Err, yeah. I think I got a flame the last time I updated a chapter (review to chapter one), but I guess I was feeling kind of weird because I responded like she just asked regular questions…hehe.
Well, I guess it was kind of constructive criticism, except she kind of didn't get all the facts before she reviewed. I gotta remind you people that before you push that button to comment or something, double-check that you didn't miss anything! Like the fact that Akina's age was stated smack dab at the top of the chapter, right after you found out that Akina was blind.
Because Takamaru Akina was blind.
And by some odd turn of events, was graduating one year early, with the upperclassmen.
And then it goes on to describe how it was like for her in Naruto's year. O.o. Pay attention people.
I suppose there was a bit of Ino bashing, guys, but you have to understand that since in this story, Sakura was replaced by someone who took their job seriously from the start, she feels threatened in a sense and makes up for it by trying to take control of the entire situation. And about the yelling at Akina thing…guys, she considers her a rival, mm'kay? It's not really that different than before, just that it's more one-sided than anything…
Ino will get better, I promise. There just had to be some conflict between a few characters in order for this story to progress. Everything is happening for a reason…
Oh yeah, one more reminder. This fanfiction will show many many more signs of AU after the Finals.
You were warned.
"Talking"
Thinking
"Telepathy through mind seal"
("Animals talking / "Telepathy with animals")
"Demonic language"/ 'Demon talking telepathically to their jinchuuriki'
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I suppose that you already knew this, neh?
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
::;Seeing the Truth;::
Chapter 13: Shishou no Ryuuki
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Akina's black bangs swayed to and fro as Temari unleashed wave after wave of wind to counter Tenten's weapons. Lee and Gai's cheering echoed in the large room, but she paid no heed to it. She leaned against the wall and evened out her breathing, slowly fading into some light meditation, trying to lengthen the range at which she could bend the elements to her will.
Kouseki glanced at her before looking back down at the arena floor, only to see that the Leaf kunoichi had lost her battle and had to be caught by Lee when her body was thrown off of the large fan. She watched Temari go back up to her team, and inwardly sighed.
That bites. She had to go against the one person that she had no chance of winning against from the beginning.
The screen flashed again, and chose the next examinees.
'Nara Shikamaru VS. Tsuchi Kin'
Shikamaru's groan and mutter of "Troublesome…" reached Naruto's ears, who just snickered slightly.
He shuffled downstairs and stood in front of the long haired girl, slouching so much that Kouseki had to wonder how he could balance himself out and not fall over on his face.
Akina slipped deeper into her meditation, already knowing the outcome of the battle. Shikamaru was a little like Akina, hiding his real abilities behind an attitude of not caring.
In another room inside the tower, Kabuto was meeting with Orochimaru. Akina noticed the two humans that were not watching the fights, the only reason that everyone was here in the first place. She tapped into the earth beneath their feet and listened to their conversation through the winds.
After Shikamaru knocked out the sound kunoichi, Naruto and Kiba grinned at each other and jumped into the arena, tossing witty banter. Both boys noticed that Akina was still meditating, and hollered at her from the arena floor.
"OIII! AKINA-CHAN!"
"YO! WAKE UP!"
The talking between Orochimaru and the spy, Kabuto, had ended, and Akina allowed herself to be "awakened" by the two boys. She lifted her head and got up, positioning herself beside Sasuke in front of the railing. They seemed satisfied with this, and went back to arguing with each other over who would win.
"Fight Number 7, between…"
Gekkou Hayate sweat dropped once he realized that they weren't really paying attention to him. He cleared his throat, and ended up coughing horribly. Kiba and Naruto looked at him wearily and distanced themselves from each other and him, fearing that his coughing might be contagious.
"Ahem. Gomen. Fight Number 7 between Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto…begin!"
The two had talked enough before the battle, and were completely focused on beating the other right now. Kiba appeared in front of Naruto in a burst of speed and slammed into him, sending the boy skidding backwards several yards.
Naruto grimaced slightly and rubbed his chest area where he was hit. The two ran towards each other after Naruto had gotten over Kiba's increase in strength, landing glancing blows on each other as they tested how strong the other was.
They gave one last punch towards each other and skidded back, now satisfied of each other's abilities.
The same thought ran through both of their minds.
I'll win.
Kiba used Shikyaku no jutsu (Four Legs Technique) and Juujin Bunshin (Beast Human clone) with Akamaru to out maneuver Naruto. But Naruto evened out the odds by forming Kage Bunshin.
After a minute of repetitive dodging and attacking, no one was getting any clear advantage, so Kiba took it to the next level.
"Gatsuuga (Double Piercing Fang)!"
Two whirlwinds of claws and fangs shot through the air, forcing Naruto to re-adjust his plan slightly. He narrowly avoided the slashing attacks for a few more moments before creating multiple clones. By the time they had all been destroyed, Naruto was gone.
Kiba stopped his attack and cautiously looked over the entire arena floor, his back facing a wall so that he couldn't be attacked from behind. His eyes narrowed once he realized that Naruto was nowhere in sight.
Where is that--!
His thought was interrupted when he was suddenly pulled into the arena floor by a pair of hands. He clenched his fanged teeth and glanced to the side to see that Akamaru had suffered the same fate. His face contorted into a scowl before both man and beast were struck with an idea.
"GATSUUGA!"
Using their chakra, they unscrewed themselves out of their little prisons, sending a shower of gravel everywhere. A dust cloud went up, obscuring everything from view.
From up on the catwalks, Sasuke heard many kunai and shuriken being thrown and batted away, along with Naruto's grunt of pain.
When the smoke cleared, Naruto was covered with some minor looking scratches, his clothes ripped in several places. Many of the steel weapons were scattered about the floor. Kiba was on the other side of the floor, grinning at how easy he would take the victory now that his opponent was tired out a bit.
Kouseki shook her head in slight dismay. Damned idiot still has that arrogance...it will be his downfall...
He launched his drilling attack again, aiming for the jinchuuriki. Once he reached the middle of the arena, a cloud of black ninja smoke rose again. The whirling tornadoes continued, ignoring the smoke. When he was halfway towards Naruto, the boy smirked in the face of what might be his demise, confusing some of the genin.
That is, until they heard multiple voices shouting: "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu (Grand Fireball)!"
Two rows of Naruto clones each looked up at the roof and breathed out their fireballs simultaneously. Kiba and Akamaru passed by four fireballs, whose flames just nicked his claws, but didn't reach him, before he realized what Naruto was planning.
Dammit!
The various shinobi upstairs, after getting over the intense heat that had circled around the room, noticed the tornadoes gradually losing their spin and speed as they passed by the tornadoes, before Sasuke just smirked to himself, being a fire-user himself and knowing what Naruto had been planning.
Five feet away from a grinning Naruto, the jutsu canceled itself, and out from the whirling winds emerged a woozy pair of Kibas, half-glaring at the orange-clad boy.
"Wh...what the hell did you do to us?"
The other boy just raised a finger, waving it at him for a bit and shaking his head. "Nope! Not yet...first, I gotta finish something first."
He disappeared and reappeared behind Kiba, effectively restraining him by grabbing his arms and twisting them towards his back, doing this same with the other Kiba. Another pair of clones stepped up towards the trapped animal-like Kibas and raised kunais to their necks.
Hayate coughed and motioned his arm towards the side the Naruto had started on. "The winner is Uzumaki Naruto."
Kiba and Akamaru were released, and they promptly returned to their normal forms and checked by the medic-nin who rushed onto the scene. After they were deemed healthy enough to not be sent to the infirmary, the two Leaf-nin walked back up the stairs.
"Explain what you did, Naruto-baka." There was a bark of agreement.
Naruto grinned as he put his hands behind his head, laughing to himself. "Fire sucks up oxygen. I thought you knew that?"
The scowl was back on the dog boy's face, but inside he was wondering how Naruto had gotten so smart. He's not the same idiot as before...
They reached Team Seven, where Naruto received a smirk from Sasuke and an eye smile from Kakashi. Both Akina and Kouseki were non-responsive for a short few seconds before the girl nodded at both of them for a good fight, and the wolf grinned.
Both the boys and the dog seemed to find this acceptable, since they had to choose between the two, their friends since they've 'moved' to Konoha.
Kouseki automatically looked up at the screen when Hayate next coughed, and, sure enough, her theory was proved correct when it selected the next fighters. Sasuke looked up, now a little more interested in the fight.
"Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata, please come down."
Naruto tensed slightly at what this fight represented, as did all other Leaf higher ups and anyone else that knew about the Hyuuga clan's situation.
Hinata cringed and avoided all eye contact with Neji, who had jumped onto the arena floor, inwardly smirking to himself at this opportunity. She shuffled along the catwalks, confidence now at an all time low.
Akina didn't sit down again like others thought she would, choosing to stand up and silently support the shy girl in what might be the worst match up ever. Hinata approached the area where Team Seven and Kiba were standing, when the Inuzuka stepped in front of her, frowning.
"Hinata-chan...please give up this fight. You and I both know that Neji'll kill you."
His response was a shiver. Kouseki rubbed her head against the girl's side in an attempt to ease her nerves a little.
It didn't work.
Her eyes lifted from the floor for a second, and Naruto caught it firmly. They locked gazes, neither letting go, even Hinata, who in her frightened state gotten over her blushing state that seemed to occur when she was within fifteen feet of Naruto.
Naruto searched through the eyes that all Hyuuga inherited (though Hinata's had a slight purple hue around the edges, and were much, much less intense), seeing a small sense of determination that seemed eerily familiar.
He nodded firmly and grinned comfortably. "Good luck."
The blush came back full force as she stuttered, momentarily forgetting that she was to fight her cousin in a minute. "A-Arigatou, N-N-Naruto-kun..."
A blond eyebrow was raised before he inwardly smacked himself silly for adopting the Uchiha's habits. He shrugged and made a shooing motion towards Hinata, urging her to go down to the arena floor. Kiba cast a sharp glare at Naruto once his team mate had started going down the stairs.
"What the hell are you doing?! Do you want her to be killed?!"
Naruto looked to the side, frowning in thought. "Some things are worth fighting for...you wouldn't understand..."
Underneath them, Hinata had finally gotten into position to fight, but when Hayate had started the fight, Neji didn't move or bother getting into his stance (which was obviously going to be the same one as Hinata's).
Kouseki stared incredulously at the 13-year-old as he preceded to mentally destroy Hinata without so much as moving a muscle. Is this how the Hyuuga treat their own flesh and blood? She shook her head in disgust, growling lowly to herself.
Hinata was near tears by the end of it, and it looked like Naruto wasn't going to take it anymore. He gripped the railing tightly and leaned over it, glaring at Neji.
"OI!! Why don't you just SHUT THE HELL UP! That destiny and fate stuff is a load of bullshit!" he snarled, then turned to face Hinata. "Hinata! Don't let this idiot trash-talk you! It isn't true!"
Neji sneered. "Yeah? How would you know, dead last?"
Naruto's hands twitched as he tried his best to restrain himself. He only accepted that nickname from Sasuke, and only on very rare occasions did he get let off without some sort of rude retort.
The Hyuuga boy snorted softly to himself before turning back towards Hinata, only to narrow his eyes slightly when he saw fierce determination in her white eyes. He finally shifted into the same starting stance as his cousin.
"I will not be held responsible for anything that may happen in this fight, Hinata-sama."
The native onlookers watched on grimly as Neji pounded Hinata until she was half dead, and even when she continuously got back up after she was knocked down, he spared no mercy.
I cannot show such an unsightly scene...in front of the person that I admire...
The Hyuuga heir panted and struggled to get up once more. Kiba sent a glare at Naruto before gritting his teeth, silently urging Hinata to remember that she can always give up. Both Byakugans were now de-activated.
"I can tell with these eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuuga Family," started Neji, "You cursed your powerlessness, and blamed yourself."
Neji had by now calmed down some, and was now talking somberly, as if he said the words to himself many many times. "But people cannot change. That is destiny. There's no need to suffer. Let yourself go."
But Hinata only shook her head, still panting. "You're wrong, Neji-niisan. Because I can see...that you are suffering more than me."
Her cousin's frown grew deeper. Nani?
"You are the one who is confused and suffering inside from the fate of the head and branch families."
Neji flinched slightly before his white eyes narrowed. He let out a feral growl before charging at the fragile girl, intent on her demise.
"Neji-kun! The match has ended!" Hayate was ignored. This isn't good, he thought, as he ran towards the teen.
In a blur of action and a small amount of airborne dust, Neji was restrained by Hayate, Gai, Kurenai, and Kakashi (though barely, seeing as he had one hand in his pocket and the other holding Neji's right arm).
"Neji, cut it out," said Gai. "You made a passionate promise with me that you will not argue about the Head Family."
Neji only gritted his teeth, ignoring what Gai had just said. "Why did the other jounin come out? Does the Main Family receive special treatment?"
There was a pained gasp as Hinata swayed slightly, the damage on her heart getting to severe. Kurenai let go of Neji and rushed forward.
"Hinata!"
Naruto and Lee sprung off of the railings and hurried towards the injured Hyuuga girl. When they got close enough, both cringed inwardly at the damage Hinata had sustained. Kurenai carefully checked over her injuries, then started to glare at Neji.
"You were aiming to kill from the beginning!"
He smirked. "You should stop glaring at me and use that time more wisely to save her, sensei."
A cough brought her attention back to her student. "N-Naru...to-kun..."
He rushed over and knelt down beside her, looking into her eyes and waiting to see what she needed of him.
"I..." Her mouth moved some more, but no sound was coming out. Her eyes were starting to droop and close from loss of blood.
"Dammit! I can't read lips!"
Akina tilted her head slightly as she smothered the protective instinct from her wolf demon side, urging it to calm down, even though the only human female that she was 'friendly' with was slipping into a coma.
She took out a shuriken and threw it at the area where the medic-nin were located. They jumped before rushing out onto the scene.
"Sumimasen (Sorry)!"
Hinata was put carefully onto the stretcher before she was carried out.
"She tried to say: 'Was I...able to change...a little?' "
Naruto thanked Akina telepathically, sinking into some deep thinking before he was brought out of it be Neji.
"Hey, dropout." Used to being called that, put on a glare and turned his head towards Neji. "Let me warn you about two things. If you're a ninja, stop with the idiotic cheering for a stranger.
And...a dropout will always be a dropout. They cannot change."
The rest of Team Seven watched, interested as to how Naruto will reply to that. It had hit pretty close to home. The glare grew deeper as Neji only smirked at the orange-clad boy. A spike of killer intent was released, and Lee moved to block Naruto just in case he tried anything.
"I understand how you're feeling Naruto-kun, believe me. But you should fight in an official match. A dropout defeating a genius with hard work...wouldn't that match be exciting? But I might be his opponent," he paused, then added, "But I will not hold a grudge if you were to match up with him."
Naruto stared at his Lee for a few more moments before he growled lowly and nodded to show he understood, casting one last look at the archway that Hinata had been rushed through.
Lee turned towards his sensei, grinning and getting into the Good Guy Pose. That was good, right, Gai-sensei? His teeth pinged.
Gai answered by giving him a thumbs up and grinning, blinding Kouseki with the light that had reflected off of his shiny teeth. Lee, that was very nice!
("AAAH! MY EYES!") Her attempt to lighten the mood a bit didn't work, and she sighed in defeat, cursing a certain Hyuuga under her breath.
Naruto leaned down and wiped some of Hinata's blood onto his fingers. He clenched his fist and raised it towards Neji, his face set in a death glare rarely used seriously.
"You're going down."
Neji only smirked.
Hayate coughed to get everyone's attention again, and silently, everyone made their way back up onto the catwalks. Another cough activated the screens.
Lee crossed his arms and turned away from the screen, pouting. Gai looked worried. "What is wrong, my cute student?"
"I no longer want to fight next. If the screen has not picked me yet, why should it pick me now?"
"NO! Do not give up hope, Lee-kun!"
The electronic screen beeped again, and as one, everyone turned to look at it.
'Sabaku no Gaara VS. Rock Lee'
"YOSH!" Lee jumped into the air in triumph, pumping his fists. "I knew that if I said that I did not want to fight next, that it would pick my name! It was simple reverse psychology!"
Gai grinned with his student. "An excellent idea, Lee!"
They hugged, gripping each other tightly.
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
They stopped the disturbing scene and Gai pulled Lee down in a small huddle for some last minute advice.
"Watch out for that gourd..."
He was whispering a tad too loudly, and nearly everyone on that side of the arena leaned in to hear this so called 'advice'. What could he possibly tell Lee that would save him from dying a painful death?
"...there's something freaky about it!"
Some twitched in agitation as Lee nodded, jumping down into the arena, almost bursting with excitement.
By the time ten minutes had passed, Akina had to once again check over the cage in which she had trapped her demonic side, to make sure that it would not escape it's restrains and try to take over.
Lee had lost, but had made a valiant effort and had shown what hard work could do, though only seven people in the room truly knew what had just occurred.
A mortal who could use no chakra whatsoever had fought with a jinchuuriki and fought at the same level for most of the fight. That was truly amazing, considering the circumstances.
After Lee had been taken towards the infirmary, leaving a heartbroken Gai, Dosu and Chouji came down to the arena floor, already knowing that they were to fight each other, since they were the last two examinees.
Even though Asuma had tried to bribe his student to win with a BBQ dinner, Chouji lost, due to the fact that the Oto-nin had used the water in his enlarged body to amplify the sound waves, knocking him out.
The ten genin that had won their matches lined up in front of the Hokage once again, awaiting further instruction.
"To those who have made it to the main matches of the Chuunin Exams Third Exam...there are six Konoha-nin, three Suna-nin, and one Oto-nin. I will now begin the explanation for the main matches.
The main match fights will be shown in front of everyone. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore, the main matches will begin in one month, which is the time in which you can conduct the appropriate preparations.
In other words, we are going to announce to the feudal lords and the head ninja of the individual countries that the preliminary matches had ended. And time is needed to gather those people for the main matches.
This is also preparation time for you candidates. This time is used so you can know your energy and yourself better. It is a time to analyze the information that you have gathered during the preliminary matches.
The battles we had were just like real combat situations. It has been done where both parties knew nothing of each other.
But the main matches will not be like that. There are those that have revealed everything to their rivals. To make things fair, work hard and improve yourselves on your own in the next month.
So, I want to let you guys go, but...there is something important we must do before the main matches.
Grab a piece of paper from the box that Anko is holding."
Anko stepped forward, holding a wooden box with a hole. "Just stand still and keep your trap shut. I'll come to you and let you pick the paper out of the box."
She went down the line of genin, letting them pick a small square of paper. Akina realized what she was doing and made sure to get the highest number so that she would be able to save up her energy for the coming invasion.
"Okay, everyone got one!" yelled out Ibiki, "Now, tell me what number you got, starting from the left."
Dosu: Eight.
Naruto: One.
Sasuke: Four.
Akina: Ten.
Temari: Seven.
Kankurou: Five.
Gaara: Three.
Shikamaru: Nine.
Neji: Two.
Shino: Six.
"We will now tell you the match-ups for the tournament!"
"What?!" All the genin except Akina, Gaara, Neji, and Shino looked slightly shocked. "That's what we drew numbers for?!"
Sarutobi ignored them. "Ibiki, show the match-ups."
"Sir."
The large bear of a man stepped forward and showed them the diagram on his clipboard.
Match One: Uzumaki Naruto VS. Hyuuga Neji
Match Two: Sabaku no Gaara VS. Uchiha Sasuke
Match Three: Sabaku no Kankurou VS. Aburame Shino
Match Four: Sabaku no Temari VS. Dosu Kinuta
Match Five: Nara Shikamaru VS. Takamaru Akina
Naruto tensed slightly and glanced sideways at Neji. "Perfect. I get to kick Neji's ass; and in the first round, too!"
"Sabaku no Gaara..." was all Sasuke thought in reply.
Shikamaru raised his hand. "I have a question." The Sandaime nodded at him to voice it. "If it's a tournament, then that means that there's only one winner, right? Does that mean that only one person becomes a chuunin?"
"No, that's not how it is. These main matches will have judges, including me, Kazekage-dono, as well as the feudal lords and...head ninja from the other countries who will be potential clients. These ninjas will grade you by watching you in the tournament.
And those who are qualified to be chuunin, even if they lose in the first round, will become chuunin.
It's possible for all of you to become chuunin, or none of you. Winning the matches in the tournament means that you are able to show off your skills more.
That is all. We are adjourned until next month. I wish you all the best of luck."
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Down in the arena, Team Seven had gathered, now that the explanation of what the third part of the Chuunin Selection Exams would be was over.
"Okay you guys…since Sasuke is going against Gaara, I'll be training him…"
Naruto immediately scowled. The first thing his sensei had said automatically threw all his hopes of getting trained by the famous ninja out of the window and into the trash. Sasuke spared a glance at the ramen-loving ninja before looking back at their sensei.
"The dobe needs a sensei, too." Naruto is another person that I want to test myself against…he needs to get stronger as well…and Akina…
Kakashi seemed to sense the boy's resentment, and smiled. "Don't worry, I found someone better than me to train you, Naruto…his name is Ebisu, and he specializes in training young ninja."
At the sound of the tokubetsu jounin's name, Naruto had cringed. Through the mind seal, he accidentally sent images of his last meeting with the shinobi into the minds of his teammates. Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow, and Akina shook her head slightly. Naruto growled and pointed an accusing finger at Kakashi, who looked amused at the kids' expressions.
"Why would you give me a trainer that is weaker than me?! That guy's a total closet pervert!"
Kakashi blinked once. "Closet pervert…?"
The image of Naruto in his Sexy no jutsu form appeared in their minds, and Sasuke had to turn his head away to hide the tiny blush that had appeared on his face. Akina's mouth twitched into a slight frown, and she reached out to his cheek and pinched it, pulling slightly.
"Naruto…" she said warningly. He finally realized what he was doing and stopped, scratching the back of his neck, chuckling a little.
"Ahaha…sorry." She let go of his face, leaving a small red mark where she had squeezed it. Sasuke looked back, having gotten over his slight embarrassment.
"Out of the three of you, Naruto, you need the most work on your fundamentals and chakra control."
Akina scanned over the images she had gotten from Naruto, and recognized the look on Ebisu's face. Her hands twitched into certain positions.
Ebisu is like the villagers.
With that, Akina turned around and started walking out of the arena with Kouseki. The boys sent questioning looks at her, and she just shook her head slightly.
"I will train on my own."
Both females disappeared, and the rest of Team Seven to walk out of the Tower, already used to the way Akina liked to disappear to be by herself every once in a while.
Naruto scowled and looked, disappointed at the ground. "Fine…but it doesn't mean I'll like it…"
Once they reached outside, they found a large tiger waiting for them as their escort. It growled lowly before turning around and facing the forest, ready to guide them safely through his domain.
Kakashi stopped walking. "Sasuke, pack enough clothes for a week of training and meet me at the Eastern gate."
He nodded a good-bye and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the boys to walk the whole ten miles out of the Forest of Death.
"Well at least Akina left us with someone to keep us company, right Sasuke-teme?"
"Hn."
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Akina arrived inside Enkou-sensei's classroom, dressed in her Anbu uniform and her trainee mask. Kyou was sitting atop her head, and both greeted Kenshiki with a nod. Together they walked to the front of the classroom, ready to receive their assignment from the strict Anbu agent.
The Bird-masked ninja grunted and waved them off, as if he didn't even want to see them. They paid no heed to it, already used to his behavior and not at all deterred by it.
"You guys are on patrol duty under the command of another Anbu."
They saluted, about-faced, and walked out of the classroom. Once the door closed, Kenshiki sighed and scratched his brown hair.
"And so begins the most boring assignment ever…"
They stopped before a cloud of ninja smoke appeared in front of them. A cat-masked Anbu with long purple hair was crouched in front of them. She stood up, easily towering over the short girl. Uzuki Yugao tilted her head slightly at the small Anbu, vaguely reminded of a certain short Anbu from 5 years ago, before he became a nuke-nin.
She nodded at the two. "Follow me. I'm the one in charge of you."
Kyou stared at the cat mask for a moment before mewing at her. The two trainees bowed once at their senpai, and followed her through the maze of hallways. She stopped at one of the many hidden equipment rooms and picked up swords and a few mobile earphones so that they could speak to each other over large distances.
She wordlessly gave them what they needed. "Go to the Eastern Gate's Anbu entrance." The need to stay hidden didn't have to be ordered. With so many foreigners in town, they had to be careful not to show any suspicious behavior.
Akina slipped the katana into position on her back and put the microphone into her left ear. She could still feel Kenshiki's anguish over doing such a boring mission. He sighed in defeat before disappearing with Konoha Shunshin. Kyou took her place on the Takamaru's head.
Shunshin no jutsu.
The small brunette appeared behind her Anbu friend in a puff of smoke, now standing in one of several hidden gates known only to the Anbu Black Ops ninja. She cut off her mind seal's connection to the boys so that Sasuke wouldn't be able to sense her through it. After all, he was to meet Kakashi here.
The purple haired Anbu nodded at them and silently pointed to the areas that each of them would watch over for the next six mind-numbing hours.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Naruto and Ebisu stood stock-still, staring blankly at each other. They were standing in front of the entrance to one of the local hot springs, and Naruto was suspicious. After all, Ebisu was a closet pervert.
Ebisu coughed slightly into his hand. "Why won't you go in?"
Naruto's right eye twitched and the tokubetsu jounin slapped a hand over his mouth before the boy could say anything.
"Insolent brat!" he hissed into his ear, pulling them both into a nearby alley, "I know what you're thinking of! Do not speak of that! I will give you anything! Ramen…money…anything!"
Naruto narrowed his cerulean eyes a little before wiping all emotion from his face. He ran the words 'I will give you anything!' through his head. The possibilities…!
Ebisu shifted uncomfortably at Naruto's expressionless face, instantly starting to regret his words. What is that boy thinking of…?
"All right Ebisu…I'll take you up on that offer after today's training…"
With that, the jinchuuriki allowed the jounin to lead him into the men's hot springs. They stopped by the edge of one of the larger bodies of water.
"Now…I've been told by Kakashi that you are lagging behind your teammates in chakra control, so today we're going to be working on that…by walking on water."
A sudden image of Zabuza walking on water floated into his mind, and he nodded a bit, grinning now that he was going to learn such a cool trick.
"The method of walking on water is similar to walking up trees. But, instead of coating your feet with a certain amount of chakra, you must continuously expel chakra from your feet, making sure to count in other variables such as the depth of the water and your weight."
Ebisu put his hands in the ram seal, and the blue chakra circled around his feet for a bit before he walked out into the middle of the hot spring. Naruto's eyes stayed glued to his feet, and the water beneath them.
He formed the ram seal, sending the same amount of chakra he used to climb trees into his feet, before nodding firmly to himself and putting one foot onto the water.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Six hours later, Akina, Kenshiki, and Kyoukoumune were let go by Yugao. After he was sure she was gone (she had mysteriously disappeared), Kenshiki let out a relieved sigh and stretched his aching muscles, which were sore from staying in certain positions for long periods of time.
"Aaaah…! That's better. Hey, Gaia…," he called Akina's codename, as they disappeared and reappeared inside the Anbu Training Center, "What else do you think they'll have us trainees do? I'm getting tired of patrol duty…"
Akina remained silent, simply shrugging in response as they entered Enkou's classroom, informing him that they have finished their mission. The hawk-masked Anbu grumbled under his mask for a bit before nodding at them.
"You are dismissed. Report back at the usual time. 55—stay here."
Kenshiki saluted at their sensei, and before he exited the classroom, Akina could have sworn she sensed some amusement in his aura at the fact that she had to do something else. She stood at attention, awaiting orders, just how Enkou liked his students—quiet and obedient.
"Hokage-sama wants you in his office."
"Hai."
She saluted again before disappearing in a puff of smoke. In Sarutobi's office (which was empty of towering stacks of paperwork, for once), she bowed to the old Hokage, who offered her a brief smile.
"How was patrol duty, Akina-chan?"
She let the little puma cub answer the question. The kitten sighed, itching to be released back to the mountains to rejoin her family. Working with the Guardian was fun, sure, but after six hours of watching nothing happen, any normal child, human or beast, would get bored.
Sarutobi chuckled, then eased into a stern face, getting down to business.
"Akina-chan. I trust that you have heard of the rumors concerning the Shishou no Ryuuki?"
She nodded once, her face giving no reaction, though even if she did, he wouldn't have seen it behind her Anbu Trainee mask.
"I have a mission for her." He rummaged through his desk drawers, taking out a small scroll with black borderlines. He handed it to Akina. Before opening it, the girl tilted her head at her superior after being told what color it was. Scrolls with this color on them were S-Class missions, reserved only for Anbu and Kages. Akina was only a trainee.
"Read it," was the only explanation she got. She nodded, breaking the seal and unrolling it. The imprints that the ink made were scanned over, and she understood what he wanted. The scroll was rolled back together and tucked into her ninja pouch before she saluted, accepting the mission.
The Sandaime Hokage let out a relieved sigh, now that part of his plan was initiated. Now, it was all up to fate.
"Arigatou."
The young girl heard how stressed he was and nodded, taking off her mask while keeping her eyes closed. She gave him a brief little smile before the porcelain mask was replaced, and she disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Sarutobi blinked at the small (and rare) sign of affection she gave him, and then chuckled under his breath.
"So she does care…"
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
After Akina dropped off the tired kitten, she had changed back into her regular clothes and dropped off a note the house that the Team Seven genin shared, telling whoever read it that she's 'around'. And just to make sure that no one starved or anything, she left some money on the counter.
She started strolling through the Konoha streets, ignoring any hateful or fearful auras as the hidden village's citizens hurried home from work. It was a little past sunset now.
The S-Class mission scroll was safe inside her ninja pouch, positioned on her waist, so that no one could take a peak. This mission that he was entrusting to 'Ryuuki' was important for the future of Konoha, and, to tell the truth, Akina felt honored that he would give her such an assignment.
She understood why he said that it was for the Shishou no Ryuuki. This 'rogue Anbu' can be anywhere because no one knows which country he or she was loyal to. This meant that he or she had more freedom than any of Konoha's ninja.
Because of the attack of the Sound village that was just over the horizon, Sarutobi probably felt that he needed to plan for the future.
Perverted chuckling reached her sensitive ears, as well as a loud splash, followed by a yell of frustration. She would recognize that voice anywhere. Akina double-checked that her chakra signature and aura were hidden before jumping up into the trees, headings towards the source of the noise.
She found Naruto fighting with his own Kage Bunshin…on top of a moving river. On the shore, sitting on a chair under an umbrella, was none other than the Toad Sannin, Jiraiya. The white-haired shinobi had noticed her there right away, and kept an eye on what she was doing.
The real Naruto finally defeated his clones, panting slightly. It looked like he had been doing this for a long time. Akina decided that now would be a good as time as any to reconnect to her teammates, since she had been blocking their link to her mind up until now. Naruto's blond head snapped up towards the tree she was sitting him, causing Jiraiya to raise an eyebrow at how he was able to sense the girl.
"Akina-chan?" She jumped out of the tree, landing a few feet away from Jiraiya. Naruto grinned and walked off of the water.
"What are you doing here?"
"I need to tell you something…" at this point she turned towards the legendary shinobi and bowed once. "Good evening, Jiraiya-sama."
The toad summoner grinned. "Ha! There we go! Finally, someone shows me the respect I deserve!" He looked pointedly at Naruto, who grinned at Jiraiya and shook his head at his request for another nickname.
"Sorry, no can do ero-sennin!"
"Don't call me ero-sennin! It's gama-sennin! I summon toads!" he snapped, glaring irritably at the fox container. The boy closed his eyes, smiling and shrugging, before turning back towards his female teammate.
"So…what'd you have to tell me?"
"I might be disappearing from time to time, but I'll leave a note on our kitchen table telling you how long I'll be gone."
Naruto opened his eyes and frowned for a bit before nodding. "Fine fine…"
Jiraiya butted in at this point, grinning at them both. " 'Our kitchen table'?"
The jinchuuriki picked up on what Jiraiya was implying and scowled slightly at the perverted Sannin. "ERO-SENNIN! Kakashi-sensei just made our team live in the same house as a 'teamwork exercise' ," he made air quotes with his fingers as he said "teamwork exercise", "and Akina-chan is the one in charge of cooking breakfast."
"Oh? So your sensei is the brat, huh?"
Naruto immediately started snickering at the way Jiraiya referred to their lazy sensei. Akina took the chance to bow once more to Jiraiya before leaving the two. She mentally checked over where each of her teammates were, sensing that Sasuke was in the mountain range. There was some stress and determination leaking through the seal, so she assumed that Kakashi had already put him to work, training.
And now…I must leave the village.
She arrived home and sealed her supplies into a scroll. She used her air manipulation to write a note downstairs on a piece of paper, stating that she would be gone for a week, putting it on the kitchen table like she said she would.
Akina took out the scroll that contained her Anbu equipment, tucking it into her ninja pouch on top of her mission scroll before using Shunshin no jutsu to reappear in the cave where Konoha's Council of Beasts met. Almost immediately, she was greeted by the extremely formal Hiroki, Hiromi's brother.
("Good evening, young hatchling. What brings you here to the Cave?")
The small brunette bowed politely to the hawk. Hiroki was like Aburame Shino. If you are polite and abide by the rules, then you'll get along fine.
"I must leave the village for about a week. I need a small companion from the Hebi clan, preferably one that can use poison."
He blinked. ("There has been much talk of the Chuunin Exams. You get one month to prepare, correct?")
"Hai."
Hiroki did not pry into their Guardian's business, flying off to the snake's clan head's favorite tree in the Forest of Death. There was a loud yawn from one of the bushes, out from which Kouseki emerged, still slightly groggy from her nap.
("Where the hell are you going for a week?")
Akina reactivated the connection between their minds, making sure to cut herself off from Naruto and Sasuke.
"Hokage-sama has a mission for Ryuuki. It's an S-Class mission."
The great wolf pondered on this for a while before sighing. ("Just watch out for the hebi-teme and the gaki's ass of an aniki.")
"Hai."
Hiroki screeched, informing the two demons in disguise that he was back. Both could smell a small snake riding on his back. It was male. The brown hawk gently descended, keeping in mind that the creature on his feathered back was not used to flying. He landed on top of Kouseki's head, wishing to keep at least a few feet in the air at all times. A small, forest green head peaked over the bird's head, staring at Akina for a minute.
("You're sssssstill a little hatching…and yet you're already fighting like an adult.") he nodded in satisfaction at the one he was to accompany for the next week. Kouseki squinted at the snake before pouting a little.
("Oi, hebi, what color are you?")
The snake let out a series of high and low pitched hissing, the snake's form of laughing. ("That'ssss right. You dogsss are color-blind…") he paused to let the insult sink in before continuing when he saw that Kouseki didn't give a damn, ("I'm dark green, like the foressstssss.")
Kouseki grinned. ("Just checking. You hebi tend to be blindingly bright when you're poisonous.") The snake laughed again at the not so hidden insult before climbing onto Akina's outstretched arm, moving upwards to coil around her neck. She disappeared for a minute before coming back into the clearing, fully clothed in her Anbu uniform, with the dragon mask and black cloak on.
Akina bowed to Hiroki, resting her hand on Kouseki's back for a few seconds before took off at a sprint deeper into the forest, where eventually she reached the Konoha borders and crossed it, sneaking around the guards.
She kept up the pace for a while, making a connection with the mind of the snake curled around her neck.
("Where are we headed? All Hebi-sssssama ssssaid wasss that you had to leave our territory for a week.")
Akina stayed silent for a moment, assessing the snake's aura to see if he was trustworthy enough to keep secrets. The snake stayed quiet, letting the demon do what she wanted. He had nothing to hide.
"I am the Shishou no Ryuuki. My long-term mission is to work on her reputation and keep it high in preparation for our village's future."
The snake let out laugh inside her mind. ("You do realize that no one knowsss if Ryuuki is a chick or not, right?")
No, I didn't…I'm not that connected to the rumor mill yet… Akina kept her thoughts to herself, sensing that it was more of a rhetorical question than anything.
For some odd reason she felt that Zabuza, who was one of the only possible two who could spread the rumor, didn't tell anyone that she was female for kicks. He seemed like that kind of person. Either way she appreciated it. It would help if no one knew she was only a little girl.
Silence reigned for one more hour, and night started to descend upon the lands, enveloping everything in a dark blanket. Fortunately for Akina (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), she was blind, and the inkiness didn't affect her all. Also, the snake currently riding on her person was neither diurnal nor nocturnal, meaning that it slept whenever it felt like it.
When Akina felt that they were at a good enough distance away from the hidden village, she stopped in the branch of a tree, sitting down. She allowed the snake to slither off of her body, to go hunt, while she took out the bingo book that was given to all Anbu trainees, jounin, Anbu, and the like. Chuunin were allowed to keep one, but rarely ever paid attention to it for some strange reason.
She flipped through the book, going at a quick pace so that their faces would be at the top of her memory. Once the book was looked through once, Akina went ahead and spread out her senses to their limits, taking in everything that was happening in a 40 mile radius.
Her traveling companion was currently staking out a mouse that was getting a drink. A couple dozen miles away, a group of traveling merchants was setting up camp for the night. Her thoughts traveled the list that was included inside her S-Class mission scroll. After the instructions, Sarutobi had listed all of the underworld bosses and their organizations, along with any information that she would need.
Up at the top of the list was the name: Akatsuki.
Hmm. So that's where his aniki went… She mentally scanned over the list again, picking one that seemed to have a big enough reputation. If she wanted to make a name for Ryuuki, she felt like she had to start off with a bang. She automatically crossed Akatsuki off of her mental list. This went on for a few seconds before she decided.
Setting Sun. A group that's famous for its slave-trading and rank in the black market for illegal items…it seems that they've had some connections with Gatou. I should go check out his old headquarters for more information… The snake came back, his belly full of mouse. He made his way back up to Akina's neck, resting after his large meal.
"We're heading for Nami. Do you mind the cold?"
("Nah.") He seemed much more content now. Akina put away the bingo book, feeling that she was rested enough. Now that her demon blood was becoming more and more active, she could go longer without meals and rest.
Along the way, she passed by a couple middle-ranking nuke-nin.
"—go back to HQ and report this…someone got to the prize before us…"
She filed away their scents into her mind, saving this information for later. It might be useful. Around five hours later, after crossing the small expanse of water, Akina announced to her 'passenger' that they had arrived inside the country borders. The snake woke up, having taken a nap at the smooth pace she had set, and nodded silently, opening his orange eyes to observe their surroundings as they went deeper into the country.
Akina arrived at the bridge and shunshined across it, reappearing deep inside the forest near the clearing she had trained in a couple months before. She blurred towards the honeycomb shaped base, finding that it was still intact and relatively untouched. It was now lifeless.
She jumped and landed vertically on the outside of a fourth floor window, using her wind manipulation to open it from the inside. The window shut itself silently, and Akina scanned the entire building, almost immediately finding Gatou's old office at the heart, naturally. She went inside, easily avoiding any detection devices set up. I'm surprised that no one has come and raided the place.
She waved her hand, opening all the drawers and cabinets. Wind blew gently throughout the room, aiding Akina in reading and sifting through the documents. The snake raised his head and looked at one of the papers in view.
("Oi, look at that. That's a ssssssshit load of casssssh, right there.") The paper he was referring to flew to Akina's hand, and she quickly gathered up all similar documents. She knew what she could do with them.
She spent the next hour inside the room, going through all of his papers. Akina nodded in satisfaction once she was done, feeling she had more than enough information concerning all the organizations that Gatou had associated himself with. She sealed all of the papers she could use in one of her spare scrolls before exiting.
Akina erased any traces of her being here, leaving the building. She would burn it down when she felt it was the right time. She backtracked, going back to the place where she found those nuke-nin. She dropped onto ground, tilting her head this way and that to sort out their individual scents from others that had gone this way. Found them.
Akina took off at a quick pace, wanting to at least find the general area that they were hiding in. If she found their headquarters, that'd be even better. The snake wrapped around her neck shook off the dew that had gathered on his scales. Akina put a hand on his cold body, bringing up his temperature to a suitable height.
("Arigatou…")
Soon they arrived in a reclusive town, located near the edge of Ka no kuni, keeping well out of its boundaries. Their scents have been residing here, and there were no trails leading out of the city. There were still a few hours left before sunrise.
A nearby mouse caught Akina's attention, and he agreed to do her bidding when she asked if he could sneak into one of the bars (which were still open, believe it or not) to get information.
("These in between periodsssss are pretty boring…when doesss the killing sssssstart?")
Akina sighed inwardly. Are all lethal animals bloodthirsty? "Later; have patience."
The mouse came back and recited as much gossip as he could remember, and Akina thanked him and left. The nuke-nin were leaving. She kept five miles between them both at all times.
("We'll be killing ssssssoon, right…?") asked the snake, hopeful for some violence.
Akina didn't bother to answer.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
A day later, Akina found herself a couple miles away from one of the Setting Sun's four bases. It was located in a strategic position with a mountain range guarding three of its sides. This one was also known as the base where their weapons were held.
It was called the Flare base, for obvious reasons.
There were no slaves or prisoners here because of the risk of them escaping and using their own weapons against them. That meant that she didn't have to worry about killing innocents.
("Killing…now?")
"Hai."
She strengthened her connection to the elements around her, and found something quite interesting inside the mountains almost completely surrounding the base. Hmm.
There were certain elements inside the rock that she could use to her advantage. She inwardly smirked as she moved them towards the middle of the base, underground.
Akina dropped to the ground from the tree she was hidden in, putting her hands to the earth and gaining control over the earth as well as tapping into her natural fire attributes. Underneath the base, she gathered the elements and set it on fire using her flames.
The reaction was almost instantaneous.
In a colossal explosion, the base self-destructed on itself, creating a large mushroom cloud of flaming gases. Akina quickly manipulated the fire in the air to take the shape of a dragon, making it come crashing back down on the base so that the fires didn't spread. A full minute later, the fire died out, revealing a large scorched crater where the base had been, full of soot.
The snake perched on her shoulders recovered from his initial shock at seeing such destruction before hissing a little. ("You need a calling card, so that everyone will know that it wassssss you.")
Akina pondered on this for a few seconds before nodding to herself. She gathered up all the soot into the middle of the crater, molding it into a distinct shape and hardening it. Her companion nodded, now satisfied.
Sitting in the middle of the gigantic hole was a black dragon the size of a horse that looked like it had been delicately carved from black volcanic rock. In the middle of its forehead was a shape that was currently located on her mask—an outline of a crescent moon.
Her attention went to something else in the crater however. For one thing, it had apparently survived the initial explosion, as well as the inferno that occurred afterwards. It was an old looking sword that looked like it was just about to crumble into dust.
That wasn't the thing that had attracted her attention, though. It was the fact that it was emitting a curious aura.
She walked over and bent down to pick it up, but immediately let go when it sent a jolt of electricity through her body. The snake hissed, having been shocked as well. Akina carefully picked up the snake and put him on the ground before bending down and taking the handle of the sword in both of her hands.
The same course of lightning came, but this time she was ready for it. Akina absorbed the energy of the electricity, shunting any that she couldn't handle into the ground. After a few seconds, the lightning doubled in power for another couple seconds before dissipating. She felt the sword eat up a little of her chakra before its aura disappeared, going dormant.
The snake hissed at the sword as Akina picked it up by its white handle, quickly locating its matching sheath, which had a strange symbol painted on the side. She slipped it into place under the strap that held her ninja pouch around her waist, by her left hip.
I'll ask Kouseki about it later.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
The snake and girl watched (both in their own ways) as the last prisoner headed home after years of captivity in the second base that Akina had targeted, the Blaze.
The mouse that she had sent inside the bar had given her the location of the Setting Sun's other bases, or at least a vague idea of where they are. This second one was located on the northern edge of the Fire country. The other bases were in the south, west, and finally, the east, which she had already demolished.
Akina had come in and killed all members of the Setting Sun, letting one of the prisoners catch a glimpse of her mask (but not her body, just to be safe), before moving out of the base and creating a dragon made out of earth to manipulate into free everyone.
This western style dragon also had the trademark crescent moon on its forehead. The prisoner that had seen Ryuuki's mask recognized the symbol and told them that it was the same as the one on the mask of their savior. This had calmed the others down (it wasn't exactly common to see a dragon made of earth walking around like it was alive).
One of the ladies in the group had stared at the dragon for some time before asking "Are you one of Shishou no Ryuuki's dragons?"
Akina, who had been a quarter of a mile away and using her wind manipulation to hear everything they said, was not too surprised by this question.
Slave was a general term. This young lady just so happened to be a sex slave, who belonged to the commander of the base, no doubt. She must have heard rumors. So, seeing a benefit in answering, the young kunoichi made the dragon nod.
And now, ten minutes later, no humans were within a thirty mile radius of the base (Akina had transported all the prisoners on a dragon made of wind closer to the nearest town).
("Desssstroy the damned thing already!")
Since she had started meditating, she could manipulate the elements much better, and had the energy to destroy this base. She put her hands in the ram seal, channeling some chakra into the ground. It rumbled slightly before the earth starting shifting.
The jaws of a dragon appeared around the base, completely surrounding it. In one swift motion, it closed its mouth with an audible crunch, before sinking back into the earth, bringing the remains of the base with it.
Any important items were safely sealed away inside the scroll containing Gatou's papers. In the middle of the clearing where the base used to be located, a snarling statue of a dragon made out of the hardest stone she could find in the area was made, the customary crescent on its forehead.
Akina panted slightly and rubbed at the small headache that had formed. Earth was the hardest element for her to manipulate, since she was more attributed to air. For the bigger things, like what she just did, she needed to use chakra.
The snake coiled around her neck hissed in pleasure. ("That'sss two bassssesssss in lesssss than 24 hourssss! What'sssss next?")
"Back to Nami—I need to do something."
She started running towards Nami at a slower pace than usual (though she was basically invisible to most shinobi, at the speed she was going—speed had always been one of her good areas, because of her smaller body), and reaching Nami about seven hours later.
Akina hid herself in the forest near the beginning of the bridge leading to the island country, far away from the road. She took out the scroll and summoned the papers she found in Gatou's old headquarters, or more specifically, all the deeds to their lands as well as a scroll containing an eight of his valuables, which was still worth a pretty penny.
If the snake had eyebrows, he would have raised them; questioning just what the hell she was going to do with all that money.
She sealed the deeds into the scroll and moved to the edge of the water, using the thick mist as cover. The scroll was dropped into the water, where it was picked up by a dragon made out of water, about twice as big as Kouseki was.
The dragon held the scroll carefully in its jaws, which were lined with jagged ice shaped like teeth. The claws had the same ice-like quality, and the snake noticed with amusement that a crescent moon made out of ice was in the middle of its forehead.
As the mist started moving around, the kunoichi quickly moved back into the forest, using long-ranged elemental manipulation to deliver the scroll, as well as keeping it dry.
Back in the Wave village, Tazuna was walking through the streets, grinning as he was greeted energetically by the people that used to be so unhappy just a few months ago. The streets were already free of garbage, and the houses were all in the process of being rebuilt.
A scream echoed, attracting his attention. A young man came running towards Tazuna, looking panicked.
"Tazuna! Tazuna! There's a water dragon by the pier! What do we do?!"
The old man gritted his teeth, inwardly thinking that he was getting too old for this kind of stuff. "Did it do any damage?"
The other man frowned and scratched the side of his head. "Ah, no. It's just floating there. We spotted something in its mouth, though…"
This sounded familiar to Tazuna for some strange reason. Dragon…dragon…dragon…hmm…oh. He slapped his hand on his forehead, groaning slightly. The villager who had told him the news blinked and sweat dropped.
"Tazuna…?"
Tazuna sighed. "It's not an attack. Remember that masked ninja that I told you about? The Shishou no Ryuuki? Yeah…the dragon is probably his."
The man stared blankly at him for a second before the statement actually sunk in, causing him to gape.
"KAMI-SAMA! THE SHISHOU NO RYUUKI IS HERE?!"
There were some gasps, and all activity on the street stopped. The other villagers were staring at them. The bridge builder sighed wearily before nodding. "Yeah."
As one, everyone headed over to the pier, where, just like the man had said, a water dragon was waiting, right in the middle.
Inari was there as well, and was staring and gaping at it, awed by the "spirit". It was an eastern style dragon, and looked much like the Suiryuudan no jutsu (Water Dragon Blast technique), except the water that this one was made of was not constantly moving. It was still, creating a few small rainbows as the sun shone through its body.
The dragon seemed to have been waiting for Tazuna, because when he arrived it looked at him and headed in his direction. As it got closer, the people crowding around the pier could see the individual scales and details of this dragon.
Inari was ecstatic that he was in the front row, next to Tazuna, who had been let through the crowd.
Eventually it was a few feet in front of Tazuna, and he stared wide-eyed at the dragon. Up close, it looked a little intimidating, yet beautiful, what with the effect the sun was having on its body. It leaned over until its snout was in front of Tazuna, and he got the message, holding out his hands to accept the scroll that was dropped from its icy jaws.
The dragon lifted its head back up, not leaving just yet. While Tazuna studied the scroll he had been given, Inari had stepped up and reached out with his hand, as if to pet it. Many miles away, in the forest, Akina was a little amused at his reverent expression.
It lowered its watery body, allowing Inari to put a hand on its snout. Inari scrunched up his face slightly when his hand felt cooler, like it was underwater, so he took his hand back. He blinked as he realized that his hand wasn't wet.
"What am I supposed to do with this?!"
The boy looked back at his grandfather, who was staring frustratingly at the scroll. He grinned slyly as he realized that he knew something that the elder did not.
"That's a summoning scroll. You have to put blood and chakra on the writing to summon whatever's inside, ojii-san! How could you not know this?!"
Tazuna scowled lightly at the kid. "Well, I'm not the one that's been obsessed with being a ninja!"
It was true. Since Team Seven had left, Inari had thrown himself into learning how to be just like them.
Inari snatched the scroll from the old man's hands, setting it down and opening it to reveal a seal. He hesitated a little before biting his thumb and wiping the blood across the seal. Nothing happened, and Inari acquired a disappointed face.
There was just one problem with him being a ninja…he didn't know how to use chakra. Akina seemed to know this, because she made the dragon move forward again, putting its paw on top of Inari's hand.
"Wha…?"
A small bit of Akina's chakra made its way through the dragon and into Inari's hand. His eyes widened at the feeling of chakra flowing through his veins. He was frozen for a few moments in sheer wonder before he felt a slight pressure on his hand. The dragon wanted him to finish the job.
"Oh…sorry."
The chakra was forced into the scroll, and in a puff of smoke, a small stack of papers, as well as a large amount of gold bars and other expensive trinkets appeared on top of the unrolled scroll.
Finished with the job, the dragon took its claws off of Inari's hand and started moving away, back into the water. The ice crescent shined in the sunlight, reminding them once again just who was helping them.
It wasn't the dragon. It was the Shishou no Ryuuki.
"Matte!"
It stopped, turning its head back to look questionably at Tazuna. It was halfway out of the pier already.
"Tell your master…arigatou, for everything."
It nodded before descending into the water.
Back in the forest, Akina let out a silent sigh as she released control over the water. Your welcome, Tazuna…
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Akina returned to Konoha after a long week of assassinations, rescuing innocents, and the like. She passed by the guard to the forest, like before, and used Shunshin no jutsu to get to the Council's Cave after she was a good distance away from everyone.
Kouseki was the first to greet her, wearing a face-splitting grin. ("OI! AKINA-CHAN! We all heard about what you did! That's a nice touch, you know, the dragon statues.")
The snake slithered off of Akina, now tired after traveling with her. Hiroki was there again to bring him back to his home in Area 44. Before he got on the hawk, he looked back at Akina.
("My name…my name is Kuroi.")
The wolf watched as the two left, then turned back to Akina to find that she had already changed back into her regular clothing, with everything put away. She nodded before howling for a messenger bird. Another brown hawk came swooping into the cave, screeching happily.
("AKI-CHAAAAAN!") You can pretty much guess who it was.
Hiromi spiraled towards the girl, barely controlling her descent in her haste. She managed to stop in time and allowed herself to circle around the girl's head in glee. Kouseki grumbled at the hyper activeness of the bird before barking to get her attention.
("Yeah…?")
Kouseki grunted, padding towards the exit with Akina and Hiromi in tow. ("Get this message to everyone that knows Akina is Ryuuki: DO NOT TALK ABOUT OR MENTION RYUUKI'S TRUE IDENTITY.")
The bird baffled the wolf by actually doing a salute in midair before darting off into the skies as they all exited the cave. The older demon noticed that her itoko needed some rest, so she lead them both home.
She laughed loudly once they turned the corner onto their street, hearing Sasuke and Naruto yelling at each other…again. On the other hand, Akina was a little pleased to hear the familiar arguing after a week of being gone.
"We're NOT having ramen for dinner again!"
"Why not?! It's the most delicious thing in the world!"
"We've had it for dinner for the past five days! Give it a rest already!"
"MAKE ME!"
All activity in the house halted as Akina unlocked the door with her keys and went inside, taking off her shoes.
Naruto's blond head popped around the corner, peaking into the hallway to find Akina in front of the door, looking dirty and tired. Sasuke shoved Naruto's head lower so that he could take a look at her from the kitchen, too. The boys got out of the kitchen.
Naruto ran towards Akina and hugged her tightly, letting go quickly since he knew how she felt about physical contact like that. He looked over her closely, now that he was right in front of her, remembering something.
"Neh…either you kept us closed off from your mind to surprise us with your visit or you were too tired to remember to reconnect to us. I'm guessing the second."
Kouseki nudged Akina's head from behind, easily reaching it, since she was about the size of a small horse. ("She's tired. Try not to wear her out with your jabbering, okay baka-chan?")
He pouted at the request and nickname before nodding grudgingly. Blue eyes looked at the girl before he brightened up, smiling. "Why don't we go out to eat?"
Sasuke grunted at this point. "She needs to shower first, dobe."
The other boy scowled. "I know! I was just making a suggestion! Weren't you the one who was complaining about not eating my beloved ramen?"
The Uchiha resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah, but when we go out you'll probably make us go to Ichiraku for…what was it? Ramen."
Akina left the boys to their bantering in favor of getting the smell of dirt and sweat off of her body. Kouseki followed, after snatching her ninja pouch off of her waist. The wolf went right to the girl's dark green colored room while Akina showered.
("So…the Setting Sun, eh? You sure know how to get the Elemental Country's attention. They have connections with other groups in every country. Make sure to get some information when you attack the Inferno base.")
"Hai. I found a sword in their armory…I want to show you it when the others aren't around."
Kouseki dropped the ninja pouch onto the black colored bed and attempted to open the zipper with her mouth, having no hands in this form. She let out a victorious bark when she managed to hook the zipper onto one of her smaller teeth. Score!
She put a heavy paw on the pouch and pulled the zipper, satisfied to hear the zippp as it opened.
"Kouseki-chan? What are you doing?" Naruto was staring from the hallway. She had forgotten that she left the door open in her haste to get inside the pouch.
("I wanted to see if she brought me anything!") Buahaha. That's the perfect excuse.
Naruto closed his eyes and tilted his head, reminding Kouseki yet again how much he acted like the fox sealed inside of him. "I don't think Akina-chan would like it if you went through her stuff."
Kouseki scoffed. ("She won't mind if I do it, though. I practically raised her…not that she needed someone to, of course.")
He grinned before he noticed that Akina was standing behind him, all clean with her hair already drying out. "Err…hi Akina-chan! I was just…er…leaving."
He made his escape and got himself ready to go out to eat. Sasuke saw the dreamy look on his face, immediately saying "No ramen."
Akina took her ninja pouch out from underneath Kouseki's paw and strapped it back onto her waist. Kouseki pouted.
"Later."
She walked downstairs, nodding towards her teammates as they exited the house and started walking into the main part of the village, since their house was located in a less crowded area. Naruto put his hands on the back of his head as he walked backwards, looking at his teammates.
"What do you guys want to eat? Since someone won't let me have my ramen…" he pouted at Sasuke, who just raised an eyebrow, as if to say 'Did you expect me to eat ramen with every meal like you?'
"Something spicy…" suggested Akina. Kouseki had mentioned in a passing comment to her that dragons tended to have a liking for spicy foods. She must have inherited it from her mother.
"Nothing sweet."
"And Kouseki would probably want meat…gah! Let's just get sushi. That way, Akina-chan can dump wasabi and shichimi on her food and we can let Sasuke-teme avoid sugary stuff like the plague." Naruto grinned and led the way to one of the popular, yet affordable sushi restaurants (he made sure that it was one of the few that actually let him eat there).
In the back corner of the restaurant was Kakashi, sitting with a few other jounin, including the senseis and Anko.
Sasuke and Akina forcibly dragged their more hyperactive team mate down into his seat, but they both had no doubt in their minds that the silver haired jounin had noticed them anyways.
They quietly ordered their dinner, and being the ninjas they were, couldn't help but overhear the other group's conversation, since Akina's soft talking had forced their sense of hearing to heighten.
"--Ryuuki striked the Flare base a while ago, along with that one other base of theirs. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't have so much trust in the guy who told me. Both of the bases just disappeared practically overnight..." mumbled Genma, as he chewed on his senbon.
There were a couple worried murmurs from the other shinobi. Kakashi turned the page of his Icha Icha Paradise book, earning him glares from Kurenai and Anko.
The waiter who served them came over and carefully placed their food on their table. Naruto immediately bit into his sushi, while Akina grabbed for the wasabi, putting some on her food. Both boys now took the time to watch as she ate the food with no problem at all with what should have made her breath fire from the heat.
"How do you do that?!"
The girl tilted her head, continuing to eat. She shrugged, not bothering to answer the question. She had gained some looks from the surrounding people, but after a couple quick death glares from the boys, they returned to their meals, minding their own business.
After a few minutes of eating, Sasuke finished and noticed the low-volume conversation that their superiors were having. Naruto side-glanced, but otherwise kept on eating, giving them an excuse to stay.
"--shouldn't he be caught and questioned? Shishou no Ryuuki is a vigilante that is doing things with no limitations like rules. What if he turns on us next?"
"I don't think that'll be a problem, Kurenai. Have you noticed what this guy has been doing? He's getting rid of all those mafias and illegal trading. If anything, he'll help us..." said Kakashi, finally joining the conversation.
Gai grinned reassuringly at the red-eyed rookie jounin. "YOSH! SHISHOU NO RYUUKI TRULY HAS THE FLAMES OF YOUTH!"
Kakashi inwardly cringed at the high volume (the others had deemed it amusing if they made the two rivals sit next to each other), then paid attention to Akina's reaction to the Green Beast's outburst. Her right hand twitched slightly, and he realized that this was the hand used to draw an Anbu sword.
The jounin at their table (Kurenai, Anko, Genma, Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma) all fell into a thoughtful silence, contemplating Kakashi's statement.
The question was: How would they contact the Shishou no Ryuuki to help them in the coming battle?
"Sandaime-sama would have thought of this already, since Ryuuki's reputation is spreading. If he didn't already contact him, then we can't," sighed out Genma, glancing at everyone with his half-lidded eyes.
They all nodded (others more slowly, not willing to give up such a good plan), before going back to their former conversation.
Anko glomped Kurenai from the side, putting an arm around her shoulders. "SO! When are you and Asuma getting together?"
Both skillfully hid their blushes and glared at the snake-user.
"ANKO!" "ANKO-CHAN!"
Naruto finished his sushi, letting Sasuke get up to pay for their dinner. He and Akina waited for the Uchiha outside the restaurant, walking through the deserted streets.
"Shishou no Ryuuki...is he really that powerful?" started Naruto, looking between his team mates. Akina was once again riding on Kouseki's back, after much insistence from the wolf, who kept on nagging that she was tired from her training.
"He has to be if he took out those bases so quickly, Naruto-baka."
"Urusei!"
They started bickering through their mind seal again, forcing Akina to lower the volume of their voices in her head. This had become a regular thing. Whenever they realized that they chanced the risk of making a scene (and therefore attracting the attention of...unwanted people; i.e. Fan girls and pissed off civilians), they carried on their argument in the mind seal, too irritated at each other to keep their insults to themselves.
Kouseki and Akina stayed a few meters ahead of the glaring boys, walking along as if they didn't know the two.
Well, actually, Kouseki was walking like that, and Akina was just riding on her back.
("So...about that sword...")
Akina replied directly in Kouseki's mind, making sure that the boys were oblivious to their conversation. "It was able to resist white fire...the second hottest fire color. It had an aura, also..."
The wolf was silent for a few moments before she responded, carefully choosing her words. ("Right...we can go to the Council Cave and you can show me there...")
They reached the house that they had all come to call home. Naruto kicked off his shoes and called the bathroom first, while Sasuke and Akina entered at a more relaxed pace. Neither spoke of their training, acknowledging the fact that they might have to fight in the Chuunin Exam Finals.
They heard the water turn on, signaling that Naruto was now cleaning himself up in preparation for bed.
Akina nodded at Sasuke before she went back out the door with Kouseki following. The Uchiha paid her no heed. Since the first day they had lived in this house together, the two had taken strolls around Konoha before coming back to go to sleep.
The boys had been confused at first, but after seeing the various wildlife treat her with so much respect due to her position as their Guardian, it made sense. They were probably making their nightly rounds to make sure everything was alright.
It was the perfect excuse.
Several nocturnal creatures greeted the two as they passed by, heading towards the nearest forest. Anbu were scattered around the village, keeping an eye on everything since there were foreigners in the village.
Akina was a little amused to find out that Kenshiki had been given guard duty tonight. His spirit aura had a hint of annoyance and envy, which meant that he was most likely cursing the fact that she, as in Trainee Number 55, had no guard duty.
Spirit auras were different from chakra signatures and can only be sensed by those that had very acute senses in that area (which was extremely rare in Ningenkai, the human world) or were naturally able to.
The two continued to walk leisurely, sensing several Anbu linger around their area, as if trying to decide what to do about them.
When they were far enough that they could not be noticed, Akina grabbed a hold of Kouseki's pelt and shunshined towards the Council Cave, making sure to conceal them.
The large black wolf shook her fur, relishing the cool evening air. ("All right then. Show me the sword you found, pup.")
A scroll was taken out of her ninja pouch, from which she summoned the ancient katana. Immediately after it had entered the living world again, it seemed to scan the immediate area and seemed satisfied that it's 'owner' was there, going back into it's dormant state.
Kouseki stepped forward and sniffed at the piece of metal, and was disgruntled to find that it did not exude any scent whatsoever.
("Draw the blade.")
Akina obeyed her, unsheathing it carefully, as to not damage it anymore. When it was fully drawn, the older demon narrowed her eyes, recognizing the symbols for what they were. Her expression grew grave.
("Itoko-chan,") she started, using a more affectionate title to show that she was completely serious. ("Don't use this blade unless you're sure you want to kill. These symbols are very old and ancient; I can't translate it, but I can tell you that this sword is from the time when the gods still walked the earth. I don't know how the hell those idiotic humans got their hands on this, but it's extremely powerful.")
The girl sheathed the sword, nodding to show that she understood.
However, when she picked it up, it sent out a taste of it's aura, and just before it disappeared, the image of the Shinigami had flashed in her mind again. Akina paused for a moment before sealing the sword up.
A sword from the time when the gods still walked the earth... repeated Akina in her mind. Interesting.
Wow, that took a long time. Sorry about the slowness of this update, but I think the fact that it's quite a bit longer should make up for that...kind of.
Please review and tell me what parts you liked and didn't like! I always love hearing these kind of comments, though the helpful criticism is greatly appreciated also.