my side. I dove under the incoming monster and landed in a squat on the ground.
"Kai!" I yelled as I turned back to look at the rock.
The monsters disappeared in a cloud of smoke. I heard Kakashi's laughter coming from the opposite side of the boulder; he'd known that it was a Genjutsu… I leapt back onto the rock and looked down at him.
"What's so funny?" I demanded, placing my hands on my hips.
"I got your bell," Kakashi dangled it in the air in front of his face.
I looked down at my left side, yeah, it was gone and I hadn't even felt him take it.
"I guess you get to be tied to the tree and miss out on lunch," Kakashi's eye smiled with childish glee.
"Hold your horses. I got your bell too," I held out my hand containing the silver bell. "See? We're too evenly matched so I guess nobody misses out on lunch," I laughed and walked over to my backpack that rested on the rock's surface.
I heard Kakashi sigh as he leapt onto the rock; he'd thought that he'd beaten me for once. I giggled as I pulled out the sushi and naruto.
Lunch didn't take too long to eat but it was odd. Before being split up into squads Kakashi and I used to eat lunch together all the time. He'd sat right beside me and sometimes our arms would touch or he'd even allowed me to fall asleep on his shoulder. However, he seemed more distant today. He sat facing me and made sure that he didn't even touch me if he walked by. The last time he'd touched me in an overly friendly way was when we'd hugged when we'd been reunited. I tried to remember if he'd jerked away from me when our backs had touched during the bell exercise; I didn't think he had. Then again, I had been concentrating on getting the bell… Maybe this thing with him would pass…
"I want to show you something," Kakashi stood up suddenly and hopped down from the rock.
He walked over to a tree near the edge of the clearing and waited for me to catch up.
"What is it?" I asked curiously.
"Stand back," he warned me as he began to make a few hand signs.
He placed his left arm on top of his right and faced his palm towards the ground.
"Chidori!" Kakashi yelled and his chakra pooled into his right hand.
It was like he was holding blue lightning. Its bolts flew in different directions around him while the sound of a thousand birds filled the clearing. I took a few steps away from him and watched as he attacked the tree. His chakra hand burrowed through it like the wood was air. The top of the tree toppled sideways as the dust began to settle around us. The blue lightning absorbed back into his hand and he turned to face me, eye twinkling.
"What was that?! That was amazing!" I stared at the tree he had taken out.
"Chidori, it can cut through anything," he bragged.
"That is so cool! Did you copy it?" I was curious as to where he had gotten it and if I could get it as well.
"Nope, came up with it myself," Kakashi pointed at his chest, his right eye glowing with pride. "I also have someone I want you to meet," he continued as he made the Summoning Jutsu hand signs.
I wondered what strong animal Kakashi would've chosen. It would have to be big, muscular and talented; just like Kakashi. Maybe a white Bengal tiger or an eagle or maybe…
Kakashi placed his hand on the ground and was immediately smothered in a cloud of smoke. It eventually cleared and Kakashi stood. I looked around frantically for the magnificent beast.
"Down here," a gruff voice said at my feet.
"What?" I was shocked as I looked into the big, sad, brown eyes of a pug.
He was chocolate in color and wore a navy blue headband and shirt that matched Kakashi's. He was quite tiny, about as big as my foot. How would he be useful in a fight? Duh, I knew the answer. White Fang was basically the same, just a little bigger, with fangs and sharp teeth and cuter in my opinion.
"His name's Pakkun," Kakashi said, introducing me to the little pug.
"Nice to meet you," the dog offered me his paw.
"Err, nice to meet you too. I'm Reicheru," I shook the dog's paw.
I didn't give him my nickname; dogs were smart after all and this dog looked it. Pakkun would definitely ask questions about my name if I told him and he might find out about me being a dragon. Dogs were excellent with scents, tracking, spying and inferring. He could easily follow me and find out something that I didn't want him or Kakashi to know.
"I have a whole pack of dogs at home, but Pakkun is my favourite. I've had them since I was small and I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't think that it was that important," Kakashi eyed me sheepishly. "Maybe once Pakkun and I train some more we'll be able to beat you," Kakashi chuckled at the prospect.
"Hmm? Oh…yeah, maybe…" Kakashi frowned at my distractedness.
My thoughts had turned to White Fang and the prospect of Kakashi beating me. I couldn't let that happen. No one could beat me because if they did, that meant I was weak and not worthy of having loved ones to protect. Shinsetsu and Yuki popped into my head, their faces bloody and filled with pain. I cringed; I had to start training more with White Fang, learn new Jutsus and on top of that, perfect my Healing Jutsus so that I could fix any wound.
I felt the pressure of Kakashi's intense gaze and I refocused on him.
"I should probably head home; I have a few things to do," I said casually.
"Yeah, okay. I'll see you here at sunrise tomorrow then?" Kakashi looked at me with his head cocked, his eye showed concern.
"Yeah, sure… Bye Pakkun, bye Kakashi," I waved, grabbed my backpack and leapt into the trees.
"Odd girl… Is she always that distant?" I heard Pakkun ask Kakashi.
Oh well, it didn't matter what he thought. I had to spend more time with White Fang. He was a weapon as much as he was a companion, and yet… I was afraid to use him because I thought he would give me away. All the secrets about my past and clan could be revealed if Kakashi, even Pakkun, saw him.
I'd made it home quicker than usual and I ran inside and down the hall to my bedroom. White Fang was right beside me, tail wagging.
"So how was training?" he asked, sitting on my white carpet as I dug under my bed.
"Oh, fine… no different from before," I mumbled as my hand hit a box.
I froze; Shinsetsu and Yuki's headbands were in there… I moved it out of the way and continued to search for my mom's books.
"What are you doing?" White Fang asked.
"I'm looking for the books on Healing Jutsus," I said, still feeling under my bed.
"You mean the ones you brought with you when we left your parents' house? After the-" he trailed off as he jumped out of the way to avoid the box of headbands I'd thrown at him.
"Shut up!" I screamed.
I placed my hands on my knees and dug my nails into my skin and stared at the back of my hands, fighting to keep the tears from streaming down my face. White Fang knocked the lid off the box behind me. He stared at my old comrades' headbands.
"I'm sorry…" I didn't really know what he was apologizing for; I should've been the one apologizing.
I heard White Fang put the lid back on the box with his teeth and he pushed it towards me. I sniffled and shoved the box of headbands back under the bed while dragging out the three, leather bound books.
"I'm going to become as skilled in Medical Jutsu as I am in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. I will prevent everyone I love from dying…" I announced and stared at the books in my hands.
With these I could cure almost anything… I would prevent the deaths of everyone I cared about and everyone in the village if I could.
"You can't save everyone… You shouldn't feel obliged to either… Their deaths are not your fault," White Fang placed his paw on my knee.
I shrugged away from him and stood, turning my back on the wolf. I heard White Fang sigh as he padded out of the room. I sat on my bed and began to read my mother's books. They held more information on healing than any others…especially information about healing dragons...
A few months had passed and Kakashi's and my training continued in the mornings when we weren't carrying out missions with different ANBU squads. Our training was intense but Kakashi was always late for it. Never before his 'death' had he ever been late. It made me mad for the first few days it happened but I found that if I went early, I had time to read and practice my Healing Jutsus before he arrived.
I also had enough time to practice and develop Jutsus. In these past few months I hadn't been creative enough to invent any new Jutsus but I was able to master one that I'd only seen once before, Rasengan.
I'd seen Yondaime use it once during our practices a few years ago. It had taken awhile to learn how to control the chakra enough to make it spin in one direction and then form it into a ball in my hand. I wasn't sure if it was as powerful as Kakashi's Chidori but hopefully I'd be able to test it out. I figured hitting each other with those two attacks simultaneously might kill us both so I'd have to find another way to see if my theory was true.
I would show him the technique today if he ever showed up. Then we'd have lunch as usual…
Kakashi had become even more distant at lunch after our first training session. He was careful to stay away from me and wasn't as chatty as usual. Some days I could trick him into laughing by cracking jokes but he'd quieten up afterwards. He was too distant and I wondered if he even wanted to be my friend anymore…
Maybe that was why he was always late; he held off coming until the last possible moment until he'd thought I'd gone home!
No, Kakashi wasn't like that…or was he? He'd changed since his mission with his squad, that much was obvious. Was it so hard to believe that he didn't like me anymore either? Or had Pakkun learned the truth about me and that was the cause for him acting so distant?
I shivered at the last thought; Kakashi could turn the whole village against me if he wanted to…
No, I'd give him a chance; I'd wait until he came.
I hadn't slept well the night before so I settled down on the rock and fell asleep. Kakashi would wake me up when he arrived anyways and then I'd ask him to tell me why he was always so late…
Something cold hit my face in tiny beads and I slowly opened my eyes to see a dark grey sky. It was raining and even with the clouds I could tell that it was almost dark. Anger erupted inside of me; Kakashi had never come!
I stood abruptly and pulled my bangs away from my right eye. I scanned the clearing with my Sharingan but could find no sign that any human had entered it while I'd slept.
That stupid boy! I'd find him and when I did, I'd let him have it!
I flicked my bangs back in front of my face and leapt into the trees. The rain began to pour, soaking my coffee brown hair so that it stuck to my face and back. I pulled on my mask since I knew there was a risk of running into villagers and I continued my mad dash through the trees.
I realized I was heading in the direction of the Memorial Stone. Thoughts of Kakashi disappeared and I decided to pay a visit to the stone. It had almost been a year since Shinsetsu and Yuki had died and it would be nice to pay my respects although I knew that the guilt I felt would hit me full force when I saw their names.
The trees were getting slippery as I hopped from branch to branch. I'd almost made it to the clearing when I slipped. I lost my balance and began to tumble towards the ground.
I crashed through hundreds of branches as I tried desperately to grab hold of something, but I was falling too fast. I saw the ground approaching quickly so I decided to tuck and roll.
I hit the ground as I began the summersault and was able to avoid injury. However, I lost control and went spinning head over heals, narrowly missing the last few trees that separated me from the clearing. I landed on my stomach in a puddle of mud just outside the protection of the trees. My ANBU uniform was coated with the thick brown muck.
I looked towards the Memorial Stone and found Kakashi staring at me. He was wearing his ANBU uniform as well but it clung to him because of the all the rain it had absorbed. His beautiful silver hair had drooped under the weight of the water it had accumulated giving him an even further depressed look.
Kakashi stared at me with a somewhat dazed expression but that was soon replaced with one of frustration. He turned back to face the Memorial Stone as I stood and attempted to brush myself off.
"What are you doing here?" he asked me harshly.
"Well, I came to find you since you never showed up for practice. Since I left in this direction I decided to pay my respects to Shinsetsu and Yuki before I went in search of you," I explained as I approached the stone.
I stood quietly on his right and stared down at the rock. My eye found Shinsetsu and Yuki's names carved crudely into the marble. I raised my glance and Obito's name stood out like a sore thumb. I turned my head towards Kakashi.
"How long have you been here?" I asked quietly.
"The whole day… I lost track of time…" I stared open mouthed at Kakashi.
"What?! Mister Always-early LOST TRACK OF TIME?! Is this why you've been late to training everyday?" I demanded.
This was completely out of character for Kakashi. He had chastised me for being late for practices with Yoko and Yondaime so why did he get to break his own rule?
"Yeah, I've come here everyday since I returned to the village after Obito's death…" Kakashi muttered through his mask, not taking his eyes away from the Memorial Stone.
"Why? I come once in awhile to pay my respects to Shinsetsu and Yuki. Why do you feel the need to come here everyday? It's not like you caused his death," I muttered bitterly and turned away from the rock.
I still blamed myself for my comrades' deaths. I had had the power to stop Yuki and I could've paid closer attention to what was going on around me so that Shinsetsu wouldn't have died. Their deaths were entirely my fault; I had been careless and slow to react.
"I could've saved him…" Kakashi turned to look at me as I glanced back at him. "If I'd gone to save Rin in the first place and made sure that that ninja was dead then maybe he wouldn't have caused the cave in that killed Obito," Kakashi's voice was dull at he turned his attention back to the stone.
The pain was clear in his eye; the boy was torturing himself by thinking about what could've been…not that I wasn't doing the same.
"Kakashi, you can't do this to yourself. You told me other Rock ninja came and they could've started the rock slide. You did everything you could and there's nothing more valuable than a friend who's given their life for you. You have to move on…at least partially," I placed my left hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.
He shrugged away from my touch and gave me a death stare with his right eye.
"How can I expect you to understand? You did everything in your power to help your squad! You didn't make a stupid decision; you're comrades did! You don't have to live with the guilt of not being strong enough to save them! You're guilt free and have nothing to regret!" he yelled at me.
"You don't know what you're talking about…" I clenched my fists together as painful memories began to break through the barrier I'd built in my mind.
"Of course I do! You told me the whole story, there's nothing else to it! It's their fault not yours! It's not like you had to choose between saving your friends and completing the mission and then you find out later that you made the wrong choice! That's the guilt that is the hardest to live with!" I realized that Kakashi had started to talk about his father.
"Sakumo made the right decision in saving his cell. Sure he caused a little problem for the village but we fixed it long ago," I said calmly.
"You're wrong! My dad should've done the opposite; that's what Konoha wanted! Now I'm the one that has to face all the comments about my dad and how he should've done this instead of that! You don't have to live with the shame of having a parent who is a complete failure! Actually, scratch that. You must have to live with more shame then I do about your parents," Kakashi was getting angrier by the second.
"What makes you say that?" my voice grew acidic as I sensed Kakashi crossing a line.
"Your parents must have done something terrible if you don't even mention them! You have so much talent that you must've come from a well known clan and you are part Uchiha but I've never heard anyone mention your last name before! What did your parents do that has made you so ashamed of them? Did they destroy the rest of your clan? Maybe that's why you're the only one left! Or maybe they failed at some really important mission and lost their lives instead!" Kakashi had crossed the line by a long shot.
"SHUT UP!" anger raged inside me and my eyes went cold as I stared at the stupid boy.
He had no right to talk about my parents! He knew nothing about them.
"My parents and clan have done more for this village then you ever could!" I grew even more furious and I felt the dragon instinct part of my brain growl angrily.
I was able to suppress the transformation but the full strength of the dragon's fury bubbled to the surface. Before I knew what I was doing, I saw the Rasengan form in my hand.
"What!? How did you…" Kakashi stared at the ball of chakra in amazement.
I couldn't control myself, the dragon in me had resurfaced and the anger was controlling my movements. Before I knew it, I'd thrown the Rasengan at Kakashi. He barely dodged it and I watched as it flew into the trees and exploded.
Kakashi stared at me but he realized something was different. He made the hand signs for Chidori and stood there as his chakra writhed in his palm. I involuntarily made the Rasengan again and waited for him to move. Who knew exactly what would happen if our two techniques combined?
My dragon side was still furious and it whipped the chakra ball at Kakashi. I flipped backwards, away from the explosion I knew would come. Kakashi raised his Chidori hand towards the oncoming Rasengan. There was a giant explosion and blue light lit up the entire clearing.
I was thrown against a tree at the opposite end of the clearing with the force of the explosion. The wind was knocked out of me and I lost consciousness…
I woke a few moments late and stood shakily; the dragon's anger had hidden itself back in the confines of my mind. I giant hole at the center of the clearing marked where our two Jutsus had exploded. By some miracle the Memorial Stone was still intact but all the trees nearest it had been reduced to cinders. I scanned the clearing for Kakashi but I couldn't see him. I searched for a presence and I sensed one hiding in the trees furthest from me.
Kakashi hopped down from the trees and stood a few feet away from me. He wasn't hurt luckily but he trembled slightly from anger and loss of chakra. His Chidori still took a lot out of him.
I glared at him from beneath my bangs.
"You will never understand me," I muttered angrily.
He straightened his posture and looked at me confusedly. I swung around and jumped into the trees nearest me. I headed towards the village at top speed while checking periodically behind me to make sure that Kakashi wasn't following. My blood continued to boil as I thought about the hurtful things he'd said.
I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me… I was lucky the explosion hadn't killed him. How would I have been able to live with myself if it had? I probably would've left the village and lived in the forest somewhere…
I rested on a think branch in a tree just a few feet away from the buildings that marked the beginning of the village. I pulled on my ANBU mask so none of the villagers would recognize me.
I felt the tree shudder ever so slightly. It was odd, there was nothing touching the tree except for me and I was standing completely still. I leapt from the branch and landed on the dirt path that entered the village. I felt another tremor rock the ground, stronger than the first. I looked up towards the nearest buildings and further up, towards the market. It was eerily quiet even though night had only fallen an hour ago.
I walked cautiously towards the market and I began to see a few people scurrying about.
"Hurry, we have to get underground!" I watched as a man and his family ran past me towards the right.
From here the nearest safe house would be the one under the Hokage's office…
I grew panicked and walked faster towards the middle of the market. That's when I saw the swarm of frightened villagers. They ran in the same direction as the other family I had seen or towards the Academy which housed a secret passage that would lead to the safe house in the mountains. I felt the earth give another shudder under my feet. What was going on?
The flock of villagers pushed past me in their haste to get to safety. I was knocked off balance by a big, burly man that I didn't even think saw me. I fell backwards but a hand caught me and pulled me up and out of the way of the stampede. The other ANBU yanked me on top of a ramen shop.
"You all right?" the blue haired kunoichi asked.
"Yeah, thanks. I don't know why I didn't react when I saw him coming towards me," I gave a poor excuse.
I hadn't been paying attention at all; I'd been focusing on the tremors.
"What's going on?" I asked glancing at the panicked villagers rushing past us.
"I don't know. I was ordered to get the villagers to safety but about a half hour ago all ANBU and Jounin were commanded to go beyond the village's walls. There must be an army or something heading our way," the girl's eyes were panicked beneath her mask.
"Where's the Hokage?" I asked looking towards Yondaime's office.
"I thought I heard someone say that he's at the battle front but I don't know for sure," the girl looked at me guiltily; she hardly knew any information.
An ANBU was always informed about important happenings first and always knew what was going on. Whatever was happening past the village's limits had caught everyone off guard.
"I'll head towards the commotion and see what I can do," I stood and the blue haired ANBU did the same.
"You're Tatsue aren't you? I've heard a lot about you! You'll save our village if no one else can," the girl's voice turned hopeful and I gave a small nod before leaping onto the roofs of other shops, heading towards the battle.
I sure hoped she was right...
As I traveled I saw the whole population of the village head in the opposite direction. Whatever had come was extremely dangerous. I picked up my speed and reached the village entrance in a matter of minutes. Other shinobi were running through the gate in the same direction as I was. The giant path that led to the village was congested with ninja dashing towards a giant column of smoke in the distance.
I left the village behind and continued my race through the tree tops. The tension coming off of all the ANBU and Jounin around me was enough to choke on. We didn't necessarily know the details of what was going on but we knew that the safety of the Village Hidden in the Leaves was at stake…
It took twenty minutes, even at top speed, to arrive at the battle scene. Here the mass of shinobi condensed and moved together as one towards something big that glowed red in the distance. It was hard to make out so I jumped into the arms of the tallest pine I could find.
Using my controlled chakra I scaled the tree using my feet and in a matter of seconds I reached the top. I looked towards the giant red thing and my breath caught in my throat. It was a nine-tailed fox. Its demonic red eyes matched the fur that sprouted all over its body. It was way bigger than my dragon body and it proved itself stronger as it crushed a mountain with a swipe of its paw.
That's when I saw it…the majestic Fire Bird circled above our heads. Its musical shriek entranced a few shinobi but they broke free of its spell and hurried off to their deaths… I watched the bird circle in the air and waited for it to show me where Yondaime was.
It circled lower and lower and preformed tighter turns until it dropped into the trees a couple of miles away from where I sat. I shot off in the direction that the bird had flown and dropped to the ground where I'd seen it plunge. I landed in a crouch in front of the Fourth Hokage.
I stood and bowed to him; his blond hair and white cloak fluttered in the wind as he gazed down at me. He looked stunning in his blue outfit and grey armour. His eyes were serious, not a hint of the amusement that usually filled them. He looked very handsome and powerful and I saw why Kushina Uzumaki had fallen in love with him. I straightened and forced the panicked look out of my eye.
"Orders sir?" I asked automatically.
"We can't let the Kyuubi reach the village and our forces are already diminishing. You are our last resort; our ultimate weapon. You must protect the village and destroy this monster," Yondaime looked at me sternly.
He wanted me to change into my dragon form to defeat the demon. Problem was there were too many shinobi in the area. If I were to use the Body Expansion Jutsu I would crush them under my feet and I would definitely be called a monster.
"You'll have to retreat to a safe distance," I informed him.
Yondaime understood and he held out his forearm. The Fire Bird flew down from a nearby tree and landed on the spot provided for him. Yondaime raised his other hand and placed it on the bird's head. The bird's feathers immediately changed to white. Once the color had completely washed away from its body, it took flight and circled high above the forest; the sign for a retreat.
"Protect the village at all costs," Yondaime called my attention back to him and I nodded.
I leapt into the trees as hundreds of shinobi rushed below me in the opposite direction. I did not want to think about what would happen to them if I failed…
I ran faster towards the Kyuubi which lay a few more miles away. I saw less and less shinobi as I ran. They had no idea what I was going to do. Some of them even called out to me to tell me that I was going the wrong way.
The fox's growling became louder as I approached and I began to see the bodies of the shinobi that the demon had killed and flung in various directions. It was disturbing to see just how many he'd already killed and how gruesome the injuries were that they had died from. I dropped to the ground as the trees ended abruptly.
The elegant forest had been squashed into the earth by this fearsome creature. The new clearing was as big as the entire village and the Kyuubi was furthest away from me. His nose was on the ground; searching for new scents of things he could destroy. The red fox was double the height of a mountain that belonged to the mountain range that eventually led to the ones that protected Konoha.
I removed my ANBU mask and stared at the red eyes of Kyuubi that glinted in the moonlight. He glanced in my direction as I took a few steps further into the clearing.
"Not another one. Haven't you learned that no ordinary ANBU will defeat me?" the Kyuubi chuckled, shaking his head.
"Who said I was ordinary?" I looked up at the monster defiantly and he stopped laughing and took another look at me.
"Give me your best shot," the fox taunted as he slunk into a crouched position.
"Tatsu, Dragon Transformation Jutsu!" I made my hand signs quickly and watched as an astonished look befell the creature's face.
The transformation felt odd as it usually did. I felt my tail bone elongate into a proper tail as my nails hardened and turned black. The moon danced off their smooth surface as they grew longer and adopted wickedly sharp points. My body expanded as my neck stretched out and my head became snake like. My teeth grew and sharpened as horns emerged from my skull and my eyes moved to the sides of my head and my left eye went from blue to black. My wings popped out of my back and unfolded to reveal their stunning color. Finally, the white scales protruded from my skin and covered my head, back and tail as my stomach blackened and became leathery. My transformation was complete in less than five seconds.
I sat back on my haunches and looked up at the Kyuubi. A smirk had replaced his surprised look and I could see why. I may be a deadly dragon but I was only a quarter of the fox's size. He could easily squash me with one of his long tails.
"Body Expansion Jutsu!" There was no need to make hand signs while in dragon form since I just had to picture them.
This Jutsu used a little bit more chakra than usual but at least it evened the playing field. I was the exact same size as the Kyuubi who obviously didn't like the fact that I had abnormal powers.
"You'll still lose; I hope you know that," the Kyuubi sunk lower into his crouch.
"We'll see," I gave him a big dagger toothed grin.
My right Sharingan eye assessed the demon as he prepared to pounce. I dodged his attack easily and flew up to the peaks of the now small mountains. I rested on my back legs and used my wings to balance as I watched the Kyuubi turn towards me. I forced the sharp, kunai like blade out of my tail behind my back so that he could not see. I smiled evilly as the fox glared up at me.
"You think a slight height advantage like that will help you?" the Kyuubi snarled and ran towards my mountain.
I used my wings to propel myself off the peak as the demon fox head butted the mountain's side. There was a terrible cracking noise as the mountain crumbled; cascading rocks fell on the Kyuubi's head. I plunged, with my claws outstretched, into his back. My claws pierced in between his ribs and tore at his spinal cord.
The Kyuubi's yell was deafening and I dug my bladed tail into his back left thigh. My blade cut the muscle and the leg found that it could no longer support any weight. The fox fell to the side and I dislodged quickly from his body and flew up to another mountain's peak. I watched as the fox snarled as he tried to stand properly. Not wasting any time I dropped from the peak, wings outstretched. I barely hovered above the ground as I approached the Kyuubi at top speed.
I slammed into his side with my horns. On top of piercing his skin, I sent him flying in the direction opposite the village. He slid to a stop a few miles away and I waited patiently for him to stand. I didn't have to wait long because ten seconds after I came to a halt he jumped onto all fours.
How could he possibly move like that with all the injuries he'd received? The fox began to circle me and I was shocked to see the wounds I'd inflicted were healing.
"Like my fast recovery? My body begins to heal the second I receive an injury," the Kyuubi laughed, showing his sharp teeth.
"Kuso!" I swore as I watched the last of his cuts disappear.
We leapt at each other simultaneously; our claws digging into the other's shoulders. We both snarled in pain and pulled away. I watched angrily as his wounds started to close up. How was I supposed to win if he kept healing himself?
I swung my tail around quickly and the blade caught the Kyuubi in the neck. I pressed it in deeper as I blew a giant fireball at his face. The smell of burning fur was enough to make me gag and I withdrew my tail from his neck.
"Gotcha!" I saw the Kyuubi's face a second too late as he pounced on me.
We rolled in circles, snarling and scratching at each other with our claws. I dug the claws of my feet around his ribs and pushed. He flew into the mountain range, causing a giant explosion. Dust flew everywhere, blocking my view and clogging my nostrils. I coughed and wheezed and then growled in pain as a giant red tail slammed into my right side.
I heard a few ribs crack as my legs buckled underneath the unexpected weight. I lay on the ground for a few seconds before standing. I turned my giant head towards the Kyuubi and lunged. My horns dug into his throat and I swung my tail around to try and pierce him in the back. Unfortunately, one of his nine tails blocked mine; I struggled against it but the tail would not budge. I withdrew my horns and decided to bite the demon fox's neck instead. He yelped in pain but quickly realized my mistake; he could turn his head just enough so that he could bite the top of my long neck.
I suppressed a scream and bit down harder on the Kyuubi's neck but that only caused him to clamp down harder on mine. I raised my front arms and pushed him into the ground. He was forced to let go of my neck as I put pressure on his ribs.
I felt the wind sting the gashes in my neck and shoulders as it whipped past us. I could see the blood staining my white scales as it gushed out and fell the few hundred stories to the ground. I couldn't waste any chakra on healing myself. Keeping my body at this size was something I'd never attempted before and therefore, very draining.
I heard the sickening snap of ribs as I forced more weight on the Kyuubi's side. If I pushed hard enough, the bones could pierce his heart and then he would die. However, before I could do that the fox wrapped a few of his tails around my back legs and dragged me off of him. I dug my clawed hands into his side as he did so that he had long bloody lines running across his body.
The Kyuubi snarled and used the rest of his tails to ensnare my body and then flung me away from him. I landed on my side with the broken ribs and I gasped and shuddered as the pain traveled in strong waves throughout my body. The fox walked towards me and glared down at me with a poisonous look. He reared up, preparing to force all of his weight on my side.
"Earth Style, Inner Decapitation Jutsu," I said under my breath as I watched the fox's paws come closer and closer.
Wham!
The earth shook with the force that the Kyuubi had put into his paws. He realized that he hadn't hit me as I watched him from below the ground. My Sharingan was able to see through the rock and I watched as the demon fox began to sniff the ground. He caught my scent and began to dig. I tucked my wings close to my body and exploded out of the earth; right under the Kyuubi's stomach. I opened my jaws and sunk my teeth into his underbelly. I scratched at the rest of his stomach with the claws on my hands.
The cry of pain the fox issued deafened me. His blood dripped onto my face as I continued to tear at his guts. The Kyuubi tucked his head down and clamped onto my tail. He pulled hard on it and I felt my scales tear as if they were made of paper. I let go of his stomach as he flung me towards the mountain range. Just before I hit, I opened my wings and they caught the wind so that I was pulled upwards with the draft. The fox glared as I landed perfectly on the mountain peaks. I glared back and blew a column of flame in his direction. He dodged it but was distracted by it and I took the opportunity to blow another round of flames. These burned his sides causing him to howl.
A sudden wave of exhaustion overcame me and I almost toppled off the mountain. I was using a lot of chakra by keeping my body in such a huge form as well as the fact that I'd had to bring my giant mass underground. On top of that I was losing a lot of blood. I had to finish this quickly otherwise I wouldn't make it. I was so glad that I didn't have to make hand signs in my dragon form.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" the Kyuubi froze as a hundred white, red and yellow dragons encircled him.
We reared up and projected a roar towards the center of the circle. The sound would've caused any human in the vicinity to go deaf instantly and permanently. However, my ears were not affected but the Kyuubi was smart enough to cover his tall ears with two of his tails.
I snarled and lunged with my clones simultaneously. The Kyuubi swung his tails around and destroyed about half of my clones before the rest of us sunk our teeth and claws into whatever red fur we could reach. I sat back and listened to the yelp of the Kyuubi get cut short by one of my clone's tail blades embedding itself in his throat.
I let the clones shred the corpse until I felt even more fatigued. I let go of the Jutsu; my chakra was almost gone. My clones disappeared in a cloud of smoke and I waited patiently for it to clear. Once it did I caught sight of the gory body of the Kyuubi; its blood mixed with its red fur so it was hard to tell where my clones had pierced his skin. I looked at the giant tail gash across the Kyuubi's throat and listened for breathing or a heartbeat… nothing. I sighed with relief now that my mission was completed and then flinched as my brain became conscious of my injuries. I distributed my weight equally on all fours and turned slowly in the direction of the village.
I had only taken a few steps when something hard hit me on the right of my head. I crumpled to the ground and twisted my head this way and that to try and figure out what had hit me. My vision blurred and I could only make out a red blob. I gasped as my sight cleared and the Kyuubi stood strong and powerful before me. I watched in shock as the deep gash in his neck healed at an unbelievable rate. All my effort had been for nothing!
I staggered to my feet and faced the Kyuubi.
"You're all worn out; how do you expect to defeat me now?" the Kyuubi sneered, his eyes narrowing.
The fox crouched and I watched as he leapt at me. Thanks to my Sharingan I was able to see where he was going to land but I wasn't fast enough to react. The Kyuubi crashed to the ground and slid, hitting my left front leg and causing it to bend in a way that it never should.
I leapt sideways awkwardly, cautiously holding my broken leg off the ground. I solidified my three legged stance and looked back at the Kyuubi. Too late, I didn't have enough time to react as another tail landed hard on the left side of my head.
I nearly lost consciousness as I fell onto my right side which already concealed my broken ribs. I struggled to keep my eyes open and watched as the surrounding area turned fuzzy again. I roared in pain as the demon fox sunk his teeth into my tail. He struggled to lift me half way off the ground and then spun around.
I felt him relinquish his grip on my tail and the wind whipped past me as I hurtled through the air. I was losing out on the battle to keep myself conscious and as a result I let go of my dragon form. I felt myself shrink and my beautiful scales softened and returned to a creamy shade of skin.
I heard multiple sickening cracks as the right side of my body collided first with the mountain. My right side was completely smashed and the pain that resulted hurt a thousand times worse than the broken ribs I'd received earlier. I screamed but ended up choking on blood as I began to fall to the base of the mountain.
Small rocks protruding from the mountain face gave me small cuts as I continued my fall. A small cliff jutting out of the mountain broke my fall. I felt more pain flood my body as I broke both of my legs and landed with most of my weight on my right side.
I watched through cloudy vision as the Kyuubi took a few steps towards me. I was eye level with him as I lay on my stomach, regarding him with my pained left eye.
"I hope you die brat. Slow and painful," The Kyuubi snarled and glared at me once more with his evil red eyes.
He turned slowly and started in the direction of the village. I thought maybe I was hallucinating because the next thing I knew a giant frog appeared in a cloud of smoke. A tiny figure silhouetted by the moon stood bravely on its head. I watched confused as the figure moved his arms like he was making hand signs and then held something tiny up before him. There was a flash of light and then the Kyuubi disappeared. The figure on top of the toad fell and I closed my eyes, unconsciousness consumed me…
I opened my eyes slowly. I was looking at something brown with my right eye and my left saw a completely destroyed forest. The Kyuubi flashed through my mind and I jerked around to try and find it. Pain struck me like lightning and I screamed. The sound echoed throughout the mountains and bounced off what was left of the trees.
I realized that my right arm was the only thing that wasn't broken but if I moved it, it would pull on the wounds in my shoulder. I couldn't move a muscle without causing agony. I lay there silently, I couldn't heal myself and calling out for help was useless; no one could hear me and it wasn't likely that they would save me. I had let the village down and the Kyuubi had probably already destroyed it...
Then I remembered the toad and the strange figure causing the Kyuubi to disappear. Had that been a hallucination or had it really happened?
I shivered involuntarily and caused another strike of pain to shoot through my body. I gasped and looked at my left arm which lay at an awkward angle. There was no feeling coming from it but when I tried to move it pain prevented me from budging it any further.
Rain began to fall at that moment, washing away some of the blood that coated my body. I grew cold and began to shiver frequently, causing my right side to throb and sent off shoots of pain everywhere. I yelped every time and began to cough up blood. My head soon lay in a pool of red liquid and my hair soaked up most of it. The smell was terrible but I couldn't move my face away from the bloody mess.
I knew Death was coming to get me. There was no way someone would find me in time and I was losing too much blood and body heat; not so mention my crushed right side. I closed my eyes; hoping that the pain would end soon…
I was aware of cold beads hitting my face as I came to and I heard something trot towards me as I lay on the cliff. I opened my eyes to see a fuzzy world and something big and white stood before me; an angel?
"Reicheru?" a gruff voice asked.
I tried to focus on the white blurry thing with my left eye. How did the angel know my name?
The angel came closer and something black blocked my view. Suddenly my vision cleared and I realized I was staring at a wet nose; a wolf nose to be exact.
"W-white…Fang?" I asked shakily.
An affectionate lick on the nose confirmed it. White Fang backed up a few steps towards the edge of the cliff so that I could have a better view of him without having to move. His white coat was drenched with rain and his eyes were full of distress as they assessed my visible injuries.
"I saw the whole thing. That fox was huge and you put up a great fight," White Fang spoke calmly as he watched the blood trickle out of me.
I didn't smile at the compliment. Honestly, his words didn't even make sense to me.
"I-I'm g-going….to die," I choked out, watching the reaction on the wolf's face.
"No you are not!" he snarled "I was running here when all of a sudden I heard you scream. I figured you were hurt badly so I rushed back to the village to get help," the wolf explained.
"Who'd you g-get?" I asked coughing up more blood.
"I'm sorry, but I ran into Kakashi and Pakkun so I got them to follow me here," White Fang lowered his tail knowing that I didn't want Kakashi to know about him.
"N-no!" I yelled but the strain sent agonizing shots of pain up my right side.
Kakashi couldn't know about me being a dragon. He couldn't know about White Fang or his name. It would destroy everything if Kakashi learned the truth. Then again, our friendship had already been altered because of the fight in the clearing earlier today… Plus it would've been hard for him to miss a giant dragon battling a huge fox. No, this would ruin things even more.
Thud, thud!
Two things landed on the far side of the cliff. I didn't dare turn my head to look and see who it was; partly because it would hurt and partly because I already knew who had come.
Something small and brown trotted up to White Fang. I watched as the pug sat beside the white wolf and looked up at him with his sad brown eyes.
"You really should've slowed down. We lost sight of you and had to follow your scent which wasn't easy because this stupid rain is washing it away," Pakkun said in a slightly frustrated voice.
"Yeah, well you found me so that's all that matters," White Fang replied curtly.
I stared at the bickering animals and watched as Pakkun looked me over with his giant eyes.
"How bad is she injured?" Pakkun asked, looking back at the wolf.
"I don't know the exact extent of the damage but she'll die if we don't get her healed soon," White Fang glanced over at something that stood at the far end of the cliff.
I dared to move my head to look in the same direction. I bit my lip so that I wouldn't scream from the pain I was causing.
My left eye recognized the silver hair that was soaked from the falling rain. Kakashi still wore his ANBU uniform but he had removed his headband so that I stared up at the emotionless mismatched eyes. There was no way I could tell what he was thinking while he kept his emotionless mask on. I grimaced and looked away.
"Can you carry her back to the village?" White Fang asked Kakashi.
"Y-yes, of course!" White Fang's voice had startled Kakashi out of his thoughts.
I watched as a worried look took over his face as he walked over and knelt down beside me.
"Can you roll over onto your back so that I can pick you up?" Kakashi asked, resting his right hand on my left shoulder.
"N-no…" I croaked; it even hurt to talk now.
"Okay, I'm very sorry if this hurts…" Kakashi's eyes apologized but his voice didn't reflect it.
"W-what are you-" I screamed in pain as Kakashi pushed me gently onto my back.
Pakkun and White Fang both jumped at the sound and White Fang snarled. Kakashi gently slipped one hand under my back and the other under my legs. He lifted me off the ground cautiously but I cried out again as he put pressure on the broken side of my back and my broken legs. I almost blacked out again from the pain and my eyesight went blurry.
"Watch it!" White Fang growled.
"You try picking her up without hurting her!" Kakashi whipped back. "It'll be easier not to jostle her once we start running back to the village," Kakashi's tone had lost the little bit of emotion it had had.
I felt Kakashi's grip on me tighten as he started to leap down the mountain face. I heard the faint sound of paw pads slapping against the rock behind us. I clutched at Kakashi's shirt with my right hand before I fell unconscious once again…