Aloha! How's it going peeps? Another chapter out for ya'll! Be happy!
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Zero Asakura - -SoulMama- - Moogle In Paradaisu - Hibiki-Chan - Joster13 - Sanya12 - Frozen Tempest - SilverMononoke - Exhale Vanilla Lace - .Psychotic.Enigma. - Neko of Light - Depressing Truths
Oh, Yeah! Happy Birthdays hugs and Love to Neko of Light! Turning... uh, 18? I think it's 18... Yeah 18 tonight! Or is it today? Ah, who knows! Hope you get what you want! I wanna be 18... That means I can officially drink alcohol in England and drive. Yayness.
Onwards, my readers!
Chapter Twenty Six
Richochet and Naruto were meditating upon the water bank, very near to the side, seeing as a certain person couldn't swim.
Yup.
Richochet couldn't swim.
She could barely doggy paddle her way out.
Odd, wasn't it?
You'd think someone like her would be able to.
Naruto snickered upon hearing her thoughts and she spared him a small irritated glare before focusing on her water walking meditating exercises once more.
Naruto moved a little and Richochet sighed mentally.
Here it comes…
"How can you not know how to swim?! Everyone knows how to swim. Even cats do and they hate water!" Naruto laughed at her twitching, knowing how it got to her.
"Psh. So? Since when did you know how to swim?!" Richochet replied, going on the defensive.
"Since I was FIVE!"
Richochet jerked her head away as a small blush of embarrassment crawled up her cheeks.
"Ha! I win!"
"Whatever." She snapped. It was kind of a soft spot. She'd never had anyone teach her since she'd never needed to swim before.
Naruto grinned happily, please to get one up on her for once. They had a friendship that was based on sibling rivalry and trust, something she wasn't at all used to but she enjoyed it. Secretly anyway. Naruto was open about it as that was just the way he was.
A little bell went and the two sighed in relief.
Meditation over. Thank God. It was so damn boring.
These two demons carriers were really too active when it came to their favourite pastime of training and enjoying their favourite snacks. So when something as slow and time-wasting as meditating came up, they were glad it was over.
A sudden shock ran down the spines of the two who had held the title of Jinchuuriki and Hanyou. It felt warm as well as being a tremble. They looked at each other as the feel of warm breath tickled down their back and lightly settled in their abdomens, the stomach, and then to encompass their chests warmly.
"Kyuubi!" The both shouted, waiting impatiently for an answer as small pleasurable tingles raced through their entire being. Richochet crumbled to her knees and Naruto lay flat on the floor heavily as he began panting from the efforts of warmth running over them.
Kyuubi chuckled. 'IT HAS NOW COME INTO THE MIDDLE STAGE.'
'Wh-What…?' Richochet whispered back, starting to sweat as she went on all fours and buried her head in her elbow, groaning as her breathing became irregular, heart pounding fast and she knew her companion felt the same.
'DO YOU NOT REMEMBER?'
'If we did… WE WOULDN'T ASK!!' Naruto yelled out with a slight squeak at the end, puberty kicking in. He curled into a ball, holding his stomach and it wasn't long before Richochet copied without knowing, her eyes shut and the two's senses went on overload. Heat curling around their bodies like a constricting snake emerged as the feeling intensified.
Kyuubi chuckled and the feeling on hands gripping them heightened almost painfully. 'YOUR MATING. YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE STAGE. THE FINAL STAGE HAS YET TO BEGUN AND IT WILL TAKE ONE ACT TO COMPLETE IT. THE OTHER HALF WILL BE OVERCOME BY NIGHTLY DREAMS UNTIL YOU RETURN TO THEM AND FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED.'
Naruto and Richochet paled at the thought.
'We didn't agree to-'
'BUT YOU DID. UNCONSCIOUSLY, YOU ACCEPTED IT. BOTH OF YOU DID.' Kyuubi said to Naruto and Richochet with an obvious smirk in her voice as she stated her words with an authoritative tone.
"What's this feeling…?" The other female asked, trying to stand once more but failing and collapsing to the ground.
'YOUR OTHER HALFS ARE DREAMING OF YOU.' Kyuubi roared in laughter making the other two stare at each other in embarrassment of what that was implying.
"Oh shit…" Richochet bit down on her lip as the effects of what Neji was feeling and dreaming bore down on her heavily. Naruto better be thinking the same because this was the weirdest thing she'd ever experienced.
And the most thrilling.
She felt… powerfully feminine.
She smirked. 'I guess this means the small dates I had with Mariku are over… I have to remind Jiraiya we're moving.'
Her soul bared open to them feelings and she drowned in them, finally passing out.
Naruto gawped at his companion as she blacked out just like that.
'SHE IS HALF DEMON. FEELINGS IN RELATION TO SEX AND OF THE MATE ARE FAR INTENSE THAN AS A HUMAN. IT'S FAR MORE ENJOYABLE THAN YOU HUMANS SMALL INSIGNIFICANT FEELINGS.' Kyuubi grinned mercilessly as Naruto went as red as his Hinata's usually did.
'But she PASSED OUT like that?!'
'SHE ACCEPTED HIS FEELINGS AND THUS IS IN THE LAST STAGE. BARE YOUR SOUL NARUTO, TAKE WHAT BELONGS TO YOU.'
Naruto gritted his teeth before taking the motions into him like he felt his friend do, letting it overwhelm him thoroughly as Kyuubi chuckled in his head and he passed out.
R¬NR¬NR¬NR¬N
Jiraiya blinked down at the two as they walked in together, sat next to each other sliding down against the wall in a daze, staring out of the clean window to the direction of Konohagakure no Sato.
"…Kids?"
They ignored him, something he frowned at.
"We're just a little… homesick… Ero-Sennin." Naruto said slowly. "We miss Konohagakure no Sato and it just hit us… literally."
Richochet smirked, eyes glossy still as she replied but still stared out. "Yeah… Homesick."
A smirk crawled up Naruto's lips as his eyes locked on to hers.
Jiraiya's eyes widened as they held hands, intertwining them warmly, foreheads touching. Were they together?! No! That couldn't be! They had others who liked them! Then idea's popped into his head as he rammed his notebook out that held his ideas.
Demon style, huh?
"Y-You guys're…?!"
They glared at him with irritation and he felt sweat bead on his brow.
"No. We just like each other a lot, 'ttebayo." Naruto paused. "And not in the way you say!"
Richochet squeezed his hand. "It's true so don't think anything. We're going somewhere else tomorrow."
Jiraiya raised a brow before nodding. "Sure, but are you sure you guys aren't attracted to each other?"
They scowled in his general direction.
"Look, old man, just look after Kino while we sleep." She closed her eyes at his nod and let her mind drift as she felt her head slump onto Naruto's broader shoulder. The fox holder soon copied, flopping his head on hers.
Jiraiya blinked. So… they were just close… or had let themselves get close for security. That was fine with him. He understood perfectly. Everyone needed a really special friend. They had each other.
He smiled which turned perverted as Naruto and Richochet curled closer in their sleep.
Time for some fun.
Writing of course.
He'd move them later since Kino, the five year old they had found, liked to sleep next to Richochet.
R¬NR¬NR¬NR¬N
Naruto yawned, mouth turning into a ginormous hole as he peered around the crappy hotel room they were in. The others were still sound asleep, though he didn't doubt that Richochet knew he was up. After all, he wasn't in the dream world anymore. He just wasn't tired and even the tempting training of the demons couldn't put his mind back to wanted unconsciousness.
That and he felt Richochet knew something he didn't these days. It was odd, but something had made their relationship just that bit different since a while after her becoming half demon. He looked down at the covers pooled around his waist as he sat up. He too would become part demon for the sake of the world.
Looking back on it, Naruto realised he would never had agreed to it if Richochet hadn't of been there. It was odd. She just… gave him confidence and made him feel good about himself… despite her sarcastic comments of course. He would have outright denied becoming something hated in this world. And he would have done it all for the sake of not being pushed out of humanity.
He suddenly felt selfish as his thought came to that line. It wasn't his fault though! Years of being treated like some dangerous creature had done that to him and he didn't want to become everyone's actual hate, for it to become real.
He was scared.
Scared of being hated again.
Scared of being alone again.
Scared of being abandoned again.
The heart aching agony he had felt from childhood was what he was afraid of.
So why did he agree so easily?
Surely only knowing one person for three months couldn't have changed him to accept what she did so readily as right, could it?
Sure she was pretty nice…
Well, she wasn't nice per say. It was more of a… of a… just… He didn't know! She was just there and he felt as if she could have everyone lean on her and she wouldn't topple over like a pile of sticks and look after them with her sarcastic idiosyncrasies! She was like a mountain or something.
Richochet was… weirdly enough, comforting, to him. He'd come to depend on her, and she hadn't given him a reason yet to think that he could do otherwise.
The thing was, Richochet was cruel and did things that he wouldn't have dreamed her so uncaring for. She killed bandits for their own stolen money and kept it instead of giving it back to others. In fact she had even told him she enjoyed it. She had enjoyed killing them as well as reaping the rewards it all gave her.
When he had asked what she meant by 'it all' she just smirked and told him he'd know in a couple years when he turned half demon and that, until then, he would have to put up with what she did like Jiraiya did.
Not only that, but she was actually pretty lazy too. He would have to do her chores of camp which Jiraiya gave her. And she just gave him that really irritating 'I'm better than you look' that he'd seen on Neji and Sasuke! It's like all these arrogant people were born with that look or something! It was really creepy!
And creepy was Richochet's eyes especially. They'd gone weird. When he mentioned on the mission whom they found Deidara on that they were getting swirly, she had figured out how to make the swirls go all the way out to the edges of her small-ish eyes.
Then again, he did get her back with how he'd grown taller than her over the eighteen months they'd spent with Ero-Sennin.
Huh. A whole year and a half.
Naruto stood up and looked out of the window, leaning against the cold glass. He shivered at it's first touch but then leaned more into it, staring up at the single clouded sky, peering at the moon.
He couldn't believe they'd been away that long.
Their journey was a whole half of a way done, and what a half it had been. The first thing they'd done this year for a whole three quarters of a year was to train the body.
Naruto winced and looked at the new calluses on his hands and then down at his legs to see the little scars on them. Weight training, on both ground, water and crazily enough, air – don't ask – was hell on their muscles. Jiraiya was one evil trainer that was for sure.
Not only that but the balance issue was crazy too.
They had to use their chakra to pull them forward and gain them better control as they balance several very moving and painful objects, such as balls of rock, on top of several books.
Oh yeah, get this.
They were on their hands the whole time.
Yup, Jiraiya was stark raving mad.
Naruto had mastery over Wind, Water and Fire, while Richochet had mastery over Lightning, Wind and Water.
They were suited to their demons though it was odd Naruto had water. The Kyuubi seemed to believe this was Naruto's base mastery and the Kyuubi gave it the Wind and Fire. It would be that Richochet's mastery was over Wind while Rokubi had given her Lightning and Water to back the Lightning's power up by simple water conduction.
The look on Jiraiya's face when their pieces of specialised paper were enhanced with chakra was brilliant. He kinda dropped his jaw, twitched and started gawping, his mouth open and closed like a fish. It was brilliant!
They wouldn't start the water yet until they controlled their first element of fire and lightning.
Then there was the fire chakra manipulation and lightning chakra manipulation. They were relatively the same since if Richochet slowed her chakra and flushed it out everywhere and if Naruto could tighten his chakra then speed it up immensely they could interchange the elements, though they'd never have complete mastery over each others element.
Fire style manipulation was a defensive and offensive at the same time. Like the one time he remembered having no control over Kyuubi back in the day with the whole team seven with that bridge builder and the chakra swirled around him, it was relatively the same. It was like a mine field. He would hold his chakra underneath the ground in the circular formation, since that was all fire would do, encircling, spreading out as the air pushed it every which way and if someone stepped over to a certain space – BAM! It kept enemies away from his body and also attacked them. It was more of a starter move to hit those that preferred close ranged fights.
Lightning chakra manipulation was used for offence and healing. The stalker cloud above her would strike out various bolts of energy as she directed it. However, the control of it was hard to handle for her. She had too much power and not enough control so that she randomly healed Naruto when he was going on the offensive for her to get better leverage of it when in battle simulation.
She had admitted to Naruto how much it pissed her off as it made her feel useless. If she couldn't control it, why bother having it? He now also knew that he'd go through the same thing when it came to lack of control. When he asked for a detailed answer of how it felt, she gave an analogy.
'It's like trying to put a plug in a plug hole and finding that the plug was waaay too small. And then when you train for control and get a bigger plug that plug hole just gets fucking bigger.' She had gripped, falling into the water again as they commenced water walking.
He found that the other manipulation of their demon elements was one Richochet had already conquered. Those that touch you get burned or electrocuted. It was rather like Gaara's sand as a defence though they had full control over it since it was instinct.
Wind was simple enough. Naruto even got it before her, proving he was more proficient at the element. You had to compress the chakra in a slicing motion. The point that got them was the fact they had to control two chakra and slice together and sharp and thin and powerful as possible. Kind of like two blades were better than one. They got that real quick seeing as Richochet decided to go off and train with the blades she stole from that Raiga dude with the kid.
Talking of 'kids'…
Naruto looked away from the moon and at the village to look back into the room.
Next to Richochet was a new accomplice of six years of age, cuddling up to the once Jinchuuriki. It was amusing to see children actually liking the girl while random animals stayed well away – apart from weasels and foxes of course.
But this kid wouldn't let go of her if she let it continue.
Not only that, the kid was related to – no joke – Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Small world, huh?
It was like a cousin of each met and had kids and then those kids had a kid and now this kid was a grandson or something like that.
Not only that, the brat seemed to prefer women over men to cuddle to… Yep, as Jiraiya as you could get. He had the same soft blonde hair as Tsunade, which seemed to be a genetic trait of some sort, yet he had lime green eyes that neither of the two had.
Another extra thing that creeped out Jiraiya and Naruto was the red dots on his brow. Apparently, the clan this kid came from was the Kaguya Clan which was supposed to be extinct. Richochet had pointed out that the Seishou line was supposed to have mysteriously disappeared and had none left, so what was so bad about finding a new member of an 'extinct' line?
Jiraiya went on to say how it was likely there was still even Uchiha about with little Uchiha blood in them because of exiled or banished or runaway members who did one thing or another and that led to more offspring in other places.
Naruto wondered what Sasuke would think of that.
They'd found him homeless in a forest, unconscious. Naruto had demanded they take him along and he'd stuck the kid with his arrogant female companion.
The blonde grinned at her as she slept.
It was a way to get revenge on her for not doing her chores.
Then again, he really had to wonder about the lack of self preservation instincts these children had.
Kyuubi snorted from within his mind. 'EACH OF YOU HAS A CERTAIN IMPRESSION ON THE RACE OF HUMANITY. CHILDREN OR THOSE YOUNGER THAN HER LIKE HER MOST WHILE ADULTS DON'T WANT TO GO NEAR HER. MOST PEOPLE LIKE YOU OR JUST PLAIN IGNORE YOU ALTOGETHER…'
'And…?'
'THERE IS NO AND.'
'But it seems as if… Ah nevermind!'
Kyuubi smirked. 'HE'S GETTING SMARTER.' She thought with a hint of pride.
Naruto walked boredly back over to his bed. He'd do some more training as soon as he got to sleep. Slipping in, he looked once more at Richochet and Kaguya Kino before drifting off.
R¬NR¬NR¬NR¬N
"Oh come on, Boss! Where the fuck is that scroll?!" Richochet pointed at him threateningly and then turned away to search for the simple scroll that could solve her self appointed problem. "I'm so god damn fucking close…"
Boss merely laid on his front and watched her with a bored smirk. "Didn' cha 'ut it on tha other side, Jou-chan?" His cockney English accent reminded her of the servants of some old English family. She was half expecting 'Milady' from him at one point or another.
Richochet snapped her head to the right and felt her eyebrow twitch when she saw the lone scroll. It mocked her with the bright white against the dark grey of the stone cave they were in. 'I'm a freaking idiot.'
Snatching it up she looked at her notes and skewered the page with her eyes intently reading over it. She had written this up herself, stuffing notes along the sides of different detailed pictures she had carefully drawn. She was pretty proud of her artwork, despite it not being a talent. She'd taken her time, and it proved invaluable.
The largest picture was of a slightly mutated swastika.
Or rather.
The Hyuuga Curse Mark.
Initially the seal had three main components to this small, simple but incredibly succinct seal. There was the main cross that was the centre piece to keeping it all together. All seals had this main part, though most of them were smaller so they'd be harder to find and harder to break. Hyuuga were arrogant though, and it was a very old and very used seal too and there probably hadn't been much work back then on seals either. She'd have to break it from there to take it off.
Then there were the two chains on each side. The left caused the body pain while the right would kill everything to do with the Byakugan and any other secrets the body blessed the person with.
She sure as hell wasn't any where near seal master in level, but this was actually pretty simplistic for a seal. Take for instance Naruto's own seal. That thing had so many layers to it… it was unbelievable. Yondaime was purely genius when it came to seals. Hers wasn't as advanced but it sure as heck was harder to figure out than the Hyuuga one, that's for sure.
Though there were some things she'd have to take it when dealing with the Mark. There were tons of things to consider with it. Would it kill him if she tried to take it off? Would it react immediately to her potent demonic chakra? Which way would it react?
"Listen Jou-Chan, you've been working on tha' thing for months." Boss yawned loudly, rocking the world they were in for a few short moments. "I thin' tha chu should step back and take a bigger look. Maybe it's just a case of flinging yer energy in ta it?"
Richochet grimaced. "That would kill anyone not demonic when it comes to seals. I have to purify the chakra before hand by painting several seals onto his forehead and ruining his looks even more. And it could kill me if I do so since they purify. With me everything is fifty-fifty because of my battling bloods. It's freaking hard and annoying being me ya know." She grimaced. "I mean you know. Shit… I'm sounding like you."
"Wha's wrong wit' tha' way I speak?"
"…Nothing. Speak however you desire." Richochet said dismissively, turning back to her scroll. Then she muttered. "It's pissing me off though. Both of these things…"
Boss yawned once more as he drifted off. "I'm getting' tired…"
Richochet looked to him and cocked her head thoughtfully. "Hey boss, can seals ever get tired, you know, wear out?"
"Sure they do... As long as tha chakra goes some place from tha seal… Chakra jus' converts… it don't get created… like yer energy from physics lessons… Boring crap…" He smirked in his weasel way before finally falling asleep.
Richochet hummed to herself for a second as she thought. "It's not that I need to break the seal… but wear it down and tire it out?" She leaned against the cold stone wall. "Or maybe I should just push its energy out and put my own energy there? Like those reactive metals… If any other normal blue chakra tried to break it the Hyuuga and the breaker would probably both die but since I have stronger energy I would replace it… Damn these sciences are irritatingly needed… I knew I should've listened harder instead of just cheating."
Richochet might not have been good at her lessons, but it pissed her off to know that school actually kind of helped her.
"Not only would the seal be void from the Hyuuga's but I could kill him." Richochet smirked delighted she could control it and kill him. "Though…I gave him that necklace that gives him the right to do with my heart as he will… I guess this just evens the odds a little. I could hurt him if he ever pisses me off…" She snickered. "This could be good."
She stood up and went over to her shelf and took some ink and a quick and sat down once more. With the scroll in front of her, she quickly scribbled down her findings in English since it was easier for her to read over the Japanese language on paper. She frowned at that thought and looked to Boss before snorting and carrying on in her slanted italic writing that was a bit more than scruffy looking though still cohesive and coherent to decode.
'Like a weasel could help me in writing with those claws.' She thought in disdain for the weird weasel Boss. 'He'd screw up my hard work.'
Stopping her writing, she went to the other way she thought of. Wearing down a seal. Could she, instead of taking her own energy and infiltrating his own system, take his out to wear down the… No. It was highly likely the Hyuuga Main would know instantly when it happened. After all, branch members must have tried such tactics in the past. Still, since she didn't know, it was worth a try.
Though she immensely preferred the former option she had found.
It would prove far more beneficial. They sway of being able to break them would hold certain 'power' over them. Then again, they'd probably find some law to execute her or something because of trying to 'steal' the Byakugan.
Richochet snorted.
As if she needed it.
She had her own Kazangan instead of that.
Though she was jealous of the three-sixty viewing power it had. She often wondered how these bloodlines could change so dramatically from all seeing to just copying. It would be grand to find out the truth of how it went from Kazangan to Byakugan to Sharingan instead of just second guessing everything.
Shaking her head she wrote down more notes of her theories and what she had concluded with the small amount of knowledge she had on seals and how to break them.
Or how about sealing a seal?
Well, it could work. Just that her seal would have to screw up the looks of the Hyuuga by painting all over their forehead. She was sure they wouldn't appreciate it being vain, which they must have acquired because her own family was vain. Yes, even she took a couple seconds to make sure she looked good by checking herself over before entering a room.
Piss off, she was female.
She had a right to do so.
Anyone did actually.
Richochet pinched her knee to block these thoughts. Ever since she had been around Jiraiya and his mumbling to himself in his sleep as well as to himself when he was writing… Ugh.
She'd blame others because their habits were always there and she picked up on them unconsciously and unwittingly.
She frowned.
Maybe she should keep a better leash on that old Sannin more?
Yeah.
It could be for the best.
Talking of Jiraiya, he knew some things of seals. He could be able to help her.
She wrinkled her nose in distaste.
There was no way she was asking him for help.
She got it all down anyway.
And it only took…
Six months…
She scowled and flung the quill down, crossing her arms in impatience. "Ah shit, I'm so god damned slow… And it took me a fucking lump of a fat weasel to find out because he was so damn lazy…And even that was a stroke of luck…"
Boss snored loudly, making her twitch.
She glared at him before looking down at her scroll. "At least I got something done. Jiraiya's shit at teaching."
It was true. The old man simply gave them a scroll filled with various jutsu's, but no more than five, some strange katas at their weapons and then took off for a month before coming back to check in on them for a week, that bastard. Yes, Richochet was learning to use those two swords from Raiga and Naruto had decided to learn the nunchuks since he found whacking someone to death absolutely hilarious.
That was so not her influence.
…
Well, maybe just a little.
Anywho, some people came to teach them proper stances and such while giving handy little jutsu's to keep the weapons to their best. It was hard when these damn sensei asked for the freaking best they could do when one was a half demon trying to hold off her instincts to teach these damn humans not to mess with her and the other was a hyperactive idiot at times that demanded constant attention.
Still, at least they got good enough teachers…
With the jutsu's Jiraiya left, Naruto and Richochet got them nearly instantly, apart from the Earth Jutsu for Richochet which Richochet didn't bother trying to use after the backlash of energy at one small wall of earth technique. She couldn't move for a day after that.
Nor could Naruto after passing out from uncertain events when laughing at her by calling her a 'mudman' instead of a snowman.
Wonder how that happened.
Richochet smirked and stood up with her scroll.
Neji better be damn happy or at least pleased. If her theories were right, he'd still have the mark, but not the curse. Well, it was still one heck of a tattoo, so why not be happy about it?
She twitched.
He BETTER be happy about it. This had taken far too long to write down properly, with detailed theories and diagrams of the Mark and how she could perform the taking of the energy and forming it to her own… Yes, far too long. She wasn't that good of an author either. Her notes weren't flowing from one to the other, more like it was thrown in hazardously making it hard for anyone unused to her ways to comprehend.
Richochet walked over to Boss, and kicked him none too lightly in the paw.
Boss yelped before noticing her and blinked at her sleepily. "Yah, milady?"
"Take me back, would you?"
"Sure, milady." Boss placed his paw on her head and she felt herself freefalling into a dark abyss. "'Ave a good day, yeah."
R¬NR¬NR¬NR¬N
"Chet-dono!"
Richochet grimaced as the Kaguya clan boy jumped up and attached himself to her shoulders. The half breed sighed as he snuggled into her neck and sighed happily, making himself comfortable.
"Ah, whadaya want, brat?" She grumbled to him, eyeing him warily and mentally tired. "I just got back."
"I just missed you."
Naruto grinned at her with a wink in welcome and she winked back with a small smirk.
"So did you do it? Did you? Did you?" Kino asked, eyes staring up at her in wonder. His eyes dropped to her hand which held a worn and used scroll and looked back up to her in question. "Is that the scroll?"
Richochet smirked in triumph.
"It is! That's so great!" Jiraiya clapped her on the shoulder and gave her a noogie, much to her displeasure, as he hit her weasel spot once. "I'm so proud of youuu!"
Richochet looked away in embarrassment as he started acting like a Grandfather figure. "Oh by oath…" She swore as Naruto hugged her on top of Kino much to the five and a half nearly six year old's consternation. "Would you get off of me?! All of you jerks! You trying to suffocate me or something?!"
They moved away with pouts, including the fifty plus old man.
"Bunch of babies…" She muttered loudly, and snickered when all three of the males protested loudly, ego being kicked down. "Ah, you're so loud! What's up with that?"
"We're not that loud, Richochet-dono." Kino pouted again and sat on her lap as if he were on a throne. She gave him a look that said 'get the hell off me or else' and he smiled back at her innocently. "Well you ARE comfy…"
Richochet sighed again, wondering when she'd become so soft like her sister.
She blamed the inhabitants of Konohagakure.
Damn those ninja.
A smirk hit her lips. They were rubbing off on her.
"Jeeze. You people are so lucky I'm here to keep you in line."
They just grinned.
"Boys." She smirked. "What would you do without me?"
"Get on much better, I assure you." Jiraiya grinned and dodged a bolt of lightning. "Girl, you'll give an old man a heart attack!"
"Good. You damn old codger."
Naruto and Kino grinned at each other.
"Blight of youth!"
"I think I like this, Naruto-dono." Kino said thoughtfully and Naruto strung an arm around the boys' shoulders.
"You sound like that freak Maito Gai! You probably even wear that crazy green lycra for shits and kicks!"
"WHAT?!"
"Yup! It's great, Dattebayo!"
"Haha! Gai worshipper!"
"I'M NOT!"
R¬NR¬NR¬NR¬N
"Don't be stupid. I've never heard of this Shoko. You insist upon being oblivious."
The old man stared down upon her, and the eleven year old screwed up her face in confusion. "What…? What? What do you mean you haven't heard of my sister?!"
He sighed wearily, hating to put up with this little disaster. "Must you insist on spreading such falsities, Toko - Richochet? I have never had anyone from my family named Shoko and especially not by me."
"You named me Toko and her Shoko!"
The old man ran a hand over his vindictive features, tiresome. He leaned back in his chair as if he were royalty putting up with a grown out novelty. "Why isn't that blasted psychologist working?"
"Why do you say she isn't real?!" Richochet screamed, rage piercing her now bright orange eyes and her fists clenched the large baggy dark red jumper. Her knees were knocking together with fear at speaking to her Grandfather in such a way unconsciously. Her body was shaking in her steel boots.
"SHUT UP!" The old man roared, standing up, his clean sharp suit of black with white pin strips a complete one eight from her dirty, bloodied fighters outfit.
She stiffened, childhood fear gripping her completely. A shiver ran down her spine, absolute terror overtaking her eyes and her black pupils dilated. Biting her lower lip, the small yet freakish girl listened on, gulping as he gave a step nearer to her personal space.
"YOU WORTHLESS-" He paused and stared at her.
Richochet was frowning.
"What are you…" Grandfather began but then halted. "Just…"
"I don't get it." She whispered. "Didn't I need her? Why did she leave me behind?"
Grandfather scoffed. "Why did you father leave you to go back to Japan? Everyone leaves other behind for themselves. This world is cruel and spiteful, so you should be just as spiteful and cruel back."
Richochet cocked her head to the side. "Really?"
He just smiled mockingly.
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Richochet sat up, gasping for breath, a cold sweat over her. Of all days to have that dream, why this one? Why this night? Why this dream? She crawled out from between fifteen and a half year old Naruto and seven and a half Kino to sit next to a window.
Her heart beat rapidly, a bird in a cage.
She shivered once again took a deep breath before expelling it slowly through her nose to calm herself. What was the date? What month was it? She honestly hadn't bothered remembering. It was insignificant to her.
Looking over the small town that apparently, Naruto and Jiraiya had found Tsunade in, she spotted a shop that had closed down that date and spied the closing date it had on a banner.
'Closing! 2nd May!'
No wonder. Death Date. Shit.
Kino shifted, frowning in his sleep and curling into himself more, making her turn to him quietly and try to forget her previous thoughts. She gave a small smile in the darkness where no one could see her, peering at her two favourite boys.
Pain violently slammed into her chest and she gripped the slicingly painful place her heart was, beating over time and her mind went into panic, not comprehending why there was pain from nothing. Blood gurgled from her throat and she coughed loudly, great hacking choking coughs that sent her body shaking after each cough.
The half blood feel to the floor with a huge slam, instantly awaking the two whom she had tried not to awaken earlier absently. They peered around dazedly for a moment of misunderstanding, but Naruto snapped out of it fast, Kino not too shortly after.
"Richochet!" Twin voices chimed loudly, yelling at the top of their voices.
Light hair entered her vision in a snap, the tint of red she saw surrounding him identified him as Naruto. That and his distinctive smell of faded ramen were dead giveaways.
"Neji…" She huffed out weakly. Her mind was abuzz with identifying her problem.
"Kino!" Naruto called and the boy snapped over in a moment. "Give her a check over and recover her! Now, damnit!"
He shyly nodded and gulped, hands glowing green. He was found to be quickly able to pick up chakra signals and was a great medic nin at a young age. The two half-demons of Konoha had quickly bought books for him to read on the subject and was now their official medic, being a genius. The boy frowned as he checked her body over.
"Richochet-dono's heart is sliced at the bottom right chamber and is not healing at the usual rate. I will fix her, but I need your energy to convert into me, Naruto-dono." Kino said, his child like voice formal as always.
He nodded, trying not to rip something apart at the sight of her in such pain. The last time he'd seen her in such a way was when they had breeched their demonic forms. Of course, he was in worse a state, not used to the demonic mind he had.
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"ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" The scream ripped through the lands in the form of a bestial cry of pain.
Red.
Fire.
Destruction.
Hunger.
Naruto's mind was ripping with the mind of a demon purging him of his human ability to see reason and he plunged into the black sewers of his mind welcomingly.
"WILL YOU DO THEIR BIDDING? LET IT BE KNOWN, YOU ARE DESTROYING THE OUTSIDE WORLD WHILE RICHOCHET IS SUBDUING YOU MAGNIFICENTLY." Kyuubi spoke out dominatingly.
Naruto gawped at the ball of power and knowledge and the sheer size of it.
"Why didn't Richochet get this first? She's older than me!" Naruto shouted. "It was her idea!"
"WHICH IS WHY SHE HAD THE CHANCE!"
The blonde frowned. "What did she reply?"
"THAT DOES NOT MATTER! CHOOSE!"
'Can I do this? Is it really alright for someone like me to do this? Isn't there better choices? What have I done to deserve this? Is it a curse or a blessing? Do they want me to give up everything I have just for them? Am I able to place jurisdiction over people you don't know? Should I really do this?'
'WHO ELSE IS CAPABLE ENOUGH? WHO ELSE HAS THAT TREMENDOUS ABILITY TO GIVE FRIENDSHIP TO ALL? WHO ELSE HAS THE ABILITY TO do what you do?'
Naruto felt something like an arm over his shoulder and turned to see a fuzzy image of Richochet smirking at him. A hand lightly held his hand and he peered down at Hinata. Someone mussed his hair up and he looked back to see Kakashi and Jiraiya and Tsunade. Someone grunted and he looked in front to see Sasuke first, and then the rookie nine in front of him. He spied Gaara next to Richochet.
'You have to… you have to let them keep their strength and keep them on the right path.'
"But Sasuke-!"
'Is not the one who needs you most… not yet.'
The hologram of everyone disappeared until Richochet and Gaara stood in front of him, giving their own versions of a smile.
Naruto reached to them but couldn't reach. His eyes widened in shop and he kept on moving to them, sprinting.
'To protect and to make friends are your basic functions… It's why… You are given the chance.'
Naruto growled. "Give them to me! I need them! I'll be your balance! Just… GIVE them to ME! I'll do it for them!" Naruto screamed out as them ball slammed into him, screaming in pain and happiness as it washed over him like a tidal wave.
A smile tilted his lips at the thought of them.
So, it's your turn is it?
Chuckle.
'Who're you?'
Puzzled.
Not the same person who talked to your companion demoness.
Smile.
'Okay, 'ttebayo. That's cool I guess. What now?'
Hum.
You're friend was far more curious than you.
Blink.
'Really? Weird. She's not like that outside this place.'
Shrug.
This place shows you your inner you.
Nod.
'That's awesome! What are we like?'
Chortle.
You are both pleasant and both looking for the good in you when it is very clear already.
Frown.
'What is clear?'
Sigh.
You don't see it do you? The friendship you give out like a beacon?
Laugh.
'Huh? Me friendship? I'm just a loud mouth who demands stuff a lot.'
Another hum.
Maybe that's a good thing… now we wait for the last.
Confusion.
'Eh?'
A smile again.
The first, the sixth and the ninth.
'What happened to the third?'
Chuckle.
There's three of you isn't there?
Realisation.
'Oh yeah! Now what?'
You protect and make friends. Just be as you always are.
Disbelief.
'That it? Well okay. Hey, who are you?'
Namikaze Minato. Your dad.
Anger.
'DATTEBAYO?! Give me one reason I shouldn't come right on over and beat the living shit outta ya!'
Amusement.
For one you couldn't find me.
Rage.
'ARSEHOLE!'
Guffaws.
The main one?
Huff.
'I'm waiting!'
Smile.
Konohagakure.
The blue eyes of oceans snapped awake to see Richochet snarling at him in her natural form, the size of a huge mountain as storms whirled above them threateningly, beams of lightning sparkling around them, making him yelp, and stumbled back. Six tails electrocuted everything they touched and he shivered in fear.
Nine tails helped him keep his balance in check and paws with claws stretched out made for shredding dug into the earth. He bowed his head in submission and the Raijuu no Rokubi stilled and nodded in acceptance.
Naruto peered around and whined sorrowfully. The local three towns had been absolutely demolished in the face of two fighting demons. With extreme effort, he shrunk into his humanoid form, tails swirling around his naked legs in nine beautiful trailing blazes of fire. He shivered and then felt around his neck.
A line of scarlet fur, identical to Richochet with the chains and heart in a sphere had settled on his torso as if it were always there. He didn't feel a difference, but he felt a lot more warm and stable than he had before. He stared down at the glimmering bauble that held his literal heart of emotions and fingered the keyhole. Two other necklaces where there. One held the jewels that could buy three mountains, and the other was a golden key.
He stared at them for a moment before Richochet interrupted.
"You're now… like me." She ran a hand through duel coloured hair, naked as well, six bolts zapping behind her. "Your hair grew longer. You look like that guy with his face on the mountain."
"EH?!" Naruto quickly did three hands signs, and landed on tori, showing he was to do a water jutsu. "Mizutama no jutsu!" A small ball of water drifted up, looking like a small jewel before Naruto commanded it to lengthen.
His hair was exactly like Yondaime's own, except the ends were tinted red like his half of blood was in demon form. The middle of his eyes were molten red like hers were. It was scary how much he had changed but he didn't seem that different at all at the same time.
"Richochet?"
"Hm?"
"Take us away from here." He said quietly.
Richochet complied immediately. Grabbed him around the arm, and pulling him so he hugged her torso, head buried in her neck and shoulder, she performed the necessary hand signs. "Rai Shunkan Ido!"
R¬NR¬NR¬NR¬N
He whimpered, pacing the floor agitatedly, hoping that it worked. Richochet was unconscious, on the futon she had slept on and she was pale from blood loss though her face was looking a bit better.
Or was that just hope?
Kino smiled at Naruto. "She is sleeping Naruto-dono. Don't fret. She will be fine."
Naruto grimaced.
Getting soothed by a kid.
Yeesh.
The boy brushed some hair from his forehead, two red dots appearing briefly before hiding once more behind some wisps of hair. "You worry for nothing. Though it is good you worry. It shows you care."
Naruto sighed and stared at him with blue sea eyes. "When'd you get so deep Kino?"
"From watching my favourite people in the world. You three. You are inspirational." He smiled gently, eyes softening even more, looking more worldly and adult like than even the old man Sarutobi had at times.
"Heh. You joker." Naruto smirked slightly. "We're not inspirational."
Kino smiled secretively.
Naruto sat down next to Richochet and held her hand, then lied down to keep her warm. Her hand was absolutely freezing from lack of blood, but with his heightened senses he could feel her gaining life by the second. She'd be up anytime soon.
Her eyes blearily opened.
"Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"It's nearly time to go back right?"
He grinned foxily, giving her confidence.
"Yup, 'ttebayo!"
"Good. I'm thinking I'm starting to be needed by someone far too far from me for my liking." Her orange eyes glittered in the dark room that was being slowly lightened by the sunrise through the window. "It's… hard. Being away from my heart."
"Meh, me too." Naruto placed a hand to his chest. "I got Inari, the big summoning, to give my necklace to Hinata."
"I am… pleased for you."
She fell back asleep and Naruto sighed, feeling a touch better.
'We're not inspirational, Kino. We just try to survive, is all. Now we don't have our demons in us to talk with, we need each other more than ever without the Hyuuga who hold our hearts around us.'
R¬NR¬NR¬NR¬N
Oooooh! How's ya like it? I don't think it was too bad, myself.
Once again, Happy Birthday to neko of Light! May all your dreams and hopes an wishes all come true! And all the stuff you get inside a card! Lol.
Please review!
Ten Words.
Tongue-Twister. Report. Gifts. Certified Pervert. Letters. Tests. Betrayal. Forbidden.
R.