AN:
First off, I apologize for going overboard on this chapter the first time i posted it. It has been rewritten to be more realistic, and I omitted a lot of trivial things from the original chapter because I promised a chapter and a chapter you will get, but I had to keep it within a certain amount of quality instead of quantity. This redone chapter is much shorter than what I had originally written since this change is on such short notice. Again, my apologies.
Thank you so much for the AMAZING reveiws! I love you guys so much! Well, here is the chapter as promised. I Apologize for not getting it out soon but there where a few things that had to be changed in it. I hope you all enjoy!
...
If you want to see what Kumori writes for Jiraiya look at the Halloween special.
Warning: sexual references, Language,
South of Hi no Kuni
Kumori woke the next day to find herself in a lavished Inn room, Jiraiya writing quietly at the Kotetsu table as she had blinked awake blearily. Still sore, hurting and groggy she had found that she had barely been able to move her legs without shots of agony racing through her. An over use of chakra in the legs, Jiraiya had explained as he had helped her sit up. She was still wary of him, but after he went through the trouble of tracking her down, saving her life then getting her to a place where she could rest and recover she had decided to give him a chance.
He had left to go get her some food and she had found herself scooting over to a set of double door the room had that led to the outside of their room. Sliding it back she had found to her delight a private hot spring and a wooden tub out on the porch. Jiraiya had returned by then and had nearly been thrown into a panic until he realized that she had just been trying to get into the tub outside. With her legs still burning in pain she had needed help to get in the tub. When it became clear to her that she would need help bathing as well, she had swallowed her pride and asked Jiraiya to assist her, expecting rude leering or perhaps some groping from a self proclaimed super pervert. Oddly enough, he was actually an utter gentleman about it and even checked over her wounds, bandaged the cut on her back, and helped her get dressed in a yakuta lent by the inn. Afterwards they ate the food the Inn provided and Kumori went back to sleep for a bit. Jiraiya didn't bother her much as she recovered from her over usage of chakra, her legs feverish and achy.
When she reawaken, her eye had gone wide as she spotted her erhu and cloths beside her, and she learned that he had gotten her things from the apartment and had merely sealed them in a scroll. Jiraiya had been a bit puzzled as to why she had wanted to bash her head into a wall but he had stopped her with the complaint that they were already spending too much time waiting for her to recover and couldn't afford to waste more. Still irritable but in a decidedly better mood, Kumori went about practicing her Erhu for a bit before the hostess asked her if she would play in the gardens instead of in her room since the other guests wanted to hear better.
Jiraiya had had to carry her there and leave a blanket with her but hadn't minded. He had even brought his manuscript with him so he could listen to her as he worked. They took their lunch in the garden as well.
Awkward silence had descended, Kumori still a bit standoffish and Jiraiya not knowing what to do to break the ice. And then she had asked him about his book.
"Oh, uh, I don't think you would like it," said Jiraiya nervously as he tried to tuck it away. Kumori frowned as she raised an eyebrow.
"Why?" Jiraiya had cringed at the question.
"W-well, uh, i-its about… Ok, you know how I'm a super pervert right?" he hedged a bit warily. Most women where indignant when they found out he wrote smut and porn filled stories for a living. They usually grew even more disgusted when they realized it was the top seller Icha Icha.
"Oh, so it's porn or something?" she asked as she reached for the loose papers, her eyes roving over what he had written so far. Jiraiya held his breath as she moved to the next page. There had been a sex scene in that one. After a moment Kumori snorted before giggling making Jiraiya frown as his body posture relaxed and he stopped leaning away from her.
"What?" he asked, sounding a bit irritable as she continued to snicker.
"This part is waaaay over the top," Kumori said as she pointed to a particular section. Jiriaya groaned as he pouted slightly.
"I wasn't sure what to put there. The scene needs to be redone anyways," he grumbled as Kumori shook her head and grabbed his pen.
"No, its fine. You just need to get rid of this right here and insert a bit more detail here or else the reader isn't going to get caught up in the sensation of it all. Try to expand a bit on what the guy and woman are feeling too. Does she have any mixed feelings about what's going to happen? Is she excited? Scared? Why is she scared? Is she scared because she's falling too hard too fast and she wants to push away but can't live without him? What about him? It awkward because you where rushing, and you haven't expanded for the reader yet. The scene is fine," she said as she made her annotations. She turned to find Jiraiya staring at her with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Kumori stiffened in surprise before looking around uncertainly.
"What?"
"How did you… When, no! Why do you-"
"Jiraiya, Jiraiya, Jiraiya; you're not the only one that likes to 'write.'" She said with a slight grin as shock then glee flashed across his face.
"You mean you-"
"Yes. I write smut when I can though I usually spend my time on adventure stories… with a twist," she said with a sly grin, making her look foxy for a moment with the wild halo of red hair framing her face messily. Jiraiya suddenly pulled her into a bear hug making her yelp as he gave a laugh, trying not to cackle like a maniac.
"Finally a kindred spirit! And here I thought that you were going to complain about my writing and that you where another prudish annoying woman," he said with a wide grin. Kumori snorted.
"I am a prude, but that doesn't mean that I'm uncomfortable with my sexuality," she said with a mild shrug that made Jiraiya grin a bit harder.
"Come on! Write me something! I want to see what kind of writing you do," he said as he offered her some pen and paper. With a shrug Kumori got comfortable and began to think, thoughtlessly using Jiraiya as a backrest. She may have missed it but Jiraiya celebrated a small victory on the inside at the little sign that she was starting to grow more comfortable around him. She hummed thoughtfully before grinning.
They stayed out there chatting and eventually sharing tea, only leaving when evening began to set. Jiraiya had had to carry her back to the room and they went to have dinner on the porch as they watched the sun set. He didn't seem to mind carrying her places or getting her things too much, though she had to admit she disliked needing the help. Overall the day had been a lot less tense as the two of them began to acclimate to one another.
Today was the second day of their visit at the Inn and by now her legs no longer hurt, Kumori noted as she roused awake, blinking a few times before a wide yawn split her face. She looked over groggily to find that Jiraiya was still asleep. She wobbled slightly as she stood from her futon and her legs where stiff, but she could use them and that was what mattered. She poked her head out of the window to find that it was early morning and looked back over her shoulder where Jiraiya was. He was splayed out on his futon snoring lightly, still asleep.
Might as well let him rest, Kumori thought with a slight frown. She didn't want to wait around for him to wake up though and there wasn't much to do in the room. Looking over her shoulder she spied her Erhu and grinned slightly. Well, she could think of something to do.
…
Jiraiya sighed quietly as he rolled over, sleepy but starting to wake up. There was the slight crinkle of paper and he cracked open an eye to find a note plastered to the side of his face. Sitting up, he groggily detached the note with a yawn before blinking a few times to clear his eyes.
Jiraiya, I'm off to play at the market. Will be back around lunch. –Kumori
Jiraiya's eyes went wide as a shot of cold panic flared through him, now wide awake. She left again?! He scrambled for his cloths with a hiss of curses. He couldn't let her out of his sight for a moment, could he?! Cloths not quite on right but his pants in place he took off through the inn, only stopping at the front door to retrieve his geta sandals and ask the hostess if she had seen Kumori. After that he took off towards the market place, hoping that Kumori was actually where she said she was. The closer he drew, the more agitated he got. He couldn't hear an erhu anywhere. Was she even there? After a moment he spotted a small crowd at the base of a tree that began to clap. He quickly made his way over, pushing past a few people before he spotted the person he was looking for sitting at the base of the tree on a small stump, instrument in her lap. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief before he began to scowl.
"Kumori." He called, his tone disapproving as he made his way over to her. Several people of the crowd looked at the much taller white haired man nervously as he stopped before the young woman, all but dwarfing her in size.
"Hmm? Oh, good you're awake. I was going to let you sleep in. Are you ready to travel yet or is the stuff back at the room?" she asked, paying no mind to the tense atmosphere and dispelling it unintentionally with her easy response. Jiraiya stopped frowning as he came to sit at the base of the tree.
"You could have woke me," he muttered as he lay back with a sigh, his eyes sliding shut. He hadn't rested well last night despite the comfortable bedding.
"True," she said with a hum, "But you looked tired." She went back to tuning her instrument before starting to play once more, the sweet sounds pulling more pass by-ers to come see what was going on. When she finished her song, the people began to clap enthusiastically and drop money in her case.
"Hey do you want-" Kumori pause as she turned to find that Jiraiya had drifted back to a light doze against the tree. She couldn't help but smile a little before getting up leaving her stuff with him as she went to one of the street vendors and bought some yakitori and onigiri (riceballs). She returned to sit on her stump before reaching over and sticking a yakitori stick in Jiraiya's mouth. He jerked in surprise before sending her an annoyed look her way as she ignored him and continued to eat her food. After a moment he did the same, still looking a bit irritated.
"You're bad at faking sleep," she finally said as she offered him another yakitori stick and a rice ball. He harrumphed but took the offered food with a nod of thanks.
"How could you tell?" he asked in between bites. Kumori just chuckled.
"I'll let you figure that out. And I knew you where awake when I first left several days ago," she said lightly, making Jiraiya blink in surprise. "So… why did you let me leave?" she asked. Jiraiya sighed before digging back into his food, trying to formulate his thoughts as he ate.
"Well, I can't make you stay," he said slowly before he looked up with a sheepish grin, "Well, I could actually, but I'd rather not. A woman's grudge can last for a very long time and I knew better than to provoke you like that," after already making you furious, seemed to hang in the air as he cringed slightly before he frowned. "And I thought that you had just left because you where angry. So I figured if I gave you some time to cool down and reconsider, that you would be more reasonable the next time you saw me." Kumori harrumphed, clearly not sold.
"You could have caught up with me sooner when you where chasing me," she said after a moment making Jiraiya purse his lips.
"Wanted me worn out?" she asked as she crossed her arms. Jiraiya gave a nervous laugh.
"Well, like I said, I wanted you to stay but you would have to take the time to actually reconsider first."
"Is that why the inn we are staying at is so much nicer? And the food better? So that I will be less likely to run off again?" she asked her tone slightly teasing making Jiraiya grimace slightly. He hadn't expected her to pick up on all that. She snorted in amusement before poking him lightly in the shoulder.
"Jiraiya." He looked up at her serious tone. "I want to live in the Hidden Leaf. If you are willing to help me find a way to do that, then I'll stay. And like I said, it is your choice whether or not you will end up training me. No one can make you do anything you don't want to. I just hope that you're at least considering it," She said, making Jiraiya relax a little. Well, that cleared up a lot for him. Hopefully she wouldn't try to nag him about teaching her thought.
"Any particular reason why a ninja?" he asked eventually. Kumori smirked.
"Tons of reasons, But I will give you two, because one way or another, with or without your help, I will become a ninja. Reason one, I have someone that I want to protect, and I can't do that as a civilian. And reason two, because the hidden leaf is a nice village to live in, despite the way they treat Naruto most of the time, and I want to be able to keep living there." She said as she stood with stretch, groaning in content as a few bones popped back into place before she picked up her erhu case once more.
"You ready?" she asked as she glanced over her shoulder. Jiraiya appeared thoughtful as he nodded slowly and stood falling in step beside her as they began to weave through the busier part of the market. He blinked from his thoughts when the sun was replaced with shade and he found himself standing in front of a shop as Kumori opened the door.
"What are we doing here?" he asked as he followed her in, the door jingling shut behind them.
"I need travel cloths, among other things," she said as she moved to the counter when an older looking woman sat. Jiraiya tried not to grimace as he took a seat beside the front door. I hope that this isn't going to take forever, he bemoaned to himself mentally as he watched the two women begin chatting as if they where old friends before the shop keeper motioned for Kumori to follow her.
Twenty minutes later Jiraiya found himself looking over the yukata robes she had gotten finding his eyebrows go up steadily as he looked them over. Of course she had managed to wrangle him into carrying them for her till she got a scroll and holster for him to seal them into. Three yukata where high quality and colorful. The other two where plainer, clearly meant for bad weather and heavy travel from the stitching and heavier fabric that made up the sage green and tan yukata. There was also a heavy haori in navy with padded lining and a set of thick geta socks in the stack as well for colder weather. He frowned doing the mental math, over how much this would cost.
"How where you able to pay for all of this?" he asked slowly, not really sure he wanted an answer. Kumori just shot him a cheeky grin over her shoulder, clearly in a good mood.
"Don't worry. Your bank account is still in one piece. I actually paid for it all by myself," she said, a slight hint of pride in her voice. Jiraiya found himself frowning.
"How?" he asked again, puzzled. This was clearly over 11,000 yen ($90+). She turned, before pointing to the erhu case that rest on his shoulder. His eyebrow rose slightly, having forgotten that she had snuck it on him. Sneaky woman.
"Really?" he asked, voice slightly perplexed. Kumori just chuckled as she playfully bumped into his side. She paused eyes going wide as she caught the sight of something.
"Ooo," she breathed, eyes sparkling. Jiraiya turned to see what had caught her interest before grimacing.
"Haven't you shopped enough?" he grumbled as she made her way over to see the items in the shop window. The glare she shot him instantly made him go quiet. Ten minutes later they were traveling down the road, Kumori grinning happily as Jiraiya tried not to scowl.
Flashback
"The Hokage gave you a budget for taking care of me, and a side pay, right?" Jiraiya eyed her warily.
"What of it?"
"I would like to get a small sword and this scroll," she said as she pointed to the items in the shop.
Flashback ends
"I get why you decided to get the scroll and a holster for the scroll. I'll admit it was a good idea," Said Jiraiya as he gestured to the scroll that Kumori had in a pouch on her hip. They had sealed all of her travel goods in it. "But why did you have to pick such an expensive wakizashi (short sword)?" grumbled Jiraiya as Kumori continued to celebrate over her new sword.
"Because I'm only going to be getting one and I need something so that I can defend myself next time I get in a fight," she said as Jiraiya snorted.
"That's what I'm for," he said as he did a pose before starting to flex his muscles. Kumori giggled.
"How you doin?" he asked in a suave voice, making her laugh harder at his antics before her face grew serious.
"Well, you can't protect me all the time. You've got other things to do than worry about me all the time," she murmured as a slight frown began to spread on her face. "If you are as famous as you say you are and everyone believes you to be, then there will be people after you and they will target me first probably since they think that I will be a weak spot." She murmured. Jiraiya's grin faded into something more serious as he regarded the young woman that walked besides him.
"I suppose you're right." He murmured a frown dotting his face. He hadn't wanted to train another student other than Naruto after what had happened to all his other students, and the only reason he was going to train the boy was because of what he owed the boy's father. He was Naruto's Godfather after all and because of his work he hadn't really been able to be in the boy's life. He would be there for the kid's training though.
Then there was the fact that he wanted to have proper time to train whoever he was going to train, and he doubted that he would be able to do that with Kumori. And then there was the fact that he didn't know this woman and she hadn't been born and raised in Konoha. There was no assurance she wouldn't just up and leave the moment things got tough, since she was so flighty. But, she had a really good point. She was a weak spot, and if he didn't step in and do something about it, it would be more likely than not that in the time it took for him to travel this trip, she would be kidnapped or attacked. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, since he usually traveled swiftly making it hard for people to find him, but while making her cover, and monitoring his spy network, he was going to have to move a lot slower and it would give his enemies more time to catch up with him. Unknowingly she had touched on a very important point and he found himself sighing as he resolved to think this over later.
"There will be times you need that sword," he admitted in a murmured as she opened the sword again before squealing.
"This level of craftsmanship is just so amazing," she gushed as Jiraiya resisted the urge to sigh and roll his eyes at her girlish behavior.
"How would you know?" he asked rhetorically. She grinned happily at him over her shoulder. It had been years and it had been nice to hold such a nice blade in her hands and not even his annoying questions could bring her mood down.
"I know a thing or two. I'm no swords master, but I know enough basics to use one and how to spot good quality when I see it," she said before returning to his side. Jiraiya snorted and shook his head again resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Yeah right. He would have to test her later to see how bad she was.
"Still doesn't explain why it had to be so expensive, especially if you don't even know how to use it right," he grumbled. A menacing aura immediately surrounded Kumori.
"Don't you dare keep nagging me about that! I just had to spend a lot of my personal money for travel clothing and I'm not asking you to hand over my allowance, am I?" she partly yelled making him wince and look away nervously. She crossed her arms a knowing look on her face.
"Ah huh, thought so. Skimming some of the top?" she asked making Jiraiya blush slightly as he crossed his arms pensively over his chest. She snorted.
"I don't really care as long as you don't nag me when I want to get something that's well within our budget." She warned making Jiraiya sigh in defeat.
"Fine," he grumbled.
"There is no 'fine' about this! Unless you want me in charge of those funds?" she snapped heatedly as he cringed further.
"Alright alright, you win," he grumbled. A couple passing them chuckled making Kumori turn to look at them in interest as she raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Sorry. It's just that you two are such a cute couple," the woman apologized with a smile. Jiraiya's eyes went wide before he began grinning like a fool, his chest puffed up manly pride. Yup! That's right! There was no doubt that this lovely little thing was with him! Kumori's eye began to twitch in annoyance but she didn't both trying to dissuade them. The man traveling with the woman nodded before sending Jiraiya a sympathetic look.
"Yeah, you're clearly whipped. It's alright, things get better," the man said as he tried to console Jiraiya whose face had dropped as Kumori began to laugh.
"You've got that right," she said with a wink before grabbing Jiraiya's arms. "Come on dear, we still have a ways to go," she said cheerily as Jiraiya began to grumble under his breath.
…
Kumori frowned at the snail's pace they were moving. After traveling several days using tree hopping she had gotten used to moving at a faster speed.
"Why don't we take to the trees?" she asked as she gestured up to the thick branches above them.
"You're still hurt so you shouldn't be running treetops just yet," he said distractedly. Truth was he just didn't feel like tree hopping as he juggled his thoughts. They would be to the next town before nightfall anyways. No need to rush.
"Actually, the cuts all healed up by now and my rib doesn't hurt anymore," she said before grinning widely, "In fact I skinned my knee pretty bad when you where chasing me but that's all healed up too! See?" she said as she pointed to the pink new skin as Jiraiya frowned thoughts churning. That had just been two days ago. That should have taken more than a week to heal. And now that she mentioned it, he had thought it odd that she be up and about after one day of recovery, which was the only reason he had let himself sleep in this morning. It should have taken at least three or four at most for her to recover. After a moment he held out his hand.
"Let me see your hands," he asked. She shot him a curious look but complied. Jiraiya frowned as her took in the freshly healed skin, the scars already fading. She had bloodied her knuckles punching that wolf to bits and her fingers had been all cut up when she had forced that other wolf's jaws open. After a moment of examining her healed hands he sighed.
"I think that you have advanced healing. It happens sometimes with the Uzumaki," Jiraiya muttered as Kumori's eyes went wide before she frowned eyes narrowing.
"Wait, are you saying that this healing rate isn't normal?" she asked slowly. Jiraiya shook his head as her eye went wide again in shock. When she perked up with a grin he cut her off.
"Just because you heal faster doesn't change anything," Jiraiya warned, "You are sworn off from using chakra at the moment."
"But I'm alright now," she cried as she pointed behind her to the miles they had traveled. Jiraiya merely shook his head before ruffling her hair.
"You will only make your recovery time longer if you keep doing this. Tomorrow we will use chakra, just not today." Kumori was not been pleased but relented as she fell into step beside him.
"So, where did you learn about swords?" he asked quietly after a period of time. She was quiet for a moment before looking at him furtively.
"From a good friend of mine," she muttered before looking away with a slight frown.
"Tell me more?" Jiraiya asked. He was trying to make a very important decision regarding her and he wasn't going to be making it unless he had enough information on her first. As much as they had talked in the past two days, it still wasn't enough for him to decide whether or not to take her on as his student. She looked at him for a moment, analyzing him before sighing. Kumori really didn't like sharing things about Antonia, but…
"She was… amazing. She would probably be considered a ninja in the making compared to me. She knows how to fight hand to hand like me, And she can use a sword almost professionally, and is-was an excellent shot with the bow. In fact, she's the reason my family even let me near weapons," said Kumori with a small smile as her eyes grew misty from a time long past. Jiraiya didn't miss the past tense that was suddenly being used. A recent death then.
"Tell me about her?" he asked. Kumori smiled, though there was a hint of sadness in it.
"Her name was-"
…
"Fuzen!" screamed Kabuto as he stared angrily into the sparse forest that Experiment D had taken refuge in. They knew D was there because their best sensor Karin had said so. One of the E experiments had been killed trying to hold off the following ninja, and the trackers weren't sure if Experiment D was with the other E or not. Either way, the ninja that had accidentally killed one of the E's had already been dealt with. Kabuto had made sure of that personally, and let all the other Oto ninja know what would happen to them if that kind of failure happened again.
They had gone through a lot of trouble securing these subjects.
The Forbidden Lake had gotten its name not from its top secret contents, but from how hard it was to locate, even by those who had been before.
There was no doubt that Lord Orochimaru was going to be furious once he had found out what had happened. If they were lucky they could get the rest of the live experiments back in their cages before he got back.
"Fuzen!" he called out into the trees once more. It was what Experiment D had started calling herself. Such a cheeky woman too, always with something sharp or witty to say…
After a moment a figure seemed to rise from the ground as Fuzen revealed herself. Her short blood red hair came to frame her cheeks, the stands dirty and unwashed in a crop cut that most of their prisoners and experiment where subjected to. Her red eyes where wild and filled with deadly focus all at once. After a moment she grinned at him eerily, like he was the one in the trap not her, revealing canines that where sharper than they should have been.
"Stop this foolishness Fuzen. It's time to go back to the base," Kabuto called irritably as he crossed his arms over his chest. She merely chuckled before turning her head slightly, making Kabuto's eyes go wide when he finally spotted a little boy with short red hair on her back. It was the other Experiment E!
"You better hold on tightly kid," said the young woman before black marks began to creep across her skin, her chakra pulsing as a dark energy began to ooze from her. Kabuto took a step back in shock, the chakra pressure nearly driving him to his knees.
She knows how to use the curse mark?! But how?!
After a moment the curse mark covered her entire body as it went to stage two, turning her skin a sickly red brown as her hair turned darker red and grew long and wild. Large wings of spiky scales began to sprout from her back before they snapped open sending a powerful blast of wind Kabuto's way. If he hadn't dug his feet into the ground using chakra, she would have sent him flying. She smirked her red gold eyes now locked with his, a large black diamond in the middle of her face, a twin set of horns poking from beneath her hair. She smirked, showing off her long sharp teeth from between her blood red lips.
"No!" screamed Kabuto as she crouched but it was too late. She shot into the air like a rocket and Kabuto let lose a scream of frustration as the power of the air blast sent him flying backwards and into a tree. He lay there in a daze for a moment before gritting his teeth and activating his remote healing ability.
How the hell had she known about the next level of the curse mark? How had she known about how to use chakra for chakra enhanced strength?!
She had managed to tear right through the bars that had kept her and the other experiments in place. It was only understandable that with her natural muscle tone from her world mixed with chakra that she would be able to do such a thing, but that still didn't explain how she knew about chakra… Kabuto grit his teeth as he sat up. Something wasn't right about experiment D, and he was going to figure out what it was, even if it killed him.
Well, he would figure her out if he lived long enough.
He could only pray to whatever gods existed that Lord Orochimaru wouldn't kill him for this disaster.
…
"-And she could speak fluent Japanese, which was one of the reasons I learned it in the first place and got into the Japanese culture. She knew at least three languages though. And she was also pretty hard core when it came to knowing how to survive. Throw her in the woods with killer animals for a week and she would come out of it covered in pelts and dragging the meat behind her. Ugh, I never did understand her work out routine. She was always trying o get me to lift weights, which I would do every now and then. Her parents where always busy so there was almost never someone there to tell her no when she got a new hobby, and she and I would get into just about everything." She said with a giggle as she remembered that time they almost blew up Antonia's kitchen.
"This Antonia girl sounds like she was crazy," said Jiraiya with a frown before Kumori smacked him in the arm.
"Hey, careful who you are talking about. That crazy girl was my best friend. She was like a lifeline for me when things where really rough," she chided as Jiraiya frowned at her.
"Like when?" Jiraiya asked, causing Kumori to purse her lips as she waved a hand dismissively.
"Just a troubled house hold growing up and then when my parents died," she said with a grimace as Jiraiya regarded her somberly.
"I'm sorry for your loss. When did this happen?" he asked quietly. Kumori crossed her arms over her chest in discomfort but gave a halfhearted shrug.
"When I was fifteen or sixteen. So a few years ago," she muttered frowning slightly.
"Despite that she always did say she was the unlucky one, called herself a Jinx. She said she got the great home life but bad luck and I always got the bad home life but the great luck." She muttered with a shrug. "In fact, her Japanese nick name was Fuzen, since it means misfortune. It was a bit of a play on the irony of her name." she said. At Jiraiya's confused look she decided to expand a bit. "She was born on Friday the thirteen, which is considered an unlucky day in my 'home town,' but her last name is fortune. But why you speak to her using Ms. Instead of her name, it becomes MissFortune, as in unlucky." She said before flinching as a water droplet hit her in the head. She looked up to find the clouds above dark and heavy with rain.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" she groaned
...
That night they were forced to find shelter early since night fell faster with the clouds. Jiraiya showed her where to find some caves and what kind to pick if you had a choice. Soon they were holed up in an elevated cave with a fire crackling in the center near the entrance. Kumori slept fitfully, the thunder making it hard to rest until Jiraiya took mercy and decided to set up some seals to keep the noise down.
Well rested, the next morning when both where ready, they took to the road swiftly, the going quiet except for the occasional splash of going through a puddle until Kumori finally spoke up.
"Thank you," Kumori said suddenly making Jiraiya blink as he was pulled from his thoughts. He had been doing that a lot lately, Kumori noted. Little did she know what he was thinking about.
"For?" he asked.
"Everything," she murmured quietly before shooting him a glare. "Except for sticking me in that toad," she growled. He gave a sheepish laugh as he held up his hands in a placating manner.
"Hey, I had to get you out of the village somehow," he said with a sheepish grin as she continued to glare.
"You left me there for at least six hours," she pointed out calmly making him grimace.
"I wanted to get to the next town before letting you back out, but I ran into that kid so it took me a bit longer to get out of the village and on the road," he said making Kumori look at him sharply.
"You mean Naruto?" she asked with a narrowing of the eyes. Jiraiya nodded taking note of how her annoyance had morphed into an alert tension.
"What happened that took so long," she asked carefully though he could tell from her tone that he might want to be careful with what he said.
"I was setting up protective seals on his home, why?" he asked making her blink in shock.
"P-pro-"
"Protective seals, yes. If anyone managed to get past the front door with an intent to harm the kid they are going to get a nasty… shock," he said with a grin at her stunned face." I put some wards up around the windows and the rest of the house too. In exchange, the kid got me all your stuff but it still took a while to make all those seals and show him how to use them," he said as Kumori blinked rapidly, trying to grasp what he was saying. Seals where the things that had blocked out the thunder last night, that had made the barrier, and that kept people from seeing where they were hidden. She found herself elated and nervous all at once at the thought of what those protective seals could do.
"And these… 'seals,' they'll protect him?" she asked quietly, nervousness in her voice, her eyes pleading. she wanted to know the boy would be alright... and that Jiraiya hadn't screwed up like he almost had last night. Jiraiya frowned a bit at her before nodding solemnly.
"They will." She nodded to herself eyes growing misty before she nodded fighting to keep her emotions in check.
Maybe… maybe Jiraiya wasn't so bad after all. Sure he was a pervert, but then again, so was she. He had locked her up in that toad for hours but part of that time had been so he could go get her stuff and so he could set up those seals for Naruto. And because of that she could partially forgive him for the time he had left her there. It hadn't been completely out of spite. Perhaps a large part of it, but not all and she couldn't begrudge his for that. If he had seen Naruto though then he must have talked to him. She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to the kid.
He must think that I had ditched him, she thought before realizing with a shock, that she actually done just that. When she had turned her back on her chance at Konoha, she had been turning her back on a chance to look after the kid.
"A-and did you tell him that I won't be coming home for a while?" she asked, starting to choke up as she tried to keep her eyes from tearing up. Her guilt for running off earlier was starting to hit her. She had almost ruined everything if Jiraiya hadn't hunted her down and been so persistent about creating her cover. No more hidden leaf, no more Naruto, no more chance at an almost normal home. All gone because she had overreacted. She hadn't even given this trip a chance and had just run off…
Jiraiya shifted uncomfortably as the growing tears before patting her on the back as they continued walking.
"Yeah. I... uh... let the kid know that you wanted to say good bye before you left but that you didn't have a choice and was whisked off before you could," he said as Kumori nodded quickly as she scrubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of her tears as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. A part of her was touched deeply by what Jiraiya had done, and it brought forth a swell of guilt and self loathing at what she had almost done.
"G-good. I don't want him t-to think that I just l-left him." She mumbled through her sleeve, her expression growing concerned as she began to frett. She missed the slightly guilty look that was on Jiraiya's face. He hadn't told Naruto that since he had been rushing to get out of there as quickly as possible. She however didn't miss the slight waver that hit his chakra. Something in her knew that he had been lying about telling the boy and that made her worry even more over him. Before she knew it she was talking.
"He's all by himself and took me in so easily, I was worried about someone trying and taking advantage of his naivety and loneliness. He's a good kid, but he needs someone who knows how to deal with people around to teach him things, things he was supposed to learn from his mother and father. No one will interact with him beyond hate, so how will he learn how to spot a liar; a user; a thief; a two face back stabber; or a manipulator, if they treat him kindly? He's either completely on guard and obvious about it or completely open and trusting. I'm just worried… that he will think that I abandoned him…" she muttered as she began to chew her bottom lip.
Jiraiya could feel something sinking in his gut as she described the kid. He had known a bit of what Minato's kid had had to go through but it was different to hear about the affects of hatred from someone who knew the kid and how it was affecting him. In fact, from the way she was talking about him, it seemed like she had really paid attention to the boy, more than just a person who was staying with him temporarily. Jiraiya vaguely realized that perhaps Shikaku had had a reason stating that for her cover she was supposed to be posing as the boy's distant family. He hadn't had time yet to look through the paper work that Shikaku had come up with and would have to read through it later.
"It would probably hurt him more than anything anyone has said..." she murmured.
"Sounds like you care about him," Jiraiya muttered with a frown. He opened his mouth to ask her something before he paused, taking in how miserable she looked now. After a moment his eyes widened slightly with understanding. That was it. She did care about him.
"I shouldn't have just given up so easily… what was I thinking…" she muttered to herself, the words barely hear-able as she nibbled her lower lip clearly upset, not paying him any attention.
"You feel guilty for running off for… for Naruto's sake?" he asked hesitantly. Her shoulders dropped a bit further and he quickly slid an arm around her shoulders to give her a comforting squeeze, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. The Hokage had said that the boy liked her but Jiraiya hadn't expected the two of them to be this close after such a short period of time.
"Hey, it's alright. It… was a big misunderstanding, and we fixed everything," he said, trying to keep her from getting too upset. Before when she ran off she had been really angry and more than a little traumatized, and had clearly given up hope on him securing her future in Konoha. Like Naruto was naive, he had noticed that she was amazingly jaded in some ways and he found himself wondering if she would lose faith in him just as easily in the future. He would have to make sure not to lose it, if he ever got it.
"Just… don't leave again, alright?" Jiraiya prompted gently as Kumori nodded slowly before trying to smile, except it came out as more of a grimace. After a moment he gave her another comforting squeeze before letting go. He had finally come to a decision about teaching this young woman. Not that he was going to tell her just yet. He wanted to see how she would handle the basics of becoming his student first before telling her.
"Hold on, just a second. I need to take a leak," he said as Kumori nodded, trying to compose herself from her emotional bout earlier. In the cover of the trees, Jiraiya quickly pulled pen and paper from his pack before writing a quick note. He then began to pen a note in a small scroll before summoning a toad, having to hurry. He didn't want Kumori to get suspicious just yet.
"Go to the Hokage. Give him this," said Jiraiya as he handed the toad the note and small scroll. The scroll was to Naruto but the Hokage was going to be the one receiving it, since Kumori was an S rank secret. The kid would still get the message though. The toad saluted before taking off. Satisfied, Jiraiya straightened and jogged back to where he had left Kumori. He flashed her a grin as she looked over at him.
"I'm back," he said, falling into step beside her. After a moment of walking she spoke up.
"Thank you," she said, her voice soft. Jiraiya blinked before sending her a confused grin.
"For?"
"Sending him a note," she murmured. After a moment she gestured to his left thumb which had been freshly cut.
"You just summoned a toad, and the Hokage had mentioned that summons where a way to communicate somehow," she pointed out quietly as Jiraiya had to hold down a blush from being caught in his little white lie. He harrumphed as he crossed his arms, causing Kumori to chuckle lightly with a shake of her head, letting it tip back so she could take in the sight of the big wide sky above her. After a moment she grinned, the wind whipping through her hair as she chuckled, feeling a million times better.
This was going to be an interesting trip and there were no answers as to what it would hold, but it was certain that traveling with Jiraiya was going to be the adventure of a lifetime.
...
Konohagakure no Sato (hidden in the leaf village)
The Hokage paused in his writing as a toad zoomed in through the window before landing on his desk. He shot the toad and interested look before looking over his shoulder to the city that lay at his back. The sun was setting on another day, the sky shot with reds and fiery oranges, the blues and pinks and purples shining over the village as the sun continued to sink. He frowned at the elegant silhouettes of the trees and buildings before finally giving the toad on his desk his attention.
"What did you bring?" he asked as he activated his listening seal on his desk. Not even the Anbu in the room guarding him would be able to hear what was said between him and the toad.
"I have a letter from Master Jiraiya," said the small toad before its tongue unrolled showing the small scroll that it had hidden, along with a small piece of paper that went with the scroll. The Hokage took the proffered scroll with a slight frown before rolling it open. After a moment his eyebrows went up and he looked over the note that came with it.
'I will train her in the basics of the ninja arts at least. No promises on anything more. Give this scroll to Naruto, then burn it,' was all it said. As Hiruzen, the third Hokage looked over the scroll he couldn't help but grin slightly to himself, a certain amount of smugness threatening to turn the grin into a wide smirk. It looked like things where going to go as planned.
"Bring me Uzumaki Naruto," the Hokage ordered as he dropped the seal. An Anbu nodded before darting off.
South Hi no Kuni
Over the next week, Kumori and Jiraiya spent a lot of their time on the road or staying at an Inn, and consequently talking. It's hard not to when it is seven miles to the next town and the quiet of nature gets boring, and these boredom induced conversations were how Jiraiya discovered most of what he knew about the young lady he was traveling with, beyond watching her interactions with different people in passing.
He had looked over the information on her cover and had drilled her in its back story already, making sure she would be able to answer the questions easily, but he had held off on looking into the personal file that Inoichi and Shikaku had drafted up on the young woman. He didn't want the file's input to get in the way of his decisions regarding her and he wanted to be able to interact with her without preconceived notions clouding his eyes. Because of this he discovered several things:
One: she was a diligent worker and would steadily improve with time at tasks handed to her and she would eventually try to find a more efficient way of doing said tasks so she could get them done faster and more efficiently. He had seen this when he began to teach her chakra control exercises like the leaf exercise or tree walking.
Two: her moral code was flexible but that didn't mean that she wasn't kind or fair. In fact, she probably cut people more slack than she should have, from what he had noticed with her interaction with the people she came across.
Three: drunks made her moody or nervous, or a mixture of the two. She tended to ignore them, but Jiraiya had noticed how quiet and reserved she tended to become whenever he had enough sake to get him tipsy. She also never tried to dissuade him from drinking and something in her gaze seemed to go flat whenever he had had enough sake. She also never really drank though she decided to have some plum wine one evening. Even then it had only been a little.
Four: she could use a short sword, though she lacked the skill and that comes with experience. She didn't have the muscle memory need for an actual fight, but she would be able to fight off a civilian or a group of thugs if needed.
Five: It took a lot to actually make her angry, and she would let a lot slide without consequence. She got annoyed easily but she would either ignore it or start bickering and grumbling, never actually lose her temper. He noticing this he had spent a day just trying to test the range of her patience and anger and had been rewarded with a baka slap to the back of the head by mid day and a warning that she wasn't in the mood for his foolish antics, that she knew what he was doing and to just cut it out.
He had already known of her perceptiveness so he had indeed 'cut it out.'
Six: Her hand to hand fighting skills weren't bad at all. She would only need a bit of work for her fighting style to come together and be effective in a real fight against a low level ninja. For now, she could claim a taijutsu specialist until she learned other things.
Seven: She was a bit of a mother hen in general, looking after him even though he really didn't need it now that her primary target for mother hen-ing was in Konoha.
Eight: She had a large protective streak, and this was the easiest way to see a darker side of her.
The last point was probably the most interesting for Jiraiya to discover, because if he hadn't been paying attention he would have missed how or why the fight all started.
It had been the fifth day into this week and they had had to travel into a seedier town for shelter. They had found a little tavern that also was an inn and had decided to stay for the night. Jiraiya, decided to take advantage of the bar downstairs had gone down for a few drinks and information gathering, leaving Kumori to her devices since he knew that she probably wouldn't have been interested. Imagine his surprise when she took the stool next to him, and ordered a plum wine, mainly ignoring him and leaving him to flirt with the cute little thing that was sitting next to him as he eavesdropped on the men further down the bar for information on the Doko Ryu clan's activities. As the night progress she only sipped her drink, uninterested but not leaving, eyes traveling the filled dinning and bar areas as she watched people come and go, laugh, and drink themselves senseless.
Jiraiya had noted how bored she had looked. Then her eyes sharpened and he paused when she began watching the corner of the room like a hawk with an unreadable expression. There was an upset cry and loud drunken laughter from a group of five men. He watched as she rose casually before making her way over. Then she had staggered drunkenly into a man before yelling loudly at him for spilling his drink on her and did he want to take this outside? The man had agreed and soon he and his four friends had filed out all drunk and angry, leaving behind a shaking bar maid whose uniform was coming undone from their rough manhandling. Jiraiya's gaze narrowed and he quickly followed outside to find her beating the crap out of the man, her movements sharp and swift instead of the drunken stagger she had faked earlier. When it became clear that their friend was losing the other four men decided to jump into the fight. Kumori hadn't taken to that very kindly and her fighting style became more vicious and aggressive, ending with her taking a few hit and managing to down all four.
"Next time, keep your hands to yourselves," she snarled before stomping on the last man's hands with a resounding snap, drawing a wail of pain from him before she proceeded to break the other four's hands as well. Jiraiya watched the proceeding with an unreadable face. Those geta sandals she was wearing where just like his, meaning that their hands where being snapped in two different places at least.
"Wasn't that a bit harsh?" Jiraiya asked calmly from where he leaned against the doorway as she dusted herself off and headed back inside. She paused as she shot him an unreadable look.
"Did I rip their dicks off and force feed it to them?" she asked quietly. After a moment Jiraiya realized she was being serious and he blanched a little.
"I broke their hands, yes. I let them off easy too." she said as she stretched, wincing slightly, ribs sore from where she had been hit a couple of times. One of them had probably cracked. She sighed as she set her hands on her hips expression serious as she regarded him before looking back over her shoulder to where the man where groaning in pain, trying to help each other up so they could leave. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"I could have killed them too." she murmured with a pensive frown before grimacing. "Who knows. Maybe one day this comes back to bite me in the ass, because I didn't take care of them while I had the chance," she said before sighing as she crossed her arms. Jiraiya regarded her quietly, brow slightly furrowed.
"Knowing this, are you still going to let them go?" he finally asked. Kumori looked over her shoulder to frown at the men as they began to leave.
"Yes." She murmured before huffing irritably and going inside, leaving him to his thoughts.
He had also see her display protective behavior one more aside from that incident, though it had been very different. Jiraiya still didn't know where her protective streak began or ended, but after a bit of thinking over the next two days he realized that it included him, though she was subtle about it. He had to admit that it was kind of cute though, considering he was the more powerful of the two and the one that could take care of his self the best. He wasn't going to complain though… much. Ok, maybe just a little.
Jiraiya was pulled from his thoughts as the door of the room they shared opened to reveal Kumori wearing one of her nicer yukata while toting her erhu case, a small bag of money in her hand and a bag of take out. She shut the door with a sigh as Jiraiya began to sniff the air appreciatively, already enjoying the delicious smell of food. He didn't have to ask to know that she had gotten some for him too. Another thing he had learned about her; she was remarkably polite and inclusive, and if she had the finds she was generous as well.
"What did you get this time?" he asked as she took a seat beside him with a tired sigh.
"Orange chicken," she muttered distractedly as she began to read over what he had written so far, grabbing a pen before making a few annotation before starting to read once more. Jiraiya hummed happily as he rose and opened the bag and began to separate the food containers. Oo, she had gotten soups and rice as well. He grabbed his chopsticks before clapping his hands. "Itatakimasu," he murmured before digging in. he had been getting hungry. After a moment Kumori put down the paper and did the same, murmuring a low "Itatakimasu" before digging in. After a moment of silence filled with the sounds of eating. As Jiraiya at he paused before sniffing his food his eyes widening in alarm, his head snapping up to look at the young woman who sat across from his staring at him stonily.
The woman gave a small smile as Jiraiya began to pant to stay conscious as his heart began to slow, fighting to stay awake as he staggered to his feet drunkenly, his head spinning. Oh, he was going to be sick! He could feel his stomach roiling nauseously, the thrill of danger making adrenaline race through his body. Poison. She had poisoned him with the food she had brought. She laughed mockingly as she released her transformation, showing her true appearance, her dark hair long, her ninja outfit dark with fishnet armor underneith. Jiraiya groaned before succumbing as his eyes rolled up in his head, foaming at the mouth as he collapsed to the ground, heart beating shakily before it stopped beating altogether.
He died.
And disappeared in a poof of smoke. The woman stiffened in alarm. A clone?! Since when? She thought as she surged to her feet before dashing for the door. It slid open and the assassin skidded to a stop, her heart leaping in her throat as the young woman standing there grinned viciously, her eyes nearly glowing red as her teeth glinted in the light of the room giving her a feral look with her short wild hair.
"I-I thought we poisoned you! How are you even awake right now?!" the assassin demanded in disbelief. The young woman merely chuckled.
"That's my secret. Now, unless you want to die in a painful manner you are going to give us the information we need to get into the Doko Ryu," Kumori growled as she slowly began to unsheathe her wakizashi, the sound intimidating as it was low and grating. The assassin turned to dash to the window before falling with a howl of pain, her Achilles tendon in her right leg severed. Their target now unable to walk but not in danger of bleeding to death Kumori shut the door behind her, glad that Jiraiya had put up some silencing seals on the room as she had asked. After a moment there was a shimmer in the air before it faded to reveal Jiraiya sitting against the wall with a bored look as he continued to scribble away in his note book. The assassin began to cry frantically as she realized that with that tendon in her leg severed she wouldn't be able to walk again without getting extensive surgery, meaning she was stuck at the mercy of one of the Sannin of Konoha, and this red haired monster. How was that woman not still unconscious?! She and her brother had poisoned the red head with the same poison as that man and his clone had succumbed within the minute. She had seen this woman collapse and curl into herself crying in pain before passing out. Jiraiya's notebook snapped shut as he looked up, his face a dark mask of distaste.
"Now. Time to get started." Said the legendary Sannin as he stood, the red haired menace joining him by his side. The assassin could feel her stomach plummet as her eyes went wide with horror as she stared up at them as they looked down on her. Where they going to torture her?
"Do you want to do the honors?" Jiraiya asked as Kumori frowned slightly.
"I don't know how to interrogate ninja, and I don't know anything about torture," she said as Jiraiya nodded. The assassin blanched in fear.
"True. That's why I will be walking you through this," he said as Kumori sighed tiredly before nodded. "First though, I want to see what method you would use without my guidance," he said making the young woman pause, a thoughtful look on her face before it broke into a wide foxy grin.
"I think that I can come up with a way or two to get her to talk." Jiraiya grinned as the assassin looked anxiously between the two of them. After a moment Kumori grinned widely as she crouched so she could get closer to the downed assassin.
"We're going to have lots of fun together, you and I," she said with a happy smile as the dread began to climb in the assassin's gut. The flash of red eyes and fangs didn't help either.
AN:
Question:Why am I taking my time setting up the dynamics between Jiraiya and Kumori's relationship?
Because the foundations of relationships are built in the early stages and these early stages dictate the way a relationship will develop in the future unless something changes the dynamic of said relationship. And there is no way you can spend eight to nine months traveling with someone without creating some form of relationship with them. Yes, I'm afraid it is going to take that long.
AND NO!
I won't go into total detail over everything that happens during their travels but she can't just pick up six years worth of ninja skill and training over night. There will be a time skips to shorten the period of time so chapters don't go too long, but we will still get to see how Kumori Advances so quickly.
Question:OMG! WAS THAT KUMORI'S SUPPOSEDLY DEAD FRIEND?! WHO NOW HAS A CURSE MARK?! DOES THAT MEAN THAT SHE WAS THE ONE THAT CAME OUT OF THE LAKE WHEN OROCHIMARU JUST SHOWED UP IN THE FIRST CHAPTER?! AND SHE WAS KIDNAPPED?!
WHAT THE HELL?!
Evil laughter. Yes. Yes it was. All part of my little plot my dears, and I planned it from the beginning just to screw with you all and make things much more interesting! There is a purpose to my madness after all. Mwahahaha!
…
Itachi- I have a really bad feeling about this… -/_\-*
Fliscent- you should, 'Tachi-kun, you should. In fact, the entire Naruto cast should.
Naruto cast- *collective shivers run through the group*
Kiba- what the hell was that?! *Akamaru whines in fear*
Shino- … * spidey senses tingling*
Hinata- *faints… from giant nosebleed*
Sakura- *suddenly trips* Ow! What was that?! *can barely move with the training weights that appeared on her*
Sasuke- *tried to grunt 'hn' but realized with horror he can't make his favorite sound*
Naruto- *shudders* why do I have a bad feeling that I'm going to have to eat... VEGETABLES?
Shikamaru- How troublesome… I feel motivation coming on… *groans and gets up*
Choji- *munch munch* I wonder what just happen to every bod- OW! AHH! Where did my chips go?!
Tenten- why do I have a feeling that I'm about to have an interesting turn of OH MY GOSH! NO! GIVE THAT BACK!
Neji- My curse seal senses are tingling… there is a disturbance in the force… Of FATE!
Lee- *sobbing wildly*Gai-sensei!
Gai- *Sobbing wildly* I know Lee! What an un-youthful color!*hold up spandex suits that are yellow with a black strip down the side.*
Kakashi- *shudders* My porn senses are tingling! I sense great writing masters at work!
*evil laughter on the horizon*
(The yellow suits with a black stripe are a reference to Bruce Lee's famous yellow body suit.)
ANYWAYS! please leave me a review since I'm still working over what should happen and what I should include on their training trip. I won't say just yet but I have a few ideas, and I will be answering questions either in the next chapters or via PM if you have them. Thank you!