*Chapter 9*

Kurai
Hmm what to say? Other than Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler), Hetalia Axis Powers and Soul Eater are awesome! Especially Soul Eater and Kuroshitsuji! So yeah I may have story ideas for those two fandoms . . . mayhaps. But whatever I shall let you meet the wonderful Kizoku-kun! And yeah expect a really annoyed Kankuro . . . I like torturing him way too much, don't I?
Kizoku: None of these four wonderful young ladies own Naruto; they only own their ocs.

After another week of training I was proficient enough with the four-foot fan that Temari-chan gave me a pair of smaller ones to practice with when I have the time to do so. That may not have been a good idea, as Kankuro is soon to find out. Just because he's 'training' me does not mean that he can spout off of well he thinks puppeteers fight and how they, and so himself, are a treasure of the village. Frankly, I was sick of it the second day but I promised Baki-sensei to try to get along with Kankuro but I'm done with it!

I smacked the top of Kankuro's head.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Kitty Boy, are you done stoking your own ego and are actually going to start training me? Heck, I don't even want to learn the 77 different strategies about using puppets in battle, I just want to learn how to use those chakra threads!" We were walking down the main road in Suna after an yet unsuccessful trip to the Library, well at least to me. Kankuro got a kick out of researching the different puppet techniques, while I did not.

"Why do want to learn how to use chakra threads and not them and puppets?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help to overhear your conversation and I may be able to help, Kurai-chan." A sixteen year old boy with icy blonde spiky hair, and lighting-blue eyes, spoke up. I had talked to him last week about the problems I faced with trying to make my own technique.

"Oh, in what way Kizoku-kun?" I asked, Maybe he'll understand and actually help me! Kankuro's teeth clenched when he heard how we intimately addressed one another and he asked, "Why are you here?"

"It's simple Kankuro, I'm here to suggest my services to help aid Kurai-chan in her attempts to create a new technique. It's a quite novel idea actually, manipulating two small fans with chakra threads. I'm quite jealous that I didn't think of the idea myself."

"Oh, I don't think I'm at your level, Kizoku-kun," I said, a small blush graced my cheeks. "But if you don't stop trying to flatter me into going out with you, I will make your life a living hell!" My blush went as way as quickly as it came.

"Well, you're not my level yet anyway. Just wait and see, I swear that you'll make jounin rank in less than two years, after all the judges like to see newly developed techniques and you have the looks to sell it."

"Thanks . . . I guess." Was he hitting on me . . . after I told him not to?

"What do you mean by newly developed techniques? Kurai hasn't said anything about this!" Kankuro asked, extremely annoyed by this point. Wow this guy is better than I am at annoying Kitty Boy, I need to ask him how he does that.

"How could she get a word in with you constantly inflating your ego? A word of advice if you want to impress a girl, don't talk about yourself too much and let her talk."

Kankuro couldn't speak for a few seconds, he then sputtered, "What do you mean impress?! I hate Kurai-chan! She's a total bitch!"

"Who's the one who dropped me when we first met?" I innocently asked, knowing that it would just set him off.

"Who's the one who threw me at Gaara to save her own life?!"

Kizoku laughed, "So you're that fearless kunoichi? I must introduce you to my friends! And my family, they'll love you! But first let us train and you must stay for dinner."

"Hai, of course. I would love to as long as I wouldn't impose on any important strategizing meetings."

Kankuro was shocked that I agreed so readily, but hey it'll give me more time in our training session today. And well, if I can impress Kizoku's father, who is a senior member of Suna's council then I'll have dinner with him. Hey, I need to do everything I can to stay ahead in this world.

"Oh no. I think my father may want to help, but come on! We should've started training minutes ago!"

"Alright, Kitty Boy tell Temari where I am, okay?"

"Hai," he grumbled.

"Kitty Boy? Nice."

"Why thank you, and I hate to ask but what's in it for you? And don't lie because I will fucking kill you!"

He didn't even try to look offended, "Well, entertainment because this will annoy Kankuro to no end, and well," he lifted up my chin but he dropped it after I bared my teeth. "You're a fighter and I'd rather not have you wilt so young after the invasion. After all, you are a deadly but beautiful desert rose."

What invasion? And what is with him? Why is he still trying to flirt with me? He does know that I will hurt him, right?

Risuna

Let me just say, you are all very lucky to get this chap from me. Not because of something you guys have done but because my bunnies decided, hey let's screw her over completely for ideas involving this chapter. Thanks a lot bunnies. So yeah thanks to Kurai and Purein for majorly helping me to write this chap. And please continue to read, review, etc.

"Risuna?"

"What?"

"Can you explain why Tayuya has been walking in a circle in the East Hallway for the past five hours?" I grinned.

"It's part of my training."

"Really?"

"Well sorta. Tayuya started teaching me genjutsu today and I decided to practice."

"Decided to practice on her, you mean."

"I was never given any restrictions on how to practice what I learned. And no one else seems to mind."

"Orochimaru-sama will."

"What you're gonna go tell on me? That's low."

"You shouldn't have done it in the first place, now go run along and play somewhere else. Unlike some people I have work to do."

"First off I'm not five and I don't play and second part of your 'work' is to train me which you haven't."

"Why should I train you and I need to oversee an experiment. Go bug your sweetheart."

"If you think he's my 'sweetheart', you need to get your glasses checked!"

"Whatever; go away."

As he scoffed and left to go do whatever he does, I did have to admit that going to visit Kimmimaro was a good idea. However, when I went to his room I was surprised to see that he wasn't there, which led to a fifteen minute search until I found him outside, looking up at the sky.

"I hear you used a genjutsu on Tayuya. How much slacking off has she been doing if you beat her at her specialty?"

"Ignoring the insult in that it was pretty funny, even if she is going to try to kill me later."

"I seriously doubt now that she'd be able too." He looked at me, frowning slightly. "Have you become adjusted to your Curse Mark yet?"

"Sorta, though I don't really have a lot of control over it."

"That will come in time."

"I suppose but it's very annoying right now."

"You should consider yourself honored. I wasn't expecting Orochimaru-sama to do that. I don't think I've seen him make such a rash decision in the entire time I've been with him."

"Oh yeah being given some mark that will only lead to my death is such an honor."

"The only ones who die from the Curse Mark are the fools."

"You like insulting me without actually saying something rude don't you?"

"I am not trying to insult you personally. I simply refuse to give compliments to one's strength until I have seen it myself. Just because you survived does not mean you will be a good asset to Orochimaru-sama."

"... Now you're just trying to piss me off."

"That was never my intention."

"Good because then I'd have to hit you and personally I think you could easily beat me up if you wanted too."

". . . . I suppose I could," he mused. "Risuna, are you aware that I am the only remnant of my clan?"

"Really?"

"I was born into the Kaguya Clan, a savage clan that fought constantly for the sole purpose of fighting. There were no strategies involved; they charged in and killed their opponents. I am in possession of a rare Kekkei Genkei of the clan, Shikotsumyaku." He held out his arm, and I watched as a bone came out of his wrist and was in his hands as a sword. "As a result, I was feared for my abilities and was kept in confinement for extended periods of time.

"Then, the clan launched an attack on Kirigakure. I never did learn why, though I suppose there was no reason. In the end, all were completely annihilated, save myself. It was afterwards that I was found and taken in by Orochimaru-sama, who has found worth in my vessel. As such, I received the Curse Mark of Earth that you bear on your arm, and was part of the Sound Five. I no longer am associated with them, but while I have strength in my limbs, I am to be of service to Orochimaru-sama." He looked at me. "That is my story."

"It must have been horrible to go through all of that, especially alone."

"It would have been, but I was never alone. Orochimaru-sama looked out for me, and I had Juugo."

"Orochimaru isn't the best of company for young children to be keeping. And who's Juugo?"

"Juugo is the reason you have that Curse Mark. It's a natural thing for him that has plagued his entire existence. He would go into furious fits of violence, killing anybody and everything in his path. It was only after I was sent to retrieve him from his hiding place that he found true peace, as I became his cage. To put it simply; he is my dearest friend, and I am his."

"It must have been nice to have someone like that after all that time."

"It was part of my purpose to be his cage." He looked at me, green eyes indecipherable. "One day, you will discover your own purpose, Risuna. As long as you keep looking." We made eye contact before I looked away, feeling very awkward for some reason.

"You may be right."

Akuma

Author's Note: So, not really much to say here, but school will be starting soon so expect a decrease in update frequency.

So, the first couple days after I told everyone about my new name were kind of shaky. Mostly because there were some jokes made about its meaning and because some of the others would just plain forget what my new name even was. Eventually the jokes died down however and everyone remembered my name, which was good for me because I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand the jokes.

The main joker was Hidan, apparently he felt it was a way to get back at me for intruding in his room. I guess scaring the living daylight out of me wasn't enough for him. Most of the jokes made mentioned something called a "Jinchuuriki", whatever that was. However, the word had a haunting familiarity to it, and it unnerved me a bit. I tried to brush it off, but eventually, my curiosity got the better of me. Again. And who did I go to when I had no idea what something meant or what to do? Deidara.

In fact, finding him was the first thing I set out to do when I woke up the day after the jokes finally stopped. Leaving my room, I made my way down the hallway and towards Deidara's room. I yawned briefly before knocking on his door. No answer. I decided to knock two or three more times before deciding that he must be already awake and in the common room. And thus began my wild goose chase.

I went to the common room and looked around, still no Deidara. Sighing quietly in budding frustration, I asked around if anyone had seen Deidara.

"Hey, Kisame, have you seen Deidara around?"

"Mmm, no, haven't seen him yet today. I'll let you know if I do though."

"Ugh, alright, thanks."

"You seen him Hidan?"

"Nope."

"Hmmm...Itachi?"

"No, I haven't seen him."

Scratching my head in annoyance, I left the common room and leaned against the wall in the hallway. I bit my thumb to keep me from fidgeting and tried to think of all the places he could be. 'Hmm...He might have gone for a walk or...Maybe he went to get some supplies? No...Uhhh...Shit, where could he be? No one has seen him yet today, but he obviously isn't in his room anymore... Hold on, come to think of it, I don't believe I saw Sasori about either... Could it be that they were sent on a mission?'

My eyes widened and I snapped my fingers. Of course, that was the only logical explanation. Deidara and Sasori had been sent out on a mission before anyone else had woken up. All I had to do was wait. But I hated waiting. In a split second, I had come up with an ingenious (or at least I thought it was) idea. Since I hated waiting, I'd simply go find him. The plan was perfect, no way it could have failed!

*5 HOURS LATER*

"Shit, I'm lost..."

Unfortunately, it turned out that there were a few issues with my plan. First, I had almost no tracking skills whatsoever. Second, I accidentally ruined my map trying to outrun a bear, so I was 'walking blind'. Currently, I was in a huge field with no signs of civilization within my line of sight. Up until then, I had kept telling myself that I wasn't lost, but, let's face it, I lie to myself all the time. So, there I was.

"Okaaay...So, maybe I can just...Backtrack?" Another lie. All hopes I had of being able to backtrack were destroyed when I got chased by that bear.

"Hmm...Oh well, at least I still have my compa-" Rummaging through my bag, I discovered a rather large hole in the bottom corner. Brilliant.

"...GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!"

I paced around in circles swearing at myself, Deidara, and at life in general for about 10 minutes before I got myself to calm down enough to try and think rationally. In the back of my mind, something was gnawing at my train of thought. 'Come on you know how to get out of this! Your father taught you! Remember?' I shook my head and looked around in confusion. 'Father? But I don't remember anything from before now...Where did that come from?' While trying to figure out why I had randomly thought up that baloney, my gaze came to rest on a small river at the opposite end of the field. Suddenly, it hit me. Rivers eventually lead to towns. Where there's towns there's stores. Where there's stores there's maps.

Swept up in relief, I laughed out loud briefly and walked over to the river. It was most likely going to be a long walk, but I'd hopefully be able to get back to the base soon. After about a half hour of walking, I had a nagging sense that I was going to kick myself for something, but I didn't know what. On top of that, my surroundings were starting to get rather familiar. Almost too familiar. And then came the realization.

"...OH NO WAY. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

It turned out, I had somehow been turned around by the bear chase, and since I still didn't know the area very well, I had been within 6 miles of the base the entire time. In fact, the pieces of my map were off to my right, next to the very same tree I climbed to escape the bear. Once I reached the base, I went straight to my room, ignoring everyone and even the fact that Deidara had gotten back from his mission. I'd find out later that he'd gotten back literally minutes after I had left. Joy.

Purein

Guessy-who?

. . . . . Right, my name is at the top, and at this point you know I'm last. . .

So much for that idea then, right?

And this is very important; awesomeness is being gifted to Purein here on this day-moment-chapter-etc.

Still, this is important. Read please, and file away for immediate later use.

Hope you enjoy!

I hunched over, breathing harshly as sweat rolled down my face. Ever since I had met Lee, I had focused even more on my training. I wasn't allowed to go into the Academy or be part of a Genin Team to due my, uh, amnesiac status, as well as my odd and faulty way of channeling my chakra.

You see, when Ko uses chakra, he simply calls upon it and uses it, manipulates it like a tool. But when I use chakra, I have to be in tune with my surroundings to use a large amount of chakra effectively. If I'm not a peace with myself, or if I am emotionally distraught, I won't be able to do anything huge. So if a mission was going wrong and I started freaking out. . . well, you can picture what would happen. So, I decided to devote myself to training, so that I wouldn't have that problem. I could already walk on water without even thinking a lot about it, as well as other surfaces (much to Ko's dismay; I could sneak around very well too).

So it was during this training I was putting myself through when I set myself up to start another talent.

I was training with one of the practice dummies when I saw it. An open scroll was lying under a step, and on it was an illustration of a kata.

"You'd think that these Hyuuga's would take more care of their stuff." I sighed. "What kind of kata is this anyway?"

Picking it up, I noted the odd stance and the open palms; it looked more like a dance form than anything else.

"I guess this is that taijutsu of theirs, Jyuuken I think. . ." I placed it upright against a support beam, and mimicked the first stance. "Let's see. . . ."

Going slowly, I began to move into the next form and the next, trying to keep it flowing. Once I got the hang of it it was actually fun. It was cool, moving around like that, letting the moves get engraved into my memory, letting my muscles move of their own accord. It would've been even more fun had I not then been rudely interrupted.

"Purein?"

"In the name of all things bento!" I shrieked, spinning around like a maniac to see Ko's face. "What was that for?"

"What are you doing?"

"Well. . . I'm not using one of your family's precious and secret katas because I'm bored from my real training, if that's what you're thinking."

". . . Smooth. And I'm not mad."

"You're. . . you're not?"

"No. In fact. . ." Ko looked like a light bulb should be hovering over his head. "I have an idea. Come with me."

And that's how I found myself in front of a weapons' shop.

"Whoa," I breathed. "That's a lot of pointy objects."

"Let's go Purein," Ko walked inside without any hesitation, and I followed behind.

"So. . . why are we here?"

"For these." I looked to where Ko had nodded, and felt myself let out a sound of awe. In front of me on the wall was nothing short of enough short swords to last a lifetime. "Pick one."

"Pick one?" I squeaked. "But. . . but. . ."

"When I saw you doing that kata earlier, the first thought that came to mind was what would happen to an enemy if you were wielding a sword during the movements, and that's when I knew." He looked at me. "If you can't be an official ninja, then maybe you can be a swordsman until then."

"Well. . . technically I'd be swordswoman," I corrected before smiling. "But thanks."

I looked to all the swords. Uh. . . . right, I don't know anything about swords at the moment. So. . . I scratched the back of my head. I guess I'll go with my gut here.

That's when I saw it. The sheath was white, and I could see a liquid silver handle, smooth and at the same time grooved, like a bone. I grasped it in my hands without even thinking, and pulled it out. The sword was a tampered smooth shimmering white, like a liquid light, sometimes even turning almost gray as it seemed the blade was in constant motion. The blade was completely straight, but grew very thin, curving up slightly into a sharp point. The sheath itself was slightly curved at the end to accommodated for the whispy tip, and at the very end of it was a ying yang symbol surrounded by a gold band. It was clearly a very deadly instrument, and at the same time, it seemed like it was almost. . . . . alive.

I held it in my hands, before turning to Ko with a smile.

"Do you think I could have this one?"

And that's how I became a swordswoman in training.