Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Naruto. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and anything else related to them.

"Talking"
'Thinking'
'Telepathy'

Jinchuuriki - Youkai name - # of Tails - Youkai type
Yugito - Azami - two/Nibi - cat
unknown - Hiroshi - three/Sanbi - shark
Sasori - Kenta - four/Yonbi - scorpion
unknown - Mikio - five/Gobi - wolf
Itachi - Tasuki - six/Rokubi - weasel
Deidara - Sadao - seven/Shichibi - badger
unknown - Nobuo - eight/Hachibi - unknown

Ages
Kristy - 18
Itachi - 14
Deidara - 16
Sasori - 21
Yugito - 9

(1) - For those of you who have read Naruto, these seals are quite like the Kin seals from chapter 263 of the manga, except the other seals make them invisible so they're technically impossible to find, unless you're a youkai.

(2) - There's a picture of Deidara in an Akatsuki cloak in my profile as well as one of Sasori and one of Yugito.

(3) - I also have a picture of him in my profile.

(4) - Nii-san means older brother. Dei-nii-san is Yugito's nickname for Deidara, especially since she can't call him by name at the festival.

(5) - Imouto means younger sister

Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.

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Under A Bloody Moon

Chapter 10
The Pervert

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Outside the Valley, September, 1 Year SA

Creating seals is a long process. A very long process. Despite this I found myself enamored with the art, constantly fascinated with what it could do. The seals before me, attached to a tree, were just one incredible example of this.

After we'd decided to from an organization I'd begun to work on a project to protect the valley we lived in. Well, "begun to work" on it isn't really accurate; I'd already started the project a month or so before, but once it became apparent that we would really need it I stepped up the work on it. Between that, forming the organization, and training I was so busy that I didn't even have the time to help out with missions! So much for having free time.

When I'd finally finished formulating the seals I was very happy with them. Their purpose was to ward off people from even wanting to come near the mountain unless they were keyed into the "wards", as I'd taken to calling them. It worked similarly to my invisibility technique in that in that it affected people's minds by causing them to want to leave "by their own choice". There were twenty of these seals spaced in an even radius around the mountain and each seal was surrounded by several invisibility seals to hide it from view in case anyone somehow managed to get close to them. (1)

Grinning, I stood back to look at the last of the seals. Now the Valley--and indeed the mountain itself--was completely secured. After a minute of admiring the way the black ink wound its way across the small pieces of paper, I turned on my heel and instantly disappeared into the shadows.

I was actually getting better and better at shadow travel. It was like a muscle; each time I used it I found myself able to travel farter and carry more with me. At this point I could travel about 20 miles without feeling completely exhausted. I also was able to take all of the Jinchuuriki with me, but only over short distances.

When I arrived in our house I quickly headed to the kitchen to get something to eat. Just as I was making some ramen, Deidara came in wearing a large black cloak with red clouds(2). This was what he had insisted we wear, and what I'd eventually agreed to. I had to admit that they looked pretty, though, and they were only cloaks...

"How'd it go?" I asked as I leaned back against the counter behind me.

"Great, of course. I t was just a retrieval mission."

"An A-rank retrieval mission of an object worth a small fortune," I replied dryly.

Deidara's ever-present grin widened. "Yep. I think that the training we're getting has really been helping..."

I chuckled and nodded in agreement. The Biju had wound up helping agreeing to teach all of us. At first I wasn't sure how we'd be able to talk to them, but then I figured out how to utilize my youki to allow the Biju to materialize on the physical plane by pulling their energy through me. It was a really complicated process and I still wasn't entirely sure how it worked but it did work and that was what mattered.

The only problem with this was that in the real world they were ghost-like and insubstantial. They could teach us, but not actually fight with us. I was trying to figure out a way to get the Biju to "possess" some of Sasori's puppets, but so far hadn't really gotten anywhere.

"Sooo," Deidara began. "Have you put those 'wards' around the mountain yet?"

I smiled brightly, perking up. "Yes! I used a key seal to tie them into the shadow wall so that you're all already keyed into it. We shouldn't be getting any visitors any time soon now."

"Not that we were already," a new voice said from the doorway.

My grin widened and in an instant I was next to the newcomer. "Itachi-kun!" I greeted while hugging the younger boy. He too was wearing one of the newly dubbed "Akatsuki" cloaks.

"I heard something interesting while I was out," Itachi commented once I'd let go. "Apparently there's some kind of harvest festival going on just north of the Konoha border. A big one."

My eyes lit up. "Seriously?! We need to go! A fun break like that would be great for all of us."

"Uh, Kristy-chan," Deidara said apprehensively. "This is great and all, but you were the one going on about how we need to be careful, remember? Itachi, Sasori, and I are all missing-nin and Yugito is a runaway Jinchuuriki. Somehow I think that if we were to go to a big festival, someone would notice us."

I waved off Deidara's argument. "Don't worry. I can put some illusions on all of you to make you look different. So long as you don't go more than a few miles from me they should hold and they also can't be dispelled like your Henge no Jutsu can."

"I'm all for it then!" the blonde exclaimed. "Should we go now?"

"I don't see why not. And before you ask, Itachi, yes you have to come. I'm sure that it'll do you some good."

Itachi sighed, his protest dying on his lips. Once I was sure that he had agreed I dashed from the room to find Sasori and Yugito to tell them the news.

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The festival was all that I could have expected and more. There were thousands of people in the rather large village and there were booths everywhere. Supposedly there was even going to be fireworks that night! I hadn't even known that they had fireworks in this world, considering as they don't have guns.

At the festival the Jinchuuriki and I split up to have some fun; Deidara and Yugito headed towards the games, Itachi went to go get something to eat, and Sasori probably went to find a secluded place. For my part, I was just wandering around, taking in the views. This was the first festival I'd been to since I was a little girl and it really brought back memories. Plus, it was the first real break that I'd had in the last year and I was determined to make the best of it.

After an hour or so of walking around I came across something of interest: a booth that was selling ink. Excited, I leaned over the table; these would be great for seals. Not to mention that the paper also sold here was of almost perfect quality!

"What's a young, pretty thing like you doing at a seal booth?" a voice behind me suddenly asked.

Instantly I froze. Not because of the voice, but rather because...Was that a hand on my ass?!

Moving like lightning I spun around and kneed the guy behind me in the balls and then jerked by knee up to hit him in the face as he doubled over. Gasping in surprise the man--whom I now noticed was in his fifties and had long, spiky white hair and strange, traditional-style clothes(3)--collapsed on the ground, curled into a fetal position. My eye twitching, I glared down at the lecherous old man before me. Fucking bastard.

To my immense surprise the man was up after only a few seconds. Such a kick should have kept anyone down quite a while, especially considering as we youkai generally have a lot more strength than humans do.

"Ah, a fight then," the man commented with a grin, as if the past few moments hadn't even happened. "I should have guessed from the way you stand." He paused to pick up a jar of ink from the table. "Ah, Kurosaki ink. The best, eh?"

I scowled darkly at the man but couldn't help but be drawn in by his comment. "Yeah," I agreed grudgingly. "But Henin is better for small details."

The white haired pervert turned to look at me, interest in his eyes. "So you do know about seals then?"

I scowled again. "Yeah. What of it?"

"Ah, nothing! Nothing!" the man said quickly. "I'm just surprised is all; very few people are interested in seals and even fewer of them are women. It's just rare, ah...?"

"Kristy," I supplied with a sigh, resigning myself to this conversation. Though a bastard, there was a chance that this man could help me with a problem that I'd been having. "And you are...?"

The older man grinned so widely that I instantly regretted asking. "I," he bean while striking a strange pose, "Am Mt. Myobokugama's holy master Toad Hermit! I am Jiraiya of the Sannin, a summoner, a seal master, and, above all, a SUPER pervert!"

The man, Jiraiya, stayed in his pose, grinning as if he was expecting applause, but I just stared at him with one eye twitching. He was proud to call himself a super pervert?! Suddenly I didn't care that he was a seal master--I no longer had any wish to speak with this man.

"You..." I began slowly. My head was titled forwards so that my bangs were partially covering my face, hiding it from view.

"Yes?" Jiraiya prompted eagerly.

"You..." I continued, only to hesitate suddenly as I realized something.

Jiraiya had purposefully caught my attention so that he could speak with me about seals, then had skillfully manipulated me into revealing how much I knew about seals, and then somehow even managed to get up after I'd attacked him. This man...Was a lot more than he seemed. He hid his intelligence and power behind the title of "super pervert", causing others to underestimate him. Slowly a smirk formed on my face and I lifted my head to eye Jiraiya in amusement.

"You are a very interesting person."

I could tell clearly from the widening of Jiraiya's eyes that I'd caught him off guard, but he managed to quickly cover this up with another big grin.

"But of course!" he exclaimed. "I am the great Jiraiya after all!"

I chuckled and leaned forward against the seal booth. "So," I murmured without looking at the white haired man. "Seal master, eh? Perhaps you'll be able to answer a question for me then."

"Oh?" Jiraiya asked with one eyebrow raised in inquiry. "What kind of question?"

"Well, there's a seal that I'm working on right now that I need to be able to activate from a long distance, but I'm having trouble with the activation part, so..."

For a minute Jiraiya just stared at me his face blank. "...You're...formulating new seals?"

"...Uh, yes?"

"You..." Jiraiya continued to stare for another moment before he suddenly burst out laughing. He was howling so hard that he was literally holding his sides and gasping for breath. My eye began twitching in annoyance again. What the hell was up with this guy?!

"S-sorry," he gasped out after a couple of minutes. He took a moment to wipe away the tears that had formed in his eyes. "It's just the irony..." He let out a giggle and then waved his hands around as if to ward off my anger. "Not many people other than seal masters create new seals, you know."

My anger evaporated as I blinked in surprise. "Eh? Really?" I said while scratching the back of my head awkwardly. "Well, I suppose it's because there aren't really any seals in existence that fit my purposes..."

Honestly, that was only half the truth. The other half was because regular seals weren't equipped to handle youki; they would just burn out and end up not working. So I had to create new seals not only to do what I wanted them to do, but also so that they could channel my youki.

Jiraiya studied me with a mix of seriousness and curiosity. "Well then, about your problem...You said that you just need to figure out how to activate seals over a long distance, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well...You'd need some way to single out the seals that you want to activate, like some sort of a homing beacon...Perhaps an amplifier of some sort; something that resounds the signal between you and the seals..."

I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "I have heard," I began slowly, "that there are some crystals that are able to channel energy..."

"Yes!" Jiraiya said excitedly. "Quartz, for example, can channel and amplify chakra, and so can several other gems."

"And if a gem was placed over the seals," I continued, picking up on Jiraiya's enthusiasm, "Then the energy from the seal would be amplified through the gem and I'd be able to pick up on it and my energy would be drawn to it like a magnet!"

Before our conversation--which now involved the two of us leaning over the table and whispering excitedly--could progress any farther, Yugito appeared from within the throngs of people around us.

"Nee-san!" she said happily while practically tackling my leg. Though the girl was normally a blonde her hair was currently black and her eyes were azure. Deidara had a similar appearance while Itachi and Sasori looked more like me, with silver hair and sapphire eyes. "Guess what! Guess what! Dei-nii-san(4) bought me some--"

Suddenly Yugito froze as her eyes landed on Jiraiya. She quickly hid behind me and peeked around my waist to stare at the older man.

"Eh? Yugito-chan?" I said while blinking down in surprise at the girl. I flashed a quick smile at Jiraiya. "This is my imouto(5), Yugito. She's a bit shy..." I looked back down at the child and smiled softly. "It's alright Yugito-chan. This is Jiraiya; he's a seal master."

Yugito continued to stare at the white haired shinobi with wide eyes. "He creates seals like nee-san?"

"Mm-hmm. By the way, where is Dei-kun?" I asked, careful not to use Deidara's full name in case Jiraiya recognized it and became suspicious.

"Umm..." Yugito blushed and looked down at the ground. "I don't know. I ran off when I saw you."

I chuckled lightly. It figures that not even Deidara would be able to find Yugito when she ran off.

'Deidara?' I called out with my mind. Doubtless he was panicking right now, trying to find Yugito.

'Kristy-chan? We've got a major problem! Yugito just suddenly dashed off and I can't find her anywhere!' Deidara replied. Fear was almost palpable in his voice.

'Deidara--'

'I've looked everywhere I can and--'

'Deidara--'

'--But she's not at the game booths or--'

'Deidara--'

'--And then I went over to the--'

'DEIDARA!'

'Huh?'

A growl surfaced in my throat and I just barely managed to keep a tic from appearing in my eye. 'Yugito's with me. We're over at the seal booth, near the big willow tree.'

'Well why didn't you say so in the first place!' Deidara replied happily, as if he hadn't been panicking just moments before.

I mentally palmed my face. 'Just get over here,' I told the hyperactive teen tiredly. 'We're with a shinobi though, so be careful.' Without waiting for a reply I severed our telepathic link.

While I'd been "spacing out" Jiraiya had crouched down to speak with Yugito. For a moment I considered pulling Yugito away from him--he was a pervert after all, seal master or not--but it turned out that he was surprisingly gentle with kids. Who'd have guessed?

"I'm sure he'll find us soon," I told Yugito with a tight smile once her attention had turned back on me. Dealing with Deidara could be exhausting even though he was only two years younger than me.

No sooner had I spoken that, a now black haired Deidara came bouncing into view. "Yugito-chan!" he exclaimed happily. "There you are!" His eyes flashed slightly as they rested on Jiraiya, but his grin never faltered.

'...Do you know him?' I asked Deidara curiously.

'Kristy...' Deidara began slowly. His voice sounded strange--almost strangled. 'Do have any idea who that is?!'

'Er...Jiraiya of the Sannin?'

'Yes! Exactly!'

'...Is that supposed to mean something to me?'

'Kristy, the Sannin are three of the most powerful shinobi in the world! They answer only to the Hokage! ...Or at least two of them do; the third, Orochimaru, defected from Konohagakure no Sato some years ago.'

I found myself staring blankly at Jiraiya. '...Oh.'

'Yeah. "Oh". How is it that you manage to get yourself into these situations?' Deidara asked exasperatedly. It felt strange to here the normally immature boy sound so...knowledgeable. And it also reminded me how much of this world was still new to me, even after being here for almost a year and a half.

Who knew that things were going to be so complicated?

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"You look like you had fun," Itachi commented dryly.

I grinned at the currently silver haired Uchiha as I walked along side him. We and the rest of the Akatsuki--who were several feet ahead of us--were heading back to the Valley. "I did! Plus I'm pretty sure that I've figured out that answer to a problem that I've been having, thanks to Jiraiya-san. It's a good thing that Deidara-kun, Yugito-chan, and I left him before we met up with you though; out of anyone at that festival, he probably had the biggest chance of recognizing you. You've met him before right?"

Itachi grunted in agreement. "You're going to meet him again, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. We agreed to meet in about a week in order to discuss seals some more. It looks like we might be able to help each other out."

"Be careful then." I glanced at Itachi, surprised, but he just continued staring straight ahead as he spoke. "Jiraiya-sama travels the world maintaining an information network. You've never really been seen in the world much, but there's always the possibility that you could be connected to the Akatsuki."

I smirked widely, allowing one of my fangs to slip over my bottom lip. "I'll just have to use that information network to my benefit then, won't I?"

Itachi rolled his eyes while I began to cackle in amusement.

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A/N: All author notes will be at the end of the chapters now. Why? Because it makes it easier for me to comment on the chapter. And, of course, because I feel like it.

I had so much fun writing this chapter. Jiraiya is a really amusing character, and I've found that he's even more interesting to write. He'll play a semi-large part in this story, though he might not appear again for a little while.

Several people have asked me how I'll be incorporating Naruto and Gaara into this story. My reply? You'll just have to wait and see. Yes, I do plan on having them as a large part of this story. Unfortunately they won't appear for a while yet, but I promise that they will eventually. I do have some good news though: It should only be a chapter or two more until Hiei comes back. (grins)

Please review! It helps to motivate authors to write, ya know (winks) Ja ne!

--B.I.