Chapter10

Unexpected! (TURN UP)

Previously-"Of course…I trust you." I said before touching the seal that bounded him and ripping it off the cage door.

There was a loud creak as the door slowly opened.

…. I just have to trust him….Blindly.

Ronin's POV

Kami's been with her Bijuu, Nebbu for a while. I hope everything is going well for them.

I've known Nebbu for some time, and he's always been an odd ball…. Though he's the oldest of all the Beasts, he acts as though he's a child. He likes to play games, have fun all the time, and hates taking things too seriously…though he can be serious if need be. He has a very unique way of looking at things and is always able to see the bigger picture. What I loved about him the most was his intelligence. His wisdom on life was well above any human can understand, but he was always willing to explain.

I could remember when we first met. He was in a very miserable and unpleasant situation, being treated as thought he was an object, that needed feeding… rather than a life that has feelings. It shocked me, even to this day that he never blamed Madara for his pain. He never got upset or complained about his mistreatment. The only thing that ever bothered him was that he was alone… He missed the times when him and all the other beasts were together. He felt fulfillment in the company of others. Yet, Madara kept in cramp in a tight cage in the basement of the base. Our first encounter was actually by accident.

I was told to retrieve a scroll from his archives located at the bottom of the base. Along the way I took a wrong turn and ended up were Nebbu was being detained. I walked pass the cage at first. The room had no lighting so I stumbled around aimlessly befor a slow gloomy voice called out to me.

"Did you come to play with me?"

It startled me at first, since the voice appeared to come out through the walls. There was rustling in a metal cage located in the corner of the room. I could make out the silhoute of a creature similar to that of a sloth…but this one was of enormousness proportions. It was sat on its legs and I could see a metal chain shine in the dim light around his neck. The chain was short and restricted his movements in the already small cage.

"No, actually I'm lost…Madara sent me to retrieve a scroll from his archives, and I think I took the wrong turn."

"Oh, You took a right and came to my chambers, instead of left, teehee…. If you go back to where you came from, take a left and it'll be somewhere down that hall." His voice sounded young like a child's, not matching his monstrous appearance.

"Uh, thank you…but how would a creature bond by chains know where the archives are located?"

"Teehee, I know a lot of things that people don't know."

"Really, like what?"

"Wanna play a game?" He asked eagerly, ignoring my question.

"Well, I believe I asked you a question first."

"I know, and I'll give you the answers while we play a game."

"Alright." I asked.

"Teehee, let's play!…I'm Nebbu."

Hm, so this is Nebbu the Zero tailed Beast… I never could have imagined that a Sloth could look so lethal, but his size helped.

"Im Ronin Fen… tell me, how do you play this game" I asked politely. He was being awfully friendly towards me.

"You see that rock over there," he pointed a long nail at a fist sized rock on the floor. "Can you pick it up and throw it to meh?"

I did as he asked, and he tossed the rock back at me "Now you just throw it back."… Catch, the game that he wanted to badly play was a mere game of catch!

"So, the game's begun… aren't you going to answer my question?" I asked as I threw the rock back towards him. His movements were slow, but he still managed to catch the rock.

"Oh right! You wanted to know how I knew where the Archives was!" I couldn't believe that he had forgotten the reason why we were where playing. "Uh, The day Madara brought me here I noticed that there was a room that read Archives… I remembered, because I was so happy that I wasn't alone and had a neighbor."

"You call the Archive's room your neighbor?"

"Yep, teehee."

"But it's a room filled with forbidden scrolls…there is no life…no person living in that room." I replied, catching and throwing the rock was a mindless act compared to the intense ninja training I was use to. So the game itself required no thinking.

"I don't think so… those forbidden scrolls were written on paper…paper comes from trees…trees are alive, so that room has life."

"Sorry to tell you this, Nebbu…Trees are alive until they are cut down. That room is dead."

"Life is endless… Paper is nothing but a corpse of the tree's life. But even without it's physical roots, its soul lives on."

"Nebbu, trees do not have souls." He was certainly odd, especially his way of thinking.

"Well actually-." Nebbu started, but was interrupted by Madara.

"Ronin, what are you doing in here. I sent you to retrieve a scroll, why haven't you done so?" My eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting and I could see him standing at the entrance of the room.

"I apologize Madara-sama. I got lost on the way to the Archives and-"

"And decided to play games." He spat. "Get the scroll and return to my chambers for further instructions."

"Yes, Madara-sama." I bowed.

I visited Nebbu as often as I could after our accidental encounter. He may love to play games, but he was always interesting to listen to.

"Ronin!" Matsu called from the entrance of the Training Room. "I heard that your training the Jinchuuriki…why?"

"If Kami has a strong bond with her bijuu, then it will be significantly easier for her to control and use his chakra." Matsu suddenly appeared behind me and I stood up quickly to dodge her punch.

"Why does it matter if she has better control over her chakra. Very soon it wont matter….and if you hadn't begged me to help you plead for her life, she would have no longer been our problem."

"How could you say that, Matsu! She's our daughter!"

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING,RONIN!" She inched closer to my face, and I looked into the eyes of the woman I loved. Who eyes use to gleam with warmth…but now… now her eyes looked unrecognizable to me.

"Your becoming a problem to us." She said before leaving the room.

Moments later, there was sudden loud crash and I heard Matsu scream.

"MATSU!" I screamed but before I could take a step closer, two ninjas in all black attire wearing a white animal mask appeared at the training Room. I recognized them immediately as ANBU.

"KAMI"I screamed turning around, shaking her body "…KAMI COME BACK, WE NEED TO LEAVE…NOW!"

Kami's POV

"KAMI!" I could hear my father scream echo through the hollow room. His body was absent but his cry carried and bounced of the walls …"KAMI COME BACK, WE HAVE TO LEAVE… NOW!" I could hear the urgency in his voice.

"I have to leave, Nebbu."

"Alright…just be careful out there….I can sense it from in here. Whatever is happening outside isn't good."

I made the hand signs to exit and closed my eyes. I took in a deep breath and braced myself for the unexpected scene I was about to see when I opened them…my father's limp bloody body lay in front of me …