Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin, into the future
Reviews;
goddragonking: Thank you! Here's another update ^^
wyteeth: Thanks! Pakkun is adorable, I love him.
JBebe: Poor ninja. They don't know what they're getting into.
TetraOfTheInternet: Thank you very much! I'm trying really hard to stay consistent, so I'm glad everything makes sense.
After the first year, things went quickly.
Her student grew stronger, her friends became better. Jiraiya wouldn't leave her alone when he was in town, Genma and Raidou started hanging around her and Kakashi was marginally less standoffish.
By which she meant she would some home sometimes and he would be in her kitchen, brewing tea while his dogs milled around her furniture, and would even say hello on lucky days.
It was… odd.
Coming from someone who had grown up with nurse sharks and lived in a pocket dimension for three years with two immortal sorceress's that was saying something.
She finally got back to the Chimney, only to find that whatever had dragged her into this strange world was long, long gone. There wasn't a single trace for her to follow. Not a single way for her to get back home.
So she made her peace and moved on.
She found a goal, to sell charms and knowledge to those who needed it.
But to do that, she was going to have to hoard her money. Which meant living off of rice, tofu, and ramen for over twenty months.
It was… unfortunate, but necessary. And in the end, worth it.
Day 1,068: Konohagakure,
"Remember, remember, the fifth of November, of gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why gunfire treason should ever be forgot."
Many things happened on November fifth. Christopher Columbus learned about Maize. Copernicus saw a lunar eclipse. Spain and England signed a peace treaty. The Kingdom of Poland was formed.
Her quest for vengeance began.
It was odd, really. That the worst things that had ever happened to her also occurred the same day as one of the best things happened. It was the day she met Viviane and Morgan.
It was the day she opened her book store.
Well. Bookstore was only one of what it was. It was a bookstore, a cafe, and an apothecary all rolled into one. In remembrance her origins and of a place that once helped her immensely, she named it 'Reefside' and decorated it with aquariums and soft lights.
She sold pastries and sandwiches, novels and guide books. Teas and remedies and charms.
Over the years she had gained something of a reputation. She was a witch, as all knew, and when she sold something it worked. If you were sick she would give you bark to a chew on, and viola, you were cured. Have a spat with your brother and she would solve it, have a misbehaving weed infestation and it would be gone. She seemed to have something for everything.
Even wards against malevolent spirits.
She had heard, in passing whispers, that that was why she kept Naruto with her. To keep a leash on a demon.
Why they thought he was a demon, she doubted she would ever know. She knew he was… odd. His Essence was not entirely his own and there was some sinister Something in it. Or, perhaps it was not sinister, merely angry. She knew many creatures to that effect. Herself included.
She had been so angry, when her father died. So full of screaming and crying and anguish.
All she wanted was her justice. All she wanted was to quell the shrieking in her heart. All she wanted was-
"Is this high enough?"
Her head snapped up from where it had been bowed over a Whitespotted Bamboo shark, who was very pleased with her choice in sand. It was soft and it fluttered just right when a tail flipped through.
Genma was holding a shelf up, a little above his brow line. Riley smiled and nodded.
"Perfect. Thank you for helping out, I appreciate it."
Riley may have been as stubborn as the seas, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that she could only lift so much, could only do so many things on her own. She had no problem outsourcing her labor to friends or neighbors. Genma happened to live across the street from her new shop, a detail that raised her suspicions somewhat, and had volunteered to assist her in her endeavors.
Naruto stumbled by, the seven year old carrying a box of books that was, by all rights, too heavy for someone of his size. But he was just as stubborn as his teacher, and wouldn't let anyone help him, no matter who it was.
The young woman hid a smile. He had come a long way from the little scrap of a boy who had trouble reading more than two syllable words.
She was proud of who he was, and who she had helped him become. Thanks to Kakashi, and his new Academy teacher, he was even doing better in his classes.
He didn't have many friends that she knew of. He was busy with their lessons, and his ninja studies, but there were still some days where he would run off with a gaggle of other boys his age. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji, she was pretty sure were their names. She had never been formally introduced.
She was sure they were nice. Naruto was a good judge of character.
"Make sure you put those in numeric order," she called after the blond boy when he dropped the box on the floor and started pulling books out.
"I know," he stuck his tongue out at her, harmlessly, and started sliding the books into place. She had everything organized by difficulty, subject matter, and sub-categorized by author. At the front desk she kept a file cabinet with cards showing every book, every scroll, and every movie she had in her collection.
It was, all things considered, kind of small. But it would grow. In time, as all things did.
Time.
It was about time, now.
"Naruto," she interrupted his work and the little boy turned to him, curiosity on his features. "We're going to out tonight, be ready by dusk, alright?"
While he still looked confused he did smile at her, and agree easily. He was a good kid.
She was lucky to have him as her student.
And even luckier to have ninja as friends. It was funny, no civilians seemed interested in conversing with her, let alone befriending her. She assumed it was something to do with her being a witch, but really, who knew.
It hardly mattered.
She had what she needed.
The moon was up. The light spilled through the trees, into the clearing in the many woods that surrounded and thrived within the village of the leaves.
Riley stood the edge of the pond, sized perfectly so the moon filled it and cast off of the rising steam in shattered fragments of a rainbow. Starlight shown up in the air, twinkling down at the mortals in their sight.
Naruto sat across from her, on top of a small rock. His legs were crossed and his arms were bare, his jacket laying in the grass beside the stone.
"You have done very well, little one," Riley praised. Wind picked up, curling around them. It didn't disturb the pond.
Naruto smiled up at her. "You think so?" He was so bright. Like the sun in the middle of a rainstorm.
In some ways, he had saved the Atlantan. Rescued her from too much time, from being alone, from being good only for shelving books and selling luck.
"I do. That's why we're here. It is the sacred rites of my people that I am to pass to you," she declared. It wasn't quite right, but her Japanese was still being perfected. Almost.
"Rites?" He parroted, cocking his head.
Riley hummed. "Not the right word. You have already passed the rites, is what I mean. Your advancement in air, the level of mastery you have, has earned you recognition," she focused, lighting up her own tattoos. "For each great step you take, for wash advancement you earn metal for all to see. A warning for all to know. "
Naruto's eyes lit up. "I do?"
Riley nodded and took one hand. She traced upon its back, calling to her the Wind and the World. In the wake of her fingers drew a single line across his veins, lit up with the pale yellow of the magicks of wind.
All had their own color. For Water was blue, Fire was red, Earth was green and Wind was Yellow. All Atlanteans were marked with the blue, Naruto would be the first person in history to bear the marks of the ocean in the color of the skies.
She took his other hand and repeated the action. Making them balanced. Two crescents with a tail that curled opposite.
As soon as Riley let go Naruto pulled his hands up where he could inspect her marking, his eyes wide in the dark. When he was older, stronger, more connected to the winds his eyes would light the same shade as his skin.
Her student grinned up at her, joy radiating off of him, into the air. She was knocked off her feet entirely when he threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around her neck and sending them both tumbling into the water behind. The quiet of the night was shattered by startled laughter and splashing water.
Through all of this, the moon watched on.