I do not own Naruto, Teen Titans, nor any other element that may or may not appear in this story! This story is for entertainment purposes only.
Silent as the...
Chapter 8: The twists and turns of life
Jump City, four days later
He could give the giant monk, former or not, this much: He was an elusive bastard despite his size and what came of it. Jump City was surrounded by a total of three fronts, four if one was to be technical, a desert front to the east, ocean to the west, and forests to the north and south. The deforested area, located in the south, had its surroundings thoroughly inspected for any sort of trace of the colossal man to which the search expanded to the entire forested region...
No dice.
Now the north was being search with a growing sense of weariness that was only forgotten with the odd article every now and then referring to the incident at Precinct Fifty coming to his attention. He had considered asking Raven for help, but even he thought that was pushing it giving the still settling dust between the two upon learning his "alter ego" as it were. It could have been worse he supposed, few would ever consider continuing their near daily get-together upon learning the less than favorable details of those they accompanied when certain views and lifestyles clashed with each other...
In any event, unless Riko had taken to living out in the open in the desert then he was living amongst the hilled forests of the north. Meaning once more he had to look in every grove, go around every tree, look in every tree top, and climb every cliff... again.
Joy...
Partnering up with Sēji, again, was looking like a fairly tempting choice at this point.
XVX
Common Room, Titans Tower
Jonin, elite shinobi (aka ninja) often hardened by years of warfare or vicious combat of some kind of which they came out of as the victor. Of what "Bell" divulged there are a total of four jonin while the rest, save for Sasuke Uchiha whose position was in debate, were of a sub rank remarked as special jonin considering they didn't have as wide of an array of skills, power, or combat experience to support the transition to full jonin. They were however no less dangerous in combat however...
In respective order of command there was Kakashi Hatake, mission commander and wielder of a sharingan eye due to a surgical implant. Aside from the basic abilities of the sharingan he could only use the kamui technique. His roster of techniques were rumored to be over a thousand minimum due to his implanted eye to which effectively gave him the moniker as the "Copy Cat [Ninja]," or "Copy [Ninja]" for short.
Neji Hyuga, wielder of the dojutsu known as the Byakugan. The Byakugan, an eye which had the appearance of being blind to those unaware of it, was in effect X-ray vision in layman's terms coupled with the ability of seeing farther with a greater amount of clarity when a wielder's concentration was sufficient enough. To add salt to the wound those who had this technique were quite capable of seeing in all directions... A smirk almost crossed Robin's face every time a stray thought crossed his mind regarding his imagining of Batman's shocked face if he tried to sneak up on someone like Neji. However, much to Robin's displeasure upon having this image cast out of, it was the "Gentle Fist" that made the previously ability of his all the more dangerous. The ability to cripple or outright kill a person was definitely an ideal ability to have in expert hands.
Whether or not it was capable of effecting them, given the fact that they are of two different universes and all that it implied when it came to genetic makeup, remained to be seen.
Might Guy, a relative oddity to the world of ninja. He favored speed and strength over the use of jutsu and other chakra based abilities to the point his own source claimed to forget he could. Thus far what jutsu he does utilize are that of the sealing variety and even then it is with the strict purpose to improve his own abilities by making weights and other such items to push his limits. In any event he was not someone to dismiss as a threat no matter the circumstance.
Finally Kurenai Yuhi, Guy's antithesis in terms of ability whose skill lies more in tricking the senses rather than pummeling them. A master of genjutsu whose disposition seems to have been called into question as of late...
That alone was a red flag to Robin. All the information given to him thus far by "Bell" was more tactical than informative about someone's quirks and habits save for but a few snippets to help gauge their mindsets. Kurenai was an exception however if he was to ignore Sasuke's case. She was a single mother who was actually living out her days in retirement from the shinobi lifestyle till her son... died of pneumonia at age two. Though grief stricken she returned to being a kunoichi, possibly to either escape or better cope with the pain, some months afterward and seemed to have taken on a motherly role over a fellow squad mate to the point where it pains her leave said squad mate be to tasks of a threatening nature. More recently however she seemed to have become withdrawn, especially after Precinct Fifty, to which the only person she seemed to open up to, i.e. coddle if Robin was to guess, the unnamed teammate "Bell" had.
But what was the reason? He had a hunch but nothing more affirmative than that. It was like it was staring him at the face in the form of Naruto Uzumaki, aka "Grave," yet there was too little information which in turn only fed his reasoning towards this mild conclusion...
It was nothing short of a vicious cycle stuck in an infinite loop that deemed fit to taunt him with each revolution; he was more than certain that Grave was the chief interest to these shinobi even if it seemed not all those interests were of the same category, why else hold out information on him even if he wasn't a broadcasted threat? In any event there is a connection between Naruto and the shinobi from another universe, that much he was sure about.
... But what was it? What?!
"I need coffee," he suddenly muttered as he left his home within a home outside of his room... and the training room for that matter. With no one in the common room, an almost rare occurrence at any time, reaching the kitchen was no challenge within itself nor was turning on the coffee maker after making the preparations for it with a mechanical efficiency rivaled only by cyborg.
Growl!
Marking himself with a slight frown, Robin sighed as he decided to kill time by raiding the fridge for whatever could constitute as a meal for him between leftovers and the odd snack that was found within the container every now and then. Hopefully there was another box of crispy crèmes if he was lucky. Alas all there was that could be found were lunchmeats, a ham, half of a turkey, three pizza boxes with an assortment of various pizzas that had yet to be finally killed off, orange juice, milk, a strange wall of condiments blocking the majority of what looked to be a shoe, a small grouping of uncut carrots-...
"What the...?" Robin's gloved hand all but shoved the condiments away to find it wasn't a shoe, per se at least, hiding behind them but a shinobi style sandal... encasing a very real looking foot with a few torn vines sticking out of the top. Robin's jaw went agape as he tried comprehended something from evidence had somehow, SOMEHOW, ended up in the FRIDGE of all places! How? Why? Who would-...
"Beast Boy!" he growled as he gnashed his teeth and retrieved the shoe encased plant. He should've known he would pull something like this since he got that request to plant the thing to begin with! While doubtful that it would grow at all, between the damage to it and the fact that the island their tower was on virtually didn't support more than a few trees at the most, he wasn't going to risk having some form of plant attack reminiscent to Poison Ivy's own attacks or lose the only evidence he had to putting Sēji Muyomora away behind bars!
Masked eyes widened to their limits as a thought had struck him with the power of thunder as his attention became more focused on the pseudo foot in his grasp, a pensive frown creasing his lips. "Damn it," he suddenly muttered as he closed the fridge, abandoned the kitchen, and left the common room to make preperations to what could be considered the most stupid idea to cross his mind since the Red X incident...
Hopefully it wouldn't have the same ramifications if his hunch was correct.
XVX
Starfire's room
Even the most carefree of beings were entitled to worry every now and then should there be reason to. Concern for the health of an injured loved one, general trepidation of what the future might bring when it would seem bleak by the machinations of an enemy, or even the uneasiness of considering how to handle newly arisen problems of a personal matter. In an inverse order marked in descending concern, by slight marginal worry, these were what conspired to have Starfire virtually pace about her room with her power of flight. Not more than forty minutes prior had she received a message from her k'norfka, her guardian after her parents' death, who in turn had received a message from the Centauri Police regarding her elder sister Blackfire whom was to be judged for her theft of an moon diamond of their namesake...
She had escaped them, her projected course was the very planet which she had been captured on to begin with: Earth. As much as she wanted to ask why, Starfire already had an inkling of what motivated her sister in regards of her return to earth. If a question had to be spent however it was what would the Centauri's reaction would be. Outside of a hot pursuit like the one which lead to their appearance on her newfound home there was little reason for them to come to earth if Starfire was to guess thanks to the distance between this star system and theirs, even if she factored in what wrath was to be occurred with Blackfire's undoubtedly forceful escape from police custody for that matter.
No... if a question was to be spoken then it was when was Blackfire going to show herself again? A day from now? A week? A month? And when she showed up, would her friends be involved? Undoubtedly if she informed them...
No. This was a family matter, she had no need to endanger them so wantonly for something that had to be settled by her while other problems existed that needed to be dealt with. Hopefully Blackfire was in a mood which talking out their problems was a viable option.
Offhandedly with the skill of repetition, Starfire snatched her communicator from her belt when it beeped to life and answered it despite the static upon the screen. "Hello?" she answeredm frowning slightly when no reply was given shortly after. "Hello?"
"Hello sister." It was calm, a bit on the ironically jovial side but calm nevertheless, to such a degree that Starfire had to fight her own body to keep herself from paling. It was Blackfire, arriving far sooner than her younger sister had anticipated, and that tone was never a good sign for her enemies...
A dream of discussion was looking bleak to the point of nonexistence now if nothing else.
"Sister, despite what has happened we have no reason to quarrel with one another-," Starfire was cut off by a dry, humorless chuckle from her sister at the other end of the static screen that was their medium of communication. "I'm afraid I can't agree with you, " Blackfire replied easily, at the back of her mind Starfire could imagine her sister fighting back a scowl from presenting itself on her face despite the lack of a visual appearance of her and her tone of voice however.
"Let's meet in the city in about an hour shall we? Preferably without your friends, they might be a little distracting for our little sisterly get together." As quickly as it had came to life the communicator went dead with the sudden disconnection between the two without comment on either's part unless one counted the slight creaking of a set of fingers against plastic as the mind that controlled it was deliberating with itself. Should she involve her friends? It could and most likely would end in her capture...
No. They had their own problems to deal with and if experience was to be a learning experience then her own fight with the Titans, before they were even called as such shortly before the small invasion by the Gordanians to repossess their escaped prize, was enough of a tell of how much of a disadvantage they were against someone of tamaran. Blackfire however, unlike Starfire, had far more experience in combat than her as allotted to her by her time in tamaran's military and elder age in comparison...
If anyone had a chance to settle things with so little destruction then it was Starfire. Family dealt with family if nothing else...
XVX
Lethal Amusement, forty-eight minutes later
"I should really stop toying with the idea about moving, or at least install more windows into this place," Sēji idly spoke to himself as he tended to a flowering vine rife with thorns, the petals of which were a royal purple that steadily grew closer to a more crimson color as the petals came closer to the stem that was the vine. "Of course windows would be a bit of a hassle when less than polite visitors decide to not come into my abode through the door." Setting down a pair of sheers and a spray bottle, he leaned forward to give his plant a closer inspection to find whatever blemish that needed to be dealt with. "Would you be so kind as to give me your opinion over this my dear boy?"
Silence pervaded the air of the warehouse now stocked with crates and potted plants placed at odd intervals between rises, pathways, and hanging over head which bore no common factor far greater than a run of a mill pot to house the differing flora. "Oh come now, I lived in a world of assassins. Half of its populace wanted me dead for one reason or another for that matter as well, and even they had trouble with the act of catching me by surprise."
Begrudgingly a teenager in blue denim pants, a dark blue hooded jacket overlapping a black shirt as well as concealing his head, and plain tennis shoes emerged from the outermost edges of the otherwise shadowed warehouse despite the overhanging lamps that gave it light, stopping some feet away from the man for good measure regardless of being acknowledged or not by the monocle wearing man. "So what brings the shinobi pretender to my humble abode?" the arms dealer suddenly queried, mildly smirking as his uninvited guest tensed up slightly yet said nothing. "Come now, it's not too hard to guess who could easily avoid hired thugs if they so desired and be willing to risk everything of a personal matter to talk to a..." The oak haired man paused, pursed his lips in contemplation before raising both hands to accentuate something in air quotes. "Villain" for information."
"Are you saying you're not one?" Robin growled as he pulled back his hood to reveal his masked face.
"While I'm not a paragon of humanity, I consider myself a mercenary at worse when I'm particularly bored or lacking something to busy myself with," the man casually replied as he returned to thoroughly inspecting his current chief interest with a smirk as he heard a restrained huff of aggravation.
"So before I lose interest or forget the matter entirely and ignore you, what brings you to my parlor?"
"Naruto Uzumaki." The pinstripe arms dealer almost dared to hesitate as a sense of giddiness overtook him as he picked up his sheers and spray bottle once more. "What do you know about him?"
"A handsome devil who enjoys to snuggle up by an open fire and reading a good book when not in the company of his doubtlessly morose woman when he's not near, what of him?"
"You know what I meant," Robin growled.
"And you know that gathering information from your enemies tends to be difficult when they have no reason to give it away," Sēji easily countered with a growing grin which only grew as he heard the faintest whispers of a sigh to match the huff from before.
"That's true," Robin lowly admitted though still loud enough to be heard, "yet at the same time you have no reason to keep it."
"Oh?" At this the trader turned his hair veiled eye to the Boy Wonder in newfound amused curiosity.
"You make no true effort to hide how you really operate when it comes to fighting: You enjoy toying with the minds and emotions of your enemies more so than their deaths. You have more than enough power and skill to annihilate those who stand against you yet rather than go for the killing blow you favor other methods to satiate your need to get under people's skin such as the incident at the quarry where you had one of your plants grab our 'friend' by having it dig underground to pull her out and fling her to you as oppose to having it strangle her. Even then in an environment suited to your set of skills you could have had her poisoned with a toxic airborne substance made out of pollens or at least have had more of your "minions" at the ready to fight for you."
"And who's to say I didn't?" Sēji asked as he turned about to reveal his grin, his instruments for horticulture set aside once more. Robin merely narrowed his masked eyes.
"The remains haven't decayed fast enough to prove you did have something at the ready to kill her," Robin remarked. "And while I may not have much knowledge about the cloning techniques from your own universe, I know enough to know that when willed to the clones would revert back to the substance which it was made of in most cases when dispelled." The slight twitch of a sneer crossed Robin as his glare became sterner. "Rather than dispel it you had it commit suicide by using what was known as a paper bomb. The shock value alone of those who thought it was you would be a sufficent enough opening to make an attempt on one of their lives."
The suit wearer across from him still only grinned back at him though now armed with a a sense of smugness to it in spite of the glare aimed at him.
"Combine that with the grumblings of your newfound flunkies outside keeping a close eye on your surroundings, you don't have an issue with annoying your allies either in at least a more subtle manner." Again Robin's lips twitched only to be suppressed by his control over himself. "With that said, how irritated would it be to have someone, anyone, who knew a good deal of him willingly talk to who would otherwise be his own enemy?"
Sēji's grin finally vanished from him as he sat against the table which his potted plant rested. Nothing was so much as breathed out in hushed tones as he contented himself with staring at the masked teen before him...
And then he smiled a foxy smile followed shortly by a small chortle. His arms came up and clapped against each other, parting from each other for only a second before clapping against one another once more and again, and again, and again in a long series of claps that slowly drowned out the chuckling.
"So what would you like to know?"
XVX
Meanwhile in the forest
Three hours and roughly ten percent of the entire region had been thoroughly checked. If he wasn't host to the Nine-Tailed Fox then chances were he wouldn't even be able to eat his first lunch since starting this particular portion of his already week long search for the isolated 'monk...'
"Giant bastard," Naruto grumbled as he gnawed on a second protein bar as he sat on a tree branch overlooking an abandoned ranger station and a decrepit dirt road that lead to it. Other than nurse his low levels of chakra back to where they once were hours ago, all Naruto could do was idly ponder the reasoning towards the station's abandonment: Low budget? Probably. Not enough people to man it? Also likely-
CRASH-BOOM!
A purple/orange/black blurry blob smashing its way through a debatably pristine wall may not have been a part of the original reasoning, but let it not be said it would not be a factor in keeping the already decommissioned station from being reactivated any time soon. Wearily sighing, Naruto's white eye pulsed to life while the blond garbed himself with his unequipped helmet, pausing for only a moment to reach into his belt to retrieve a spherical pellet, a rations pill from his former home, and cautiously placed it within his mouth before sealing his head away with his helmet.
"Interesting..." he mumbled. It was Starfire in the now smoking ruins of the ranger station with what appeared to be another tamaranean of similar build to her own yet her, the other tamaranean, own attire was a armored version of Starifre's attire, though black where pruple would have resided, and she had black hair as opposed to Starfire's own mane of red. As of the moment the two were locked in a hand held struggle with Starfire pressed against the floor whereas her black haired counterpart stood above her with a sadistic smirk. Suddenly she backed up, her grip on Starfire's as tight as ever, heaving the red haired teen off the floor much to her surprise, and violently whipped Starfire through yet another wall with enough force to send her crashing into the base of a tree while her attacker sauntered through the newfound hole with her own variant of a starbolt, a ball of energy hued a dark violet rather than Starfire's bright green, lazily forming in her hand.
"Let's end this," she announced with finality and satisfaction.
(Flashback!)
Abandoned factory, eight minutes ago
Starfire may not know much of Jump City in particular having been born of a different world entirely yet she knew enough to know the factory in its decaying state was of an earlier age when Jump City was more than likely a town rather than a city, but it didn't truly matter to her other than worrying over the potential of accidently endangering a bystander who was either squatting there or someone exploring the decrepit marker of time. In any case it was an ideal spot to hide oneself from those of the law given the hazards time could gift an unattended structure with to ward off most potential threats.
Most being the key word. Tamaraneans are far more durable than humans. It was this fact that gave Starfire her hunch in where to find her sister in her probably whimsical want for relative solitude.
Near immediately Starfire spotted her sister lazing atop the roof of the presumably abandoned factory, enjoying a sunbath with closed eyes and a cattish smile that spoke of no cares on her part. It was however lost as it morphed into a smile of a more... sinister kind of some reprehension when her eyes finally opened to reveal her black irises upon white sclera which spotted her sister after catching the shine of the sunlight on metal.
"Why hello little sister, it was nice of you to drop by," Blackfire simpered as she leisurely got up from her lounging position.
"While I wish to greet you as warmly as last time sister, why are you doing this again?" From her position Starfire watched her sister as she closed her eyes and sighed heavily before reopening them to reveal an aggravated glare from Blackfire directed at her sister. Already the tamaranean tensed up for what was to undoubtedly come from this.
"Why?" Blackfire asked rhetorically. Again she closed off her eyes and sighed a more shallow sigh as she raised on outstretched hand to silently count her fingers without looking. "It could be because I'm bored." A finger folded back to her palm. "Perhaps I'm just evil," she intoned as another finger fell. "Or maybe because I realized something while being transported to the Centauri Empire..." Finally a sterner glower revealed itself with the second revealing of her eyes since acknowledging Starfire's presence while her hand slowly formed a fist.
"And that is?" Starfire inquired as she fought off a shiver. Inwardly she hoped her sense of dread was nothing but misplaced as she peered down at her surprisingly calm sister below.
"That indirect methods aren't going to get me anywhere!" Blackfire sternly announce, her eyes flashing a dark violet for a second, it was Starfire's only warning as beams of the same hue shot out soon after and directly blasted her before she could make some bid to defend herself. Starfire, while trying to maintain her altitude despite the force of the assailing beams, rose both arms up to defend her face and neck in hope of buying herself some breathing room to coordinate a more proper means to defend herself from the assault.
Sadly that was not to happen as a bright orange fist rammed itself into her solar plexus with enough force comparable to a watered down "rasengan" from before, driving out not only the air but her senses as well. With her guard considerably slackened against her will, another fist drove into her face with abandon by the savage courtesy of Blackfire who let her younger sister sail through the air thanks to the momentum of her blows till she followed up by ramming into her with the combined use of her flight and her shoulder and darting her to the forest beyond the factory. A smirk plied itself to Blackfire a she eagerly speed faster with her sister in her newfound clutches who regained enough of her wits to attempt to free herself.
It mattered little to Blackfire whether or not her sibling struggled till the end.
This long standing feud was ending one way or another.
(End Flashback!)
At high velocity the dark amethyst bolt struck out at Starfire while the younger tamaranean struggled to stand up after being blasted, beaten, and tossed about like a ragdoll in such a short amount of time that seemed to cater to Blackfire's whims. The most she could do was look up and snap off an inaudible gasp when the boltcame at her...
BOOM!
Nothing was left but destroyed stone and torn earth in the radius of the impact, something which Blackfire only scowled at as she armed herself with two starbolts as opposed to the one as she took to the air as a matter of precaution long before the dust settled... she didn't need to see the destruction to find her sister suddenly missing, not that it wouldn't have been so if the bolt had struck true to begin with given tamaranean physiology. While strong, even a starbolt of that magnitude would've left a corpse or at least a wounded Starfire behind in the worst case scenario.
Yet no one of tamaran, even in their legends and myths, had the ability to suddenly vanish as if they never existed.
Someone or something else was here. "How vexing," she muttered as he scanned her surroundings for any hint of whoever, or at least whatever, saved Starfire from the blast.
The search lasted as long as a New York minute. Starfire, somewhat dazed and as confused as the situation warranted and then some, was trying to stand on a tree branch while she too jerked her head about to find the one who had apparently rescued her. Blackfire snarled for a moment before gaining more altitude and turning to find the one who interfered standing atop the ruined cabin with arms crossed and level what she could assume was something akin to a glare at her from behind a death mask of a helmet. As if to spite the distance between them, Starfire's gasp was not lost to her older sister when the younger princess also found this newcomer.
"What are you doing here?" Starfire suddenly announced with the reserved anger much suited for any such intrusion from an unwelcomed guest. Interesting to say the least in the mind of the older tamaranean as she regarded her sister during the outburst before leveling her own conserved glare at the potential enemy staring back at her. Potential being the keyword if her suspicions were correct. In any event no response was given on the masked man's, apparent man at least, part.
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe I know your name," Blackfire stated in the undertones of a faux apology despite the slight haughty smirk playing at the edge of her lips as she stared at the otherwise silent newcomer whereas her sister had taken to biting at her lip. Was she struggling to identify him? A conflict of identities perhaps regarding this person on the roof who hadn't so much as twitched? At any rate the intruder still remained quiet. "You're being a tad rude you know," the black haired tamaranean suddenly chastised with a frown now taking the place of the smirk.
"It's customary to give your own name if you want to know another's name," the death's head wearer replied at long last. The smirk returned with more humor than a confident pride in herself, it certainly wasn't what she was expecting as an answer if any at this point.
"Well with that reasoning then I guess I'm the rude one here," Blackfire gave back, her smirk becoming flirtatious in nature. In mid air she gave a bow as she introduced herself, the starbolts of her own design vanishing from her hands. "In the english language of Earth I'm called Blackfire, but I'm certain I'd be willing to go by another name if we get acquainted," she purred as she aimed a wink as playful as the smirk on her face at the one on the roof.
Inwardly she sighed as the her mood died down with the observation of nothing but stern apathy given in return. Not a good sign on her part...
"I will ask you once more! What brings you to this place?!" Starfire near yelled as she took to the air at long last with a starbolt in both hands. She tensed when she caught the slight shifting of the helmet to convey his attention was now upon her for a moment till it returned to her older sister who had straightened herself in midair. "I could ask you the same thing considering I was here first."
"Oh! Pardon us then for disturbing whatever it was you were doing here then! Allow us to take our... little family spat elsewhere so it won't bother you anymore," Blackfire simpered as she fixed her attention on her sibling with a pair of her starbolts at the ready. From her own spot, Starfire was as ready as she could be with her attention divided between her own sister and the one from another universe.
"And what sort of 'squabble' would have you so eager to kill while the one your fighting has no such interest?" Her eyes widened in shock before constricting back to their normal size for a moment while Blackfire tilted her head to the shinobi below them who hadn't deigned to move as of yet. It was a likewise scenario fo Starfire as well while her guard as being pushed to the limits as her body continued to tense for the fight to come.
"What makes you say that?" she coolly inquired as her already dour playful mood became even more cold. Her stare narrowing as she could've sworn she saw something being fiddled with between gloved fingers.
"You betray more of yourself than you think to an experienced mind."
BOOM!
A new darkened starbolt came to replace the one spent on the now destroyed cabins. The closest to a eulogy, or even recognition for that matter, was an aggravated huff while cold angry eyes were directed at an uneasy Starfire trying to maintain her ground.
And then he struck. How he survived, how he got above her with such speed, could only be guessed at by someone else when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her jut under her bust while a swift jab to the back of her knees enabled the combined shock to rob her of the concentration needed to enable her to fly, thus gravity's sudden snatching of her and her unwanted companion. In their sudden descent they flipped over, her hand now careening towards the groundby whatever method the shinobi had employed to make it so while the arms on her chest pressed ever tighter to prevent her escape as they began to spin. Each revolution picking up speed, growing faster and faster to dire proportions as they neared the blurry ground below much to Blacfire's and even Starfire's dread.
"Bastard Lotus!"
With the force of a wrecking ball that had no restraint the pair collided into the ground in a violent plume of uprooted dirt and other debris attributing to this. Only Grave came out of it in a high arcing back flip that left a trail of dust in his wake whereas Blackfire seemed to have fallen victim to the attack. From her spot STarfire couldn't help but grimace as she considered the destructive power of the attack and what it would imply to even a tamaranean... if Grave's "rasengan" could bruise her so easily then who was to say his more normal attacks wouldn't have at least a considerable degree of damage to them even to one such as Blackfire?
Inside the dust cloud Blackfire's silhouette emerged from what was doubtlessly a crater, her head moving about as if to crack her neck... much like Starfire had done in similar circumstances. Without warning Grave jumped to the side, avoiding a pair of Blackfire's eyebeams in the process, his hands twisted and forming into "hand signs" as they were called for what purpose only Grave knew while Blackfire flew out of the dust cloud like a bullet from a gun.
"Earth Release: Rising Spire!" A pillar of rock shot out from underneath Blackfire long before she had a chance to realize what had happened, the blunt end ramming into her much like her own fist had been planted into Starfire minutes ago, and uplifting the princess to new heights followed shortly by the shinobi as he rode atop a second spire in hot pursuit.
Armed with a snarl Blacfire smashed a starbolt enhanced fist into the pillar, shattering it with no true resistance on its part thanks to her supplemented strength, and lunged at her own attacker. Again hand signs were formed, cue enough for Blackfire to exercise enough caution to dive for the pillar her enemy was on rather than Naruto Grave himself to utilize the same attack as before, hopefully depriving him of the same concentration that he had stolen from her but moments ago. Once more the pillar cracked under her immense strength, offering no challenge just like before, with a sizable chunk recklessly teetering off the top before succumbing to the call of physics with its summoner still attached to the top weaving sign after sign as if nothing had happened.
Once more Blackfire lunged forward with starbolts at the ready for a close and personal assurance towards ending the fight, to demolish the obstacle that was intent on stopping her from completing her goals and ambitions, she was not going to be stopped by some skull headed bastard who was dead set on interfering! Putting forth what might she could into her powers of flight, she flew true to the falling shinobi even as the stone that was his platform turned into a cocoon of sorts that shielded them from view. How easily it broke under her assault compared to the pillars, and that wasn't saying much.
Nothing was in it however save for three holes excluding the one Blackfire made, two along the top and one on the bottem.
SNAP!
As quickly as it came, something snatched onto her legs and viciously yanked her from the air in a tumble that caught glimpses of everything in her fall be it trees, the ground, the utterly devastated ruins of the cabin, or vague humanoid shapes too far away in the sky to properly make out. With a heavy grunt she righted herself in midair and forcibly halted her descent to inspect what had been done to her to have caused it to begin with. Below her, tethered to her even, was her opponent with what appeared to be a strange adhesive substance of a davey gray nature seeping from his hands that stretched a considerable distance to attach itself to her legs.
Foolish... he left himself wide open to an attack-...
"Wait," she nearly gasped to herself in her own mind as a sudden, frightening suspicion struck her. She whipped her head back to see if those figures were nothing but her imagination. They unfortunately were not. Descending like eagles on the hunt, exact replicas of her skull faced enemy were hurtling towards her with an arm outstretched towards each other that formed a strange swirling sphere of blue energy collected and condensed between the allotted space between them that grew brighter as more and more power was added to it.
"Crap..."
"Odama Rasengan!" the replica bellowed through their synthesizers, their 'brother' somehow escaping his half of the adhesive bonds a moment before the impact...
The orb of twisting energy connected with a force only the primal elements of the world could bring that made even the greatest of creatures yield to its might, Blackfire was of no exception as the spinning mass not only drove her back to the earth along with the replicas but sought to spin her about like a ragged leaf in the gale of a storm. From her lips came a scream she could not hear as the mass seemed to wish her end even as it pushed her away from the replicas with the same force as a hurricane would for a fence post, her body landed with enough power to create a new crater altogether that dwarfed the previous one by three times the measurement as well as split the ground to the width of her torso.
"SISTER!" From her own spot Starfire lunged toward her fallen sister whose head was lolled back with her jaw agape, perhaps unconscious from the power of this "Odama Rasengan" if not outright dead from the blow, only to be stopped by the pair of replicas as they landed on the ground between the two while the original, at least who she thought was the original, neared the lip of Blackfire's crater. "Do not test me!" she warned with a bestial growl, armed with a pair of her starbolts that glowed with the intensity of her aggression that didn't falter when the clones armed themselves with a ninjato in one hand and a rasengan in the other.
"FffffFfffff..." Biting her lip, Blackfire rose her head from its forced rest with all the restrain she could muster to keep herself from screaming the same screaming her body aimed at her to testify the strength of the "Odama Rasengan" that made the act more of a torture than a labor under different circumstances. She couldn't care though. She couldn't care about the pain the wracked her body nor of what sounded like starbolts being let loose in newfound conflict or even the ugly purple bruise that was trying to peak out of the collar of her dress. All she could care about was the batard who did this to her... Baleful eyes focused on the one who brought her to this state as he made his way to her at a lax pace, whether or not it was to be mocking was nothing but a third rate concern to her as her body roared at her to be still as she got up in a heavy grimace of her body under extreme protest. "Who the hell-" A hacking cough wrecking out both spittle and blood. "Who the hell do you think you are you damnable bastard!" she wheezed out once her fit was over with yet besieged by a new fit that threatened to topple her already poor ability to now stand. As for her enemy, he only remained silent till the last cough was spent.
"Someone who's keeping you from committing an irreversible regret."
"HA!" Again the coughing emerged anew, a grin plastered upon her face regardless of what now upset her. "What-..." Cough. " What do I have to regret for-..." Cough, cough! "Fixing a wrong that's been long overlooked!" she managed to gasp out before her body reacted once more against her will, forcing the grin from her face as she covered her mouth and clenched her eyes shut to contain some of the blood that forced its way to her lips and dribbled down to her chin. "And what is this wrong placed upon you?" Even with her coughing distracting her though dying down for a bit, she level an annoyed glare at the one before her. Her hand came off her face, wiping a good portion of the blood away though some of it was smeared onto her skin. An ironic smirk splitting her lips. "I'm the oldest of my family, the best of it, yet I'm the least wanted."
A humorless chuckle escaped Blackfire all of a sudden only for it to be silenced by her involuntary coughing that spewed less blood than before. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be neglected, ignored even, all because of something you don't have control over like how your hair is colored or how your eyes appeared?" she growled as she forcibly fought back against her coughing with only some success. "Do you know what it's like to train yourself till your bones break and your spirit itself is left as a heap on the ground only for all that effort to be second string to a younger sibling just beginning her own regiment?!" Her coughing grew in its cacophony, depriving her of looking at the shinobi in front of her for only a moment. Even without her sight she managed to snag a decent grip into Naruto's suit without tearing into it without challenge on his part, her eyes flying open to show her dark purple eyes, a few shades short of blending with her pupil, had shrunk to a beady nature that matched her sudden snarl. "How about to have your seniority disregarded upon the birth of your youngest brother! I-!"
"Worked for everything to gain everything that was freely given where it was coming short up short when it came to 'me.' 'I' put forth 'my' blood, sweat, tears, soul, hopes, and dreams into every task to gain the recognition and respect of those around 'me' be they 'friend' or foe." Blackfire's jaw worked to return to its natural setting with only half minded results at best on her part as she stared in awe at Grave who had her rapt attention that numbed away the agony her body kept reminding her with, during her stupor her hand slipped from its place as he made sure to emphasize the leveling of his own gaze to where his own eye met hers despite the helmet's appearance. "I may not have lived your life but I am no stranger to that path nor what you really want deep down above all us." In spite of the glare of the sun coming off the helmet she could tell his gaze became all the more stern. "But heed me when I tell you that killing off your sister will neither get you closer to your goals or make you feel better at the end."
In a flash a bright orange hand latched onto his suit with newfound fury, again unchallenged, while its owner bared her teeth at Naruto, her anger curbed only with the return of her injuries to remind her of her limits. "How would you know that, huh!?" Again her hacking fits returned with even less blood than before. "Even what you say is true by some small miracle, do you think she would let me go after trying to kill her?" she hoarsely growled.
"Would someone who hates you be willing to face someone who is more than capable of defeating her without backup just to rescue her attacker?"
Dark purple eyes narrowed as they looked directly into the empty sockets of the helmet's painted effigy. "Bull shit," she spoke just above a cynical hiss. Her teeth gritted to the point they squeaked lightly and her body tensed despite protest when a calm gloved hand rose up and grasped her own outstretched arm, their scene of a crater created from her harsh landing changing in such rapidity that her surprised lagged behind her acknowledgement over it which came only after her ears learned of another fight taking place to which she turned to observe from the top of what remained of the station's roof.
She hitched her breath despite herself as she witness a heavily bruised Starfire below them who was finishing off a clone of a starbolt enhanced punch while its twin was right above her about to land what appeared to be a smaller version of a "odama rasengan" from before on her back. With the clone dissipating into a cloud of smoke Starfire swerved around, bringing her energy cloaked fist to bear down on the descending rasengan to challenge her own might against the power of the rasengan. The younger sister gritted her teeth as her feet dug into the dirt as the rasengan tried to bury her in it whereas the clone landed upon his feet and placed his spare hand onto the one wielding the swirling ball to exert his own effort against the projection of energy that held its own surprising ground against the veritable typhoon matched against it.
"She had more than an ample chance to flee before this particular fight started, yet she stayed." In startled fright Blackfire turned to find her opponent at her side with his arms crossed once again, somehow escaping her clutch without her notice. "She could have backed off or even have a standoff with my clones... she fought them anyway." The copy's rasengan broke upon the starbolt at long last and the starbolt fractured into nothingness as the two couldn't overpower the other much to Naruto's unspoken interest... With the shock of the clone leaving him wide open, Starfire took the opening with a determined grimace as she lash out with yet another starbolt punch that scored a hit on the clone.
Like his brother, the clone also vanished in a cloud of smoke. It was not a time for celebration however for Starfire who sped to the crater where her sister once stood and franticly search for either her or of Grave, her search taking her to the skies only when it was abundantly clear neither were there. Turning to the ruined Ranger Station, she gasped and dared to beam a relieved smile, one which shocked as well as confused her older sister, when she spotted her sister battered but alive. When her sight turned to Grave however it was soon replaced by a scowl of utter contempt...
"If that isn't enough to quell your anger then let me ask you this: Do you hate her for who she is, or what she reminds you of?" A gloved hand clasped itself upon her shoulder and once more she was whisked away from the scenery she knew, away from the bruised tamaranean who now called her name franticly and searched for regardless if she knew it or not.
XVX
Lobby, Titans Tower
Few people, even the Titans, typically neared the main entrance of the tower unless they were in a rush. While it was no common room, nor her own room for that matter when it came to comfort, it was an ideal place to read a book without interruption when being outside was objectionable. She almost even called it "the library" after recent events considering Beast Boy all but never enters this particular room on most days much like he would a library.
Swoosh!
Unfortunately for Raven, this was still the front door; the main point of entry for most visitors and on occasion the Titans when not returning from a mission. Looking up from her tome Raven spotted their... 'associate' once more making her way to the common room where Robin practically lived in when something plagued his mind. "Bell" waved at the Dark Titan as she solemnly walked by with a folder of what was undoubtedly another dossier regarding the ones from Konoha, not truly caring of the acknowledgement of her own presence out of a sense of lethargy as she strolled into the elevator.
Had she looked back however she would've met the peculiar gaze of Raven whose lips were pursed in thought as she spotted a wakazashi with its ornamental armament of a guard gently bobbing with each step from its resting place that was a belt.
"I wonder..."
XVX
She leaned against the elevator's walls and blew out a heavy sigh as her aching bones tried to melt themselves into the steel wall of the ascending car. Sighing once more she leaned her head back to where her eyes idly counted the floor's number as her car climbed to her target destination.
Ding!
Twenty-three floors too early. The doors quietly opened for the newest passenger to board, Cyborg much to her latent surprise, who stood there slightly dumfounded to find their 'guest' was back before shaking it off and entering the car as well. The two exchanged glances for a moment before the metallic teen turned to face the door with his arms behind his back.
Nothing else was exchanged between them, not for eight floors at least.
"... So... how about them Cowboys?"
"Who?"
"Ah... no football I take it in your universe?"
"Not that I'm aware of at least."
Another eight floors passed.
"I've heard worse openings if it makes you feel better," Tenten suddenly stated. She didn't need a good look at Cyborg's face.
"Doesn't really help much," he mumbled as he craned his head to give her a better look, his arms crossing over his chest now. "Pardon me for putting it so bluntly but I got to know, what's the real reason you're snitching on your crew?"
Tenten to her credit didn't so much as blink as she tiredly regarded the other teen before returning her gaze to the digital counter. "What makes you say that?" she queried softly, not really caring if it was answered or not.
"I've been thinking about it a lot since you got into the tower the first time believe it or not," he replied as his own sights turned to the counter. "While I don't know much about how you guys live in your own universe but even I can tell that no one parts with information with a potential enemy even if they aren't a threat to them. Not without a motive at least. Considering that jonin roster you gave us and what you told us of that Sasuke guy, you guys are more than capable of holding him down indefinitely even if you don't consider what happened at the Precinct."
The doors finally opened up to "Bell's" desired floor, and apparently Cyborg's too as the two departed together and made their way to the common room. "I have my reasons," she uttered quietly, her already worn energy nearly nonexistent now as it dwindled even further. The Titanium Titan frowned yet nodded all the same.
When they reached the common room only Tenten stopped in complete horror while Cyborg continued for a few steps before turning back to gaze upon her curiously and then to the source of her sudden distress...
There in plain view of a computer screen was a picture of Naruto wearing what appeared to be a homemade variant of a anbu uniform with Robin typing away as if he hadn't notice either of them yet... he probably didn't even have the slightest inkling of their presence as he obsessively typed into the computer.
"But how..." She practically teleported herself to Robin's side, her mind not even registering her own speed or the hand holding the rim of an ignorant Robin's chair in a death grip, and read what it had to say...
Naruto Uzumaki: Aliases: Yūrei, Grave.
Occupation: Shinobi (former/debatable), Thief (possibility), enforcer (possibility).
Known distinctive traits: Implanted Byakugan, marriage seal on left side of the chest.
Known allies: Uknown (possibly-
How did they know about the bya-...
Wait...
Marriage seal...?
He's married?!
"WHEN DID HE GET MARRIED?!"
"AAAAAAAAAGH!"
WHAM!
Cyborg's only regret from that day onward was that he did not have a camera to catch the full glory of Robin twitching like a zapped bug that hadn't died, gasping like a fish out of water, and clutching at his heart with both hands to keep it from bursting out of his chest much like the Alien in the Alien movie.
He'd probably have ten million hits before the night was out.
XVX
Northern Forest
"Sister where are you?" With each passing minute the tamaranean couldn't help but get more worried. The sun was setting, visibility was plunging as shadows stretched and contoured with the landscape, and not to mention that there was no telling what Grave had done to Blackfire at this point...
"Blackfire please! If you can hear me then please speak up!" she called again as she flew past the trees, her bruises having long since healed thanks to the healing factor of tamaranean physiology.
Snap!
Immediately her head snapped just as quickly as the sound to the sound, growling heavily to find the one who taken her sister away standing beneath her with his arms crossed. Starbolts were conjured, her eyes flashing green in retrained anger, Starfire virtually plummeted to the ground to confront this shinobi with no heed of what it might mean to her. "Where have you taken my sister!?" she barked.
"Suffice it to say she's safe for the time being, she's not in danger."
Starfire however was not remotely cooled from her current ire. "If that is so then where is she?!" she growled once more. "If you wish to kill her, or sell her off to slavery then be warned for I-"
She flinched when Grave suddenly lashed out, a pair of fingers held together and outstretched to silence her while he tilted his helmet to fix in her a proper glare of his helmet's motif. "If I had so desired her death then I would've down it back at that Ranger Station. If I had so desired to capture her for whatever reason then I would have needed something more than what anyone on earth could readily provide."
His hand lowered and with it Stafire forced herself to take a calming breath that swept away the glow of her eyes and lessened the intensity of her bolts. Lessened but not gone though. "Why is it then that you had entered our fight?" she asked with a wary eye placed upon him.
He tilted his head to the side for a moment, correcting it as he gave his reply. "Let me ask you a question before I answer yours, what did you hope to accomplish out of your clash should you have been the victor?"
Starfire frowned in confusion and thought, her bolts disappearing as the emotions needed to power them faded away with the changed focus of her now busy mind. "I had hoped that with her defeat that Blackfire would forget this aggression she has and hopefully we could be true sisters at long last." With the way Grave regarded her she couldn't help but frown ever more when he shook his head slowly. "What is it that you find wrong?"
It was Grave's turn to sigh, it was so weary that his synthesizer couldn't mask it. "I do not meant to insult you but if such ideals worked then the world would probably be a much happier place as it would be simpler to understand." Stopping his slow shake, he fixed his gaze upon her once more. "I have learned from personal experience that no one can truly change who they are or what their thinking if you only go after what is in front of you, and more often than not you may only exacerbate the true problem if you do or even create a whole new one altogether." Starfire's confused frown was not lost on him. "Ultimately if you want this to end Starfire, allow someone who understands her to settle your rivalry."
"I don't understand..."
"As I told her, I may not have lived her life but I'm no stranger to it. Simply defeating her would only make things worse in the long run if you don't understand how she feels or what she wants more than anything. Of the two of us only I can solve this."
While her frown deepened, she nodded. She was not silent however as proven when he was about to walk away as noted by his turning his back to her. "I have one more question if I may." She waited long enough for him to give her his full attention. "Why are you helping us?"
For the longest moment that transpired between them it seemed very much like he was willing to ignore her question as he faced the forest once more. "At one time I had at least two choices out of the many presented before me when I thought of those who were willing to turn their backs on me to accomplish their own goals. One path would be nothing short of the genocide of those who were more than eager to throw me away because of what I made into without my knowing. The other was to leave and never return if it was a choice..."
"Despite what I've gone through because of them, I still have fond memories of those I once held dear to me..."
As quickly as he appeared he had left through the use of the teleportation function of his suit, leaving Starfire out in the wilderness while he walked a solemn path through the trees as the shadows grew ever thicker with the setting sun. He only stopped once to glance at the sun under the protection afforded to him by his helmet. "I just don't want to see someone become what I may become if push came to shove, Starfire," he quietly mumbled to no one as he departed to the inner recesses of the forest.
A/N: As I have said before, MistressWinowyll is the partial inspiration to this story with her near slogan of "If you don't like this story as it is then write your own" which in essence gave birth to this considering that although I enjoy reading the story which this story is design after... there are far too many subjects that I have had issues with.
Admittedly I (sadly) compiled a list as to what I don't like about 26-Lord-Pain's original work and admittedly (and again sadly) I cannot write them down without sounding like a hater. There is one issue however I will make known: Cursing.
Yes... Cursing... god forbid someone has a problem with it...
It's not actually the use of it that bothers me, it's the sheer quantity that gets to me and, in a similar issue I have with Kiue Jin in his own works, I have a slightly larger issue with seeing certain shows and games having said words being used in bulk. While I have no problem with words like "fuck," "shit," etc being used it's just that if I can find one without any effort being put into it in either context or being provoked then it just devalues the story in my opinion.
I.E. Such as me using "bastard" a lot, especially in this chapter, is more deserved because there is an instigator or at least a despicable person fitting such a description. Or say, hypothetically, I had say Naruto acting like an OUTRIGHT annoying Red X bugging Gizmo all day to which he snaps and goes "FUCK YOU!"
As I said, context or somehow provoked then it works for me.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and until next time...
Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.