Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny
Scene 06: Travelling Companion, Part 2
by Geor-sama
If there was one word that could describe Uzumaki Naruto at the moment it would be the word 'bored'.
At first it hadn't been so bad, he could tolerate Pamela and her continued doubt of his status as a human, it was really no different than when he had been growing up in Konoha. He had also been able to tolerate her open doubt concerning his training methods; after all he had doubted Jiraiya's methods when they first met. As a matter of fact the longer they spent together the more Pamela would talk, and though she had a grim personality, she proved interesting.
No the reason he was so bored was the fact that even after roughly two weeks of training, she still couldn't complete the Chakra Externalization Exercise; an exercise that every Academy Student could master in a day or two. By all rights Pamela should have mastered it in an half-hour, max, since she could already manipulate her own chakra and yet she hadn't been able to make any progress at all. Which left him trapped with her in the woods isolated from all human contact - the only reason he hadn't disappeared on Pamela in the middle of the night was his ingrained bullheaded determination to prove himself.
Scowling he threw a glance at the lithe blonde woman, feet shoulder wide and hands lifted into the basic molding position, trying to activate the seal on the slip of paper she was holding. At her continued lack of success, possible reasons for her failure roamed through his mind, and then with a sigh Naruto let his head fall back to thump against the tree he was sitting under. All of his thoughts kept coming back to only two explanations, either her chakra coils weren't properly developed or the sealing process used to fuse them with the power of a Yoma was screwing things up for her.
If it was the first one there was nothing he could do, if it was the second one...well he wasn't sure what he could do in that case. Hell, he wasn't even sure how to figure out which explanation it was, Sage Mode didn't reveal chakra pathways after all. Maybe if he could see the seal they used, he could eliminate that possibility - but that wasn't the sort of thing you asked someone that was still pretty much a stranger to see.
With another sigh Naruto turned his attention back to the book in his lap covering Basic Seals, the majority of which he already knew, and finishing the section about sealing the various elements like fire turned to the next section. It wasn't his first idea on how to pass the time; there were a few wind ninjutsu he had seen over the last few months that he wouldn't mind trying to puzzle out. However, he couldn't risk sneaking away or creating Kage Bunshin to do the job, because there was too high a risk of her discovering even more of his ability's and he wanted to keep as much under wraps as he could.
It was one thing passing on basic techniques, but letting her see what chakra was truly capable of would be a very bad idea.
He remembered the lesson on the importance of information Ibiki had taught during his first and only Chūnin Exam, so there was no reason to let her and by extension the Organization discover what chakra was truly capable of. Even if it did mean that for the immediate future, he was stuck reviewing seals - which to be honest while not nearly as exciting as learning ninjutsu, were equally important.
"I have been at this task for a fortnight and still experience failure." Pamela said, pulling his attention to her "Mayhap there be some detail you art overlooking?"
"Look, that exercise was designed for new Academy Students...eight and nine year old kids." Naruto countered closing his book to focus on her completely "The seal is the most basic one there is, I triple checked it, and everybody gets it in two days."
"If you doth speak the truth, then why art my efforts stymied?" Pamela asked, silver eyes narrowing "Art you implying that it is my own failings that hinder my efforts?"
"I'm not saying that," Naruto said, getting to his feet just in case she decided to attack him. "I'm just saying this shouldn't be taking so long and I'm not sure why. I mean hell, even I managed it and at that age I had way to much chakra and utterly sucked at manipulating it."
"Mayhap then, it is a difference between ourselves that is at fault?" Pamela asked, face turning passive as she considered him.
"Well, I thought about that," Naruto said slowly, wary that at any moment she would leap to her standard 'mutant yoma' accusation. Seeing her interest at his words, he scratched the back of his head wondering how exactly he should bring the subject up. Deciding that it would probably be best to just plunge into it, he cleared his throat before continuing "There are two reasons, but the only one I could figure it out would be to know the sealing method to merge you with a Yoma."
"I see." Pamela said, arching a slender eyebrow "You art sure that should you know this method of sealing you may be able to locate what hinders my efforts?"
"Er...yeah, I think. I mean I'd still have to work out the details, I'm not that good at seals so it's not like I could fix it instantly." Naruto said shrugging "First we'd have to get the Organization to show me...uh Pamela, is there a reason you're taking your clothes off?"
Pamela paused, hand at the shoulder clasps of her off-white leotard, staring at him with a look of utter indifference. "Did you not wish to view the method by which the Organization has created a warrior such as me?"
"Uhm, well, yeah-" Naruto said slowly, eyes widening as the clasps unsnapped allowing the material to part and reveal the entirety of her upper torso. Whatever she wished to show him was forgotten as he took in her exposed breasts, his face turning a bright red as he did so. Wow, ok, so...yeah...wow... Naruto tried to tear his eyes away from her perky breasts while trying to keep his mouth from gaping open, and then he noticed something important.
Taking a step closer, his eyes traced the contour of what appeared to be a hand sized vicious stretch of dark, bumpy flesh just below her breasts. It was like a wound only now beginning to scab over, its edges fused to the smooth flesh of her sternum as if they had been melted together - and strangest of all, it appeared that it breathed in a rhythm counter to Pamela's own. Naruto fought the urge to reach out and poke it, but he could not look away, filled with a strange kind of fascination.
"Behold the means by which the Organization begets half-human and half-yoma warriors. By consuming the befouled blood of a Yoma we gain speed they cannot match and we gain an otherworldly strength by taking tainted Yoma flesh into our body." Pamela explained in an utterly flat tone. "Yet, with this sacrifice we become that which is needed to deliver humanity from the Yoma threat."
"Does it hurt?" Naruto asked, before wincing, registering his question.
"Tis' done at a young age, but the pain experienced is enough to shatter many minds, and lingers for months." Pamela answered, her voice carrying a tremor of emotion "The only solace to be found within those darkest of hours is clinging to one another during the night. Truly, while it is only a small comfort, in the midst of such pain the smallest of comfort if precious."
Naruto didn't respond to that, because the only words that would fit would be 'I understand' and they struck him as both stupid as well as trite. He knew that it would annoy him if he told her about his own experience from before he mastered the chakra of Kurama, when his flesh would burn off and his blood boiled, and she said 'I understand'. Both had experienced mind-numbing pain, both understood it, but saying those words instantly reduced it to something shallow and meaningless.
Thankfully Pamela didn't expect him to say anything, and after another minute or so, pulled her top back into place fastening the shoulder clasps.
"Doth you have other questions?" Pamela asked.
"Er...yeah," Naruto admitted, shrugging awkwardly as he forced aside a newly emerging discomfort at talking about this sort of stuff. Which in a way he found funny, since when he was younger asking these sorts of questions wouldn't have bothered him in the slightest. "So, how exactly does it change your body - I mean, you know, besides the obvious..."
"We require very little to survive." Pamela said curtly "Due to the presence of the Yoma within our bodies, we must eat and sleep only once every other marrow. If the need doth arise, we may also go without for half a fortnight."
"Half a fortnight?" Naruto asked, scowling as he turned that over in his head, then remembering that fortnight meant two weeks blinked in understanding. "Oh, so you can go a week without food or sleep?"
"Yes."
"Wow." Naruto said followed by a low whistle - that was an impressive feat, especially since they didn't have his ungodly stamina or other extenuating factors. It was more than what he knew the majority of ninja would have been capable of, some couldn't go an hour without eating or sleeping. But as impressive as it was, could it also have a hand to play in why she couldn't externalize her chakra?
"Doth knowing this help?"
"Maybe, I think." Naruto said as he turned what he could remember about chakra over in his mind. Noticing her expectant look, Naruto sighed, deciding that while he might not know the exact details he should at least give her his rough idea. "I think it's the method they used on you. See the Yoki hasn't really merged with your own chakra...it just sorta smothered it? Anyway, I think it means that it can't follow your body's natural chakra pathways the way it's supposed to because it's still 'outside' your body."
"Is there naught you can do?" Pamela asked, frowning as her head lowered, reminding Naruto vaguely of a younger Konohamaru.
"Uh, I don't know." Naruto said, scratching the back his head and shifting his weight from foot to foot. Maybe if he modified the exercise seal to forcible draw her chakra out, or he could try to force the yoki to merge with her natural chakra – ugh, this was going to take some serious thought and that was not his strongest point. Lost in thoughts and considerations of how to fix this situation, he barely noticed as Pamela turned away and moved to her sword and armor.
His distraction only lasted however, until she pulled her sword from where she had place.
"Uhm, I know your disappointed Pamela, but you don't need to try and kill me." Naruto said, suddenly alert, hand subtly moving to the kunai holster he was wearing.
"Be at ease, I seek not your death." Pamela said, hefting her sword into a casual ready position "My intention is to deliver unto you restitution for my earlier presumption that you were anything less than human."
"Huh?" Naruto managed, blinking almost owlishly, before realizing what she meant - or at least what he thought she meant. "You mean, uh, that you want to teach me how to sword fight?"
"Indeed. I offer my own expertise, such as it is." Pamela answered, inclining her head slightly "You seek not to invite worship from the villages, but to doth this you must know how to wield your blade properly."
"Uhm, not that I don't appreciate the thought but I know all I need to." Naruto said "I mean, I'm no swordsman but I know that nothing can live without its head."
"Tis true," Pamela admitted, before adding "However, do not discount the time when you shalt encounter a Yoma whom you will be unable to overwhelm with your speed. Tis best to learn this skill now than wait until you have no other recourse than to reveal your abilities. Nor should you overlook the humans you will encounter - both highwayman and merely the foolhardy who seek to test their skills. If all you are capable of is decapitation, you will invite only greater problems upon your neck."
"Huh, hadn't thought about that." Naruto admitted, not that he was worried about the Yoma he could move faster than she even knew, but the people were something else. He had been thinking that he could just deal with them using his kunai, but that could make people even more curious about his skills. But more importantly, she had just admitted that he was human and was now offering to make it up to him. "Alright, I'm game."
"Allow me to offer this praise before we begin." Pamela said eyes pinning him with their intensity "You have gazed upon my disfigurement and revealed naught of your disgust, normally only the Handlers of the Organization are capable of such a feat, so it speaks well of your character."
"Uh, being disgusted never even crossed my mind." Naruto responded in startled surprise as heat returned to his cheeks at the memory of her exposed breasts. Yes she had a horrible wound, and he definitely wasn't happy about it, but somehow it failed to detract from her 'assets'.
"Oh." Pamela said simply, her face revealing a brief glimpse of surprise and a faint blush.
No sooner had she said that than Naruto was forced to summon his sword and desperately deflected an angled stroke that would have split him in half. The impact sent him skidding back accompanied by a shiver running up his arm to his shoulder, making him realize that her eyes were gleaming gold. Damn it - Was it just him or did he inherent some sort of curse from Jiraiya to say exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time to women.
Manipulating her opponents Yoki so that its attack went wide, Galatea leapt away from the towering Yoma placing extra distance between them. Landing well outside its range of immediate counter-attack, she flicked her eyes around her surroundings once more, studying the ghost village. Not that she had expected much to change between the battle began and now, but still it was just common sense to keep an eye on your surroundings.
Registering the Yoma's approach, she flipped over the sudden lunging thrust instinctively aligning her Yoki to its own and managed to redirect its secondary attack allowing her to land and move away without harm. Only she didn't get a chance to completely regain her bearings due to her opponent closing the gap between them with far more speed than something that size should be capable of. Galatea just barely managed to draw her sword and parry the first attack before they quickly devolved into a seemingly endless series of slashes, thrust and parries.
Mouth pressed in a severe line, Galatea studied the Yoma she was currently fighting trying to find something she could use to her advantage. Only it was only reinforcing the fact that her opponent was far from the 'usual' Yoma: It stood just a little over ten feet tall, on either side of its temple were bony protrusions that could only be called horns- Oh and its hands had seemingly fused together creating a pair of blackened blades.
She also couldn't miss the fact that it was studying her as intently as she was studying it, which was another oddity of its personality. When they had arrived in the village it had approached them without any pretense or fear, and asked politely for their names and rank. From there she had been noticing other little quirks in its actions, like claiming it had a name 'Hastur', creating a very alarmingly real illusion of intelligence.
All of which, when added up, led to a very disturbing pattern of thought – it was not an Awakened Being, but neither was it a normal Yoma.
Which meant that the only conclusion Galatea could come to was that this was a true Voracious Eater; a Yoma that had lived too long and as a result became vastly more powerful. Part of her wanted to dismiss it as a wild idea, but the rest of her accepted the thought without reservation, mainly because it would mean that being forced to use ten percent of her Yoki just to achieve a stalemate would be a little less maddening.
Still, it wasn't much better since it was still fury inducing; because she was supposed to be stronger… better than this. Galatea was not like her sisters, she could not accept being stymied by this ugly, imperfect creature calmly. Everything she did was focused on one thing, and one thing alone, perfection – from her looks, to her sword technique, to her ability to manipulate and sense yoki.
So this thing went against her sensibilities far worse than any Yoma or Awakened Being, which meant that the eyesore needed to be removed. But this in turn only made her even angry since to do so would mean attacking it with overwhelming power and to do that she would need to break self-imposed limit of twenty percent. But at least she would not been under the influence of her Yoki for long, and the only that would get a glimpse of how ugly she became would be the Voracious Eater and it would be dead before it could even register the sight.
Decision made she adjusted the grip on her blade as it clashed against its bladed arms and using the power in the clash, flew away from it, unleashing her mental barriers of the Yoki slumbering within her. Sensing the approaching wall of a building from behind, she used her sword to alter her position, allowing her feet to hit first before pushing off with such force that the building collapsed in her wake.
Galatea met the Voracious Eater in mid-charge, using her sword to change her position once more, allowing her to slam her feet into its chest first while her blade pierced its thick neck muscles burying itself up to the hilt in its throat. The impact forced the massive create to stumble back, trying to regain its bearings, but before it could fully recover Galatea kicked off the wall of muscles her feet were braced against flipping away, and in the process bifurcated its neck and head.
The force of her attack hurled the Voracious Eater somersaulting across the ruined village crashing through crumbling walls of abandoned homes as it went. Its flight was cut short only when it struck the ancient, gnarled tree located in the center of the ghost village with enough force to smash it apart. This oddly resulted in a nearly blinding flash of blue-white light, making Galatea wince against it and stumble as she landed from her own flip.
The blinding light lasted for several long minute before finally beginning to fade, minutes in which Galatea struggled to suppress her Yoki. Blinking away the dots dancing before her eyes, as well as making a mental note to keep better control over her emotions, Galatea stood from her crouch and arched a slender eyebrow. "Well, now that is interesting."
Starting down the ruined street, side-stepping fresh rubble, Galatea turned her gaze away from the source of the light and noted her three sisters descending from the roof where they had been observing her fight against the Voracious Eater. Disinterested she dismissed them from her mind, turning her attention to the village itself, giving it the serious consideration that she had been unable to earlier thanks to 'Hastur'.
The village was not very large, at most it would have had a hundred or so people living there, not some place a Yoma would be willing to fight The Organization for. Another oddity was the fact that the buildings were all still intact, barring the ones she and 'Hastur' had just demolished. But what really got her was when she finally reached the center of the village and found the corpse: It appeared that every villager, from the youngest babe to the oldest adult, had been gathered around the large tree that had dominated the village.
Possibly it could have been a village meeting, but after a closer look, it only raised even more questions. If they had been attacked during the meeting then why did it appear that all of them had been eaten where the stood? Not a single person showed signs of attempting to flee or fighting back, if anything it appeared that they had all simply stood there watching and listening as the Yoma fed on their family and friends while they waited for their own turn.
It was as if the whole village had gone insane and committed suicide in the most violently terrifying way possible.
Putting the implications of what it could mean aside she turned her attention back to her sisters, who were now gathered around the shattered stump of the tree discussing what appeared to be a body. Frowning she hurried her approach slightly sparing the Yoma that lay sprawled in an ungainly heap with its blood and gore seeping into the ground a brief glance, before turning it upon the body.
It appeared to be a wiry, white haired young man dressed in a purple tunic and grey pants, sprawled on the ground face down with his legs and arms spread akimbo. Galatea frowned, wondering as the others no doubt were, were this man had come from - it was if he had appeared out of thin air... or from a flash of light! Could it be that he and the tree had been tied together somehow?
"Where did he come from?" Lucia asked after a moment, crouching down to examine the man closer. "He hasn't been eaten and he clothes are definitely not from around here."
"Can anyone sense any Yoki from him?" Apolline asked, arms crossed as she considered him as well.
"None." Both Hilda and Lucia said, with Galatea absently echoing them.
Only, it wasn't entirely accurate to say that she didn't sense anything, because she did. But it was a strange sort of power, not quite Yoki and unbelievably weak – as if it were nearly exhausted. Which only served to pique her interest even more, could he have used this strange power to hide within the tree and if he had then could she learn something similar?
"This is going to complicate things." Apolline said, frowning down at the man, obviously debating on if they could afford to bring him along or not.
"We cannot just leave him here," Hilda said, her tone heavy "Just a causal glance tells us that even if he was conscious there is no way he could care for himself. If we were to leave him alone he would most certainty die and each of us would be directly responsible for it."
"So we take him with us," Lucia said with a shrug "There is a town between us and our target correct? We drop him off there and then continue on our way."
"I would prefer to know where this man came from." Apolline admitted, but clearly resigned to the fact that they would have to carry him to the next town. Shaking her head she turned her attention to Galatea. "Galatea, can you still sense our target?"
"His Yoki is faint, but yes, I am still able to sense him." Galatea said, her gaze turning northward as she extended her senses to their target "Our mysterious sister is still with him as well, he must be good company for her to stay."
"Good, that should make things easier when we approach them." Apolline said, her lips compressing into a thin line. "Can you get a clearer reading on its Yoki?"
"As I have said before, this 'Seraph' is suppressing his Yoki, making it hard to form a clear picture." Galatea answered with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Was it truly that hard to grasp such a simply concept, or was Apolline merely doing it to annoy her?
"Can you at least tell how strong it is?" Lucia asked, looking intrigued.
"Even for me, it is hard to tell at such distance." Galatea answered, frowning faintly as she pressed her Yoki sensing abilities to their utmost limit. Sensing the Seraph's Yoki was like grasping at wisps of fog. "His Yoki is utterly different than any other I have ever sensed, in every way that is possible for them to be different. It is impossible to explain the texture or nature of Yoki- "
"You are the only one that can explain what we are facing and we need to have an idea before we proceed." Apolline interrupted, and despite her emotionless tone, Galatea sensed her annoyance.
"Very well." Galatea said, fighting to keep her own annoyance hidden from the others, if for no other reason than to make Apolline look foolish. Closing her eyes, Galatea clutched at the faint Yoki, trying to wrestle a frame of reference from it. After several long minutes she finally opened her eyes, gazing at ht eothers who were staring at her with poorly hidden interest. "If you think of Yoki as fire then we and Yoma are bonfires while Awakened Beings are Forest fires. The Serpah, in this context would be a sea of lava."
At that the others grew very quiet and if possible, they each turned even paler.
"How could anything be that strong?" Hilda asked finally.
"I do not know," Galatea said, anxious at the prospect of meeting such a powerful being. "But it does mean that whatever the Seraph truly is, he has gained a fitting name."
Apolline glanced in the direction for the town they were heading for, and Galatea could almost imagine the gears turning in her head. "Hilda, you carry our 'guest', the longer we linger here the higher the chances of Luciela appearing."
"Right." Hilda said with a slight nod, stooping to retrieve the unconscious man.
"Once we've reached the town, Galatea and I shall continue ahead. We'll establish contact with our target, as well as his companion, and bring him back for the negotiations on forming an alliance."
The private meeting chamber was cold and damp, its shadowy darkness broken only by the sparse patches of weak light from the flickering torches that adorned the walls. On the part of the Organization it was designed to create a sense of unease and uncertainty within those rare few warriors they addressed in utter privacy, but it was also due to the impracticality of pumping heated air into the hidden chamber - especially for a private meeting of the Elders.
The chamber itself was currently only partially filled by four of the seven Elders. None of them spoke or looked at each other, simply standing unmoving, awaiting the one that had called the meeting. Chief Elder Rimuto - who suddenly emerged from the shadows of the meeting chamber, moving into a pool of torch light as silently as a dark wraith.
"Welcome," Rimuto said in barely audible tone, his dark eyes moving slowly from the gathered Elders. "As you might have noticed, this is to be a private meeting."
"What exactly is this meeting about?" Cyril asked, looking politely bored.
"About your recent actions in regards to my orders concerning the new presence in our land." Rimuto said with a shrug, settling his gaze upon Cyril. "I know if enough of you agree, you can act against my orders...but this time it cannot go without being commented on."
"You may comment however you like, but even if you hold the most authority, it is not absolute." Klaas said, with a blasé shrug "It is part of the balance that makes up this council, if we believe your decision a threat to our efforts of reclaiming our lands from the Dragon-kin we will act against it."
"I know that." Rimuto said, his dark eyes narrowing "The problem is that you have no idea why I made my decision and rather than asking me, you merely assumed that I was acting against our interests."
"Would you have told us if we did ask?" Aleksei asked coolly. "Besides, at this point it is pointless. You refused to let us attempt to capture or establish any contact with it and we have issued orders against this decision. It is done."
"Under most circumstances, no I would not." Rimuto answered sourly "But in this instance, when none of you have any idea what you are dealing with, I would."
"Then what is it?" Cyril asked his eyes blank and pitiless.
"As I said before, there is some information that only I, as Chief Elder, am privileged to." Rimuto said meeting and holding the gaze of Cyril "I'll start with a name, one that every child in our home lands know. The Second God-Sage of Shinobi Naruto Uzumaki."
The reaction was immediate - some muttered and shook their heads while others stirred uneasily where they stood.
"Impossible." Meine finally managed, though he didn't sound very convincing. "He died in the Last War, we all know that."
"Ah," Rimuto said, raising one long finger, the universal gesture for a moment of silence. "So our history books say, but we all know the legend."
"Yes, and that is exactly what it is, a legend." Cyril said coldly. "The devastation obliterated everything in the vicinity of the final battle. There is no way for him to have survived that. You will have to do better than some children's story about him being hidden away, sleeping until it was time for him to return."
"Somehow I find myself less than surprised at your reaction," Rimuto said his mouth twisting into a cold, terrible smile "Let me offer this, it is an established fact that his chakra is the only known source that could instigate the reaction in nature that we recently experienced. Also, another thing you should consider is that upon his death the demon he held should have been released, but it was not."
"Even if it is him," Cyril said, as the other elders eyes darted sideways at one another, "Do you truly believe our strength would be no match for him, given enough preparation? Or that the risk is so great that we cannot establish any kind of alliance with him?"
"An alliance would have happened in its own time, but now he will question our motivations." Rimuto said, his dark gaze sweeping over them as he added "As for our strength against his - He has fought demi-gods and madmen, shifted the entire course of the Last War, and is why the era of the Hidden Villages began to wane. So I ask you to contemplate just how utterly insignificant our strength is compared to his."
To that there was only silence.
