Naruto Invoke: Trance Forme
chpt.26: Look Back, Past Point
Before Amarillo and Uchiha had their fateful, and fatal, battle...
Before Naruto and Orochimaru exchanged words with one another...
Before Pain came to Senhana and Naruto learning of Hinata still living self...
There was the moment of a revelation.
"Actually, there is one more matter we should speak of now" says Naruto, then looking at Hanabi who nods in agreement with him.
Mada stops walking forward and looks back at them, asking "What is it?"
"Ancient granny, we have to know" says Naruto, allowing a pause to pass before Hanabi finished the question.
"You're really Amarillo, aren't you?"
"Amarillo? Me? You think I'm Amarillo?" asked Mada before bursting into a laugh. "Oh, that's a good one. Do you know how crazy that idea sounds...?"
Naruto and Hanabi blush, feeling a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess it would..."
Mada's laugh stops and she speaks up again, breaking into Naruto's words. "Or, that's what I would say if it wasn't true."
"Huh? You mean..." asked Hanabi.
Mada nods, then says "I haven't gone by the name Amarillo in a long time, a very, very long time." She then gives them an affectionate grin, then ask "So tell me; what gave my true self away?"
"Well, back in Avalon, I couldn't help but notice the computer their called you Amarillo, not Mada. Though at the time, I was sure I had simply heard it wrong as I was still learning the ancient lingo" explained Hanabi.
"And when we were fighting those phantoms of Musashi and Amarillo, I realized that the feeling I was getting from Amarillo through my Sage sense was one I had felt before, quite recently in fact. It was the same feeling I had felt from you, ancient granny" adds Naruto.
"So we put two and two together and..." continued Hanabi.
"And made a guess, a correct guess I might add, as to who I was" says Mada, smiling proudly at them. "Seeing you both showing such observational skills and great deduction abilities warms my heart and makes me feel at ease."
"So, how is it you are here with us now, ancient granny? And why change your name to Mada?" asked Naruto.
"That...is a long story, to long for me to tell here to you two. But, I suppose I can tell you something about me and my past, though I can't guarantee you'll have any answers. Thank of this as a reward for coming this far and figuring out my secret" says Mada as she waves her hand, making a chair appear for her to rest on. She then press's her hands together, then pulls them apart to reveal a bubble in which images begin to appear in. Naruto and Hanabi sit on the floor and watch as Mada began her story.
"It all began in a time before the time you know; when the world was an entirely different beast all together..."
(a few ? years ago)
She walked down the street, still have asleep as her body shanties from side and yawn after yawn escaped from her. The girl with shoulder length blond hair was having a serious mental debate on whether or not she should just turn around and head back to the dorms and crawl back into her warm, inviting bed. After all, it's not like anything important was going to happen at the academy today.
"Hey, Amarillo" calls out another girl who had striking red spiky hair as she comes running up. "So, you ready for the professor's big test slash lecture today?"
Like I said, nothing IMPORTANT...to Amarillo anyways.
"What do you think, Washu?" says Amarillo, her voice sounding as deadpan as she looked tired. "I was up all night, studying as if my life depended on it, and forgot to get any serious sleep. Now I'm I'm both to tired to think and I can't even recall anything that I studied either."
"Well, if only you would actually try keeping up like the rest of us do, then maybe you wouldn't have these problem's" says Washu, who gets a dirty look from Amarillo.
"Shut up. You know I'm busy with other things...more important things" says Amarillo.
"Oh, you mean training yourself to become the most powerful girl in the world because of that thing involving you and nature energy or you going around and telling everyone how you'll one day be greater than the greats in history?" asked Washu.
"Exactly" says Amarillo. "Who cares about school when there are other things that matter more."
"Boy, you sound a lot like me, ancient granny" comes Naruto's voice.
"Yeah, well...there's a reason for that" says Mada, allowing herself a second to chuckle.
The two girls turn a corner, then cross the street and moving onto the main path that would lead them into the academy. "Say, Amarillo..." comes Washu's voice.
"What is it?" asked Amarillo, still a little grumpy but at least now she was starting to wake up.
"Isn't today the day we're going to be getting that new student in our class. You know, the one who's said to be the kid of lady Uzumakie?" asked Washu.
Amarillo thinks about it, then says "Yeah, I think so." She then smiles a snarky grin, saying "Poor bum, bad enough he'll have to be stuck with a professor like Hohenhiem as his teacher, but to be tossed in with us on the day of one of his infamous test AND lectures."
"Maybe the professor will take it easy on him?" offered Washu.
"Yeah right" says Amarillo. "Makai will freeze over before that day comes."
"Yeah, I guess you're right" says Washu who then blush's. "I wonder if he'll be a hottie. I hope so as I could use a hot guy for my scientific research projects."
Amarillo sighs, shaking her head in exasperation. "What am I going to do with you?"
Thirty minutes later, the two girls had arrived at their classroom, which had already filled with their fellow classmates...well, most of them. They could see Yosho Jirai and Amidamaru Asakura talking with one another. Then off to one side, Vash Stampede was tripping up as he walked up some steps as he headed to his seat. And they could see the two partners, Maka and Soul, chatting it up with their friends.
"Looks like everyone's ready for today's class...well, almost everyone" says Washu, looking at Amarillo with a grin while Amarillo shoots her another dirty "I'm going to kill you" look back at her. They then head up to their seats, taking a few moments to chat with others present they were friends with.
The sound of the door sliding open, along with a ringing sound that signaled the professor's arrival, signal's everyone that it was time to take their seats. Into the room steps a man who appeared to be in his early thirties with bright blonde hair that was tied in the back in a pony tail and a neatly trimmed beard.
He looks around the classroom, then says "I'm glad to see everyone is here today." He then looks at Amarillo specifically, and adds "I was expecting...some of you to try skipping out today."
Amarillo sinks down behind her desk a little as she hears several of the other students snicker at her. "As you all know, today we'll be having an important test. But before we get to that, there's someone here I want all of you to meet and give a warm welcome too."
After a pause, he continues. "As I'm sure you have all heard, our academy has gotten itself a new student, one who has shown to possess great potential within him. I hope you'll all treat him kindly and help him ease into life here at the academy. And now, I'll introduce you to your new comrade..."
Hohenhiem then looks back to the door, making a motion with his hand. A few moment's later, a boy walked into the room, dressed in a cream colored tunic and pant's with a light blue scarf wrapped around his neck. He had white, spiky hair, and pale colored skin. And then their was his eyes with iris's of a soft lavender color around the pupil.
"Please to meet you all" says the boy in a meek, nervous tone. "I'm Musashi Namikaze." He then bows respectfully to them.
For a second, there was silence, then several of the girls in the room scream out "He's so cute. He's like a living doll." And other such things.
One boy mumbles out "He looks like a total sissy boy if you ask me."
Amarillo, hearing this, nods a little as she looks at Musashi, thinking 'Yeah, really. And here I was kinda hoping he'd be cool. But this kid doesn't ooze cool. He's to girly like for his own good.'
Hohenhiem places a hand on Musashi's shoulder, getting his attention, while using his free hand to point up towards the students. "You'll be sitting in that open space there."
"Understood, sir" says Musashi as he walks up the steps, then takes his seat.
"Um...hello, Musashi" comes the voice of a girl, one who sounded even meeker than he had before.
Musashi turns his head and looks at the girl. "Oh, hello. Heh, I guess me and you are going to be seating partner together, huh?"
The girl nods, saying "It looks like it. I...I'm Ako...Ako Izumi" says the blue haired girl.
"Got it, miss Ako Ako" says Musashi.
The girl shakes her head, saying "Actually, it's just one Ako, mister Musashi. And you don't need to add the miss to my name."
"Oh, right. Sorry" says Musashi, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "And you don't need to call me mister either if you don't want too."
"Oh boy, looks like our two freak classmates have become friends" says Amidamaru.
"Good for them" says Yosho, feeling that maybe they could help each other break free of their shyness.
"And now that that's out of the way, I would like each of you to stand up and introduce yourselves to Musashi so we can then begin today's lesson's" says Hohenhiem before taking a seat at his desk.
Several hours later, Amarillo found herself floating within, in her mind was, a giant water jar centered within professor Van Hohenhiem's research lab. And she wasn't exactly in a good mood either, evident from the vein on her forehead that was growing bigger and bigger.
"Please try to relax, Amarillo" comes Van's voice from over at his computer terminal, multitasking both doing his weekly readings on her while grading the test scores from the exam. "You know I can't get proper readings when you're mentally agitated."
"Oh gee, I wonder why" she gripes out. "Having to take that dumb as heck exam, then having to sit through another of those boring ass lectures of yours. And, to top it off, here I am AGAIN butt naked inside a giant fish tank while you're probably taking some of the pervy pictures of me."
"You wish I would be" was his response, making her grind her teeth together. "Sorry, but I don't go for underage girls...especially girls who are still as flat as a pancake."
"I'm just a late bloomer, that's all. Just wait, in a few more years, my nature energy empowered body will be smoking all the other girls around" she says in a huff, crossing her hands over her chest. "Then you'll be begging me for a date, not that I'll ever give you one."
"Glad to hear it" he says. "By the way, your exam score is another under average one...just like that body of yours."
"Why you" she growls.
Hohenhiem sighs, then sits back and says "Why can't you do better? You're a smarter girl than what your test scores show's show you to be. If only you would apply yourself more, you'd have no problem being one of our top students her at the academy."
"I hate studying" says Amarillo. "Besides, what good is an education going to do me anyways? After all, we both know living a normal life is impossible for me, given what I am."
"If you really believe that, then that's how it really will be then" says Hohenhiem, wishing she had a more positive view on her future other than being a lab rat who would always be under the microscope.
After a silent moment, Amarillo ask "By the way, how'd the new kid do on the test?"
"Why the sudden interest? Does our little Amarillo have herself a crush, I wonder?" asked Hohenhiem.
"Fat chance" comes Amarillo. "He's to girly for a any girl to ever like. I just wondering if he has a lot to learn now that he's here at the academy is all."
"I see" says Hohenhiem, not really buying her claim. "Well, young Musashi did rather well all things considered. He was third overall in the test, only being behind Ako and Yosho in the ranking."
"What? He did that good?" cries Amarillo. She then huffs again, saying "Bad enough that he's a girly boy, but a brainiac girly boy to boot. That's so not cool."
"Maybe you think so now, but your still young after all. Who knows, perhaps one day you'll see guys like him in a different light" offered Hohenhiem.
"Yeah, right..." says Amarillo, not buying that for a second.
Twenty minutes later, Amarillo was finally out of the tank, dried up, and back in her clothes and walking up to the professor, asking "So, did you learn anything new this time?"
"No" says Hohenhiem, which makes Amarillo pop another vein in her forehead. "But with each test, I am getting new data. In time, all the data combined may be enough to tell us how you can be drawing in nature energy constantly without suffering from the petrifaction effect that is common from nature energy."
"I hope your right, professor" says Amarillo. "Anyways, I better get going."
Amarillo then bows before running out of the lab and soon enough, out of the academy as she goes to meet up with Washu and the other girls for their usual afternoon fun having.
(with Musashi)
"Thanks for giving me a tour of the area, Ako" says Musashi as they take some seats at a local cafe Ako liked visiting for some food and drinks.
"Sure thing" says Ako. "So, are you enjoying your time here in Avalon so far?"
"Yeah, it's a nice place. People are friendly and the academy seems like a great place to go, filled with many colorful people" says Musashi.
"Glad to hear it. Now, we better order something or else uncle will get mad" says Ako before looking at the digital menu that had appeared on the table the moment they had sat down in the chairs.
"Uncle? So, you have family working here then?" asked Musashi as he also looked at the menu.
"No, he's not my uncle by blood. A lot of us kids like to come here and we call the owner uncle because he has that feel about him, you know" says Ako as she finds her favorite item and taps her finger against it, then scrolls down to her favorite drink and selects it too. She then notices Musashi looked confused and ask "First time using something like this, huh?"
Musashi looks at her and blush's as her nervously rubs the back of his head. "Yeah, to be honest. We didn't have such advanced technology back where I'm from. I'm not really familiar with a lot of these food and drink options either."
"I see" says Ako as she gets up from her seat and moves around the table to his, sitting next to him. "Here, I'll show you how to use it. And if it's OK with you, I'll choose something for you to try out and see if you like."
"Sure, OK" says Musashi as Ako gives him a hard look over then scrolls down both the food and drink listings.
"Here, try this combo out. I think you'll like it" she says, pressing a finger against the two choices, then confirms the order on both his and hers before returning to her side of the table. "It'll be about seven minutes before it's ready."
"That's fine" says Musashi, wondering if he should tell her about his old life, or if he should ask her about her own though he wonders if it would be rude to ask about her life or start telling her about his own. At this point in his life, Musashi was very worried about offending others and making them think badly of him.
"You're probably wondering about it, huh?" asked Ako suddenly.
"About what?" he asked, not sure what she meant.
"About how I can be in the academy when I'm so young" says Ako, who then realizes he wasn't sure what she was talking about. "You do know I'm underage for academy admittance, don't you?"
"You are, seriously?" asked Musashi, obviously surprised. "I didn't know. I mean, I noticed you were smaller than anyone else in the professor's class, but I assumed you...well...um"
"I was a loli-like girl, huh?" asked Ako.
"Yeah" says Musashi, now feeling embarrassed.
"I guess that's the first and most obvious thought anyone would have, so I'll forgive you" says Ako, giving him a playful smile. If she had realized sooner that he had thought that, then maybe she could have played it out a bit for fun. "Actually, I'm four years younger than everyone else in the class. I'm only in the class because of my test scores led me to be tossed into an advanced placement program."
"So, why did you come here to the academy anyways, Musashi?" she asked.
"Well, that's..." he says, wondering what he should say seeing as he had been told to not speak on it.
"OK, midget, here's your order" comes a deep voiced man who then notices Musashi, adding "Ah, we have a new face today. Never served a pedo before."
"A PEDO?" cries Musashi while Ako gives the man a dirty look.
"He's not a pedo, uncle. He's a new student at the academy whom I happen to be showing around."
"I'm kidding, midget. Only fooling around" he says as he places the food and drinks down. "Nice to meet you, kid. Word of warning though, be careful of this one. She can be quite troublesome."
"What do you know, uncle" yells Ako as he laughs and heads back to work. "Sorry about him."
Musashi shakes his head, saying "Don't worry about it. I'm actually happy to see people can be relaxed even in places like this." He then takes his first bite of the food. "Mm, it's good."
"I knew you'd like it" says Ako as she begins eating her own meal.
Outside, and a few blocks down, Amarillo is walking with Washu and several other girls. "So, should we stop by Uncle's Place and get some munchies or something?" asked one of the girls.
"No way" says Amarillo dismissively. "The food there is terrible."
Washu grins, saying "You only say that because Uncle always greets you as miss flat chest."
"Shut up" yells Amarillo. "I hate that perverted pedo" she adds in a huff which makes the other girls laugh.
"So, down to the galleria then?" asked another girl.
"Well, of course. Then we can get some real food and do some serious shop..." Amarillo stops as she feels it in the air, a darkness that was suddenly rising up from a pit of evil.
"Amarillo?"
Amarillo spins around to face them, saying "Girls..." Her words are cut off as several shadows come over them and the others look up to see 5 creatures coming down towards them. "Yoma..."
The first, a cheetah like creature with electric sparks racing up and down it's tail, is the first to land, zipping past Amarillo and making a beeline towards the others girls. Luckily, Washu had been quick, also feeling something dangerous in the air like Amarillo had and had reached into her pocket, pulling out a device which she aimed at the Yoma and activated it, creating a barrier directly in front of herself that rebounded the attacking beast back away from her and the others. The Yoma snarls, saying something in its native tongue before going at her again.
Meanwhile, Amarillo barely had time to jump back as a second Yoma, this one looking like a gorilla who's skeleton was outside the body, came down at her, its attack leaving a potent looking crater where she had been standing just moments before. 'Damn, where did these things come from?'
She knew that because of their sudden appearance, evident do to the lack of a warning alarm being sounded, it would be some time before the city guard arrived. "Washu, contact the..."
"We're doing that now" yells back Washu as another of the girls was making the call why Washu was keeping the cheetah like Yoma from getting at them using her frontal shield device. Meanwhile, it had been joined by the third beast, a man lizard with flaming hair running along its back.
Seeing the trouble her friends were in Amarillo, goes to help them when she finds the fourth Yoma, a snake like creature, taking her by surprise and coiling around her with enough force to crush a grown adult being applied. If not for her power, she'd already be dead now.
"Looks like your luck has run out, girl" hiss's out the snake, it's fork like tongue caressing her cheek with makes her shudder in disgust.
"You would think so..." she says as she closes her eyes, allowing her power to be released in full force. Her eyes then open, a glow having been born within the blue her eyes had as she push's out hard, making the snakes body strain violently for a moment, before ripping apart from her own power. The snake gives off a screeching hiss which Amarillo quickly silences by stomping down on its head.
"Dirty human" comes the flaming lizard man, turning its attention to her and charging. Amarillo looks back at it then runs towards it in turn, sending her fist into its chest, landing a blow that sends a pulse of nature energy surging through its body, killing it quickly.
The cheetah roars before racing at her now while a screeching is heard, making Amarillo look up to see the fifth Yoma, some sort of bird beast, also coming at her through a dive. But the cheetah was faster then the bird and Amarillo was just faster still, doing a low leg sweep to trip up the cheetah Yoma, then kicking it up into the air, making it collide with the bird Yoma with Amarillo following, clasping her hands together, and hammering down on them both which sends them crashing down onto the ground, either dead or severely injured.
Amarillo lands on her feet and gives the four beast a sour look, saying "What light weights..."
"Amarillo, behind you" yells Washu, making her spin around to see the skeleton wearing gorilla.
"So, you are the special one we were looking for" it says before approaching her.
"I'm special to you freaks, huh?" jokes Amarillo, breaking into a run to finish him in one hit. "I'm feeling flattered." She then sends her fist flying at the creature, who replies by raising its hand up and blocking her attack with no sign of injury to itself. "What?" she says, surprised as this hadn't happened before.
"Like I said, we have been looking for you" says the Yoma before getting a firm grip on to her wrist, one stronger than she could free herself from. It then brings it face in close, adding "We're going to have such fun with you back home..."
'Damn' thinks Amarillo, now feeling worried.
"Amarillo, duck" yells Washu as she flips a switch on her shield generator. Knowing her friends taste in creating weird devices, Amarillo does as she's told as Washu fires a ball of energy out the hits the Yoma, not seemingly doing anything to it.
The Yoma looks at her, saying "Was that suppose to hurt?"
He gets his answer when the exposed skeleton suddenly begins to shrink and contract in on itself. This takes it by surprise, leading to its grip on Amarillo to slacken just a little which lets her pull her arm free, then she jumps and kicks him back away and the girls watched as the Yoma is killed by its own skeleton.
"Ouch, that's a pretty nasty toy you have there, Washu" says Amarillo, looking back at her friend while the Yoma, now dead, collapses onto the ground.
Washu laughs, then says "And now I know what it does too? I had been curious after all..."
"WHAT? You mean you used that without knowing what it would do? I'll bet you didn't even know if it would affect me as well, huh?" shouts Amarillo.
"Um...maybe?" says Washu nervously, which makes Amarillo even madder.
A whistling sound is heard as a guard finally arrives. "Hey, you girls alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, nothing we couldn't handle" says Amarillo.
The guard looks at the five Yoma, then at Amarillo, saying "I see...Well then, you better come with me, just in case there are more about."
"Understood sir" says Amarillo as he walks up to her and places his hand on her shoulder which makes her feel something odd.
But before she could find out what, the guard's body jerks violently before collapsing onto the ground; the result of Musashi coming up from behind and attacking him. "Musashi? What...?"
"Amarillo, look?" yells one of the girls, making Amarillo look down at the guard and finding to her shock its body shifting to reveal that it was a sixth Yoma that had shape shifting abilities. She then looks back at Musashi as Ako comes running up to him. "How did you know?" asked Amarillo.
"His aura. His physical appearance may have been that of a human, but his aura was that of a demon's and you can't hide your aura no matter how hard you try" was Musashi's response.
"But how can you tell what its aura is like? And how did you take it down so easily?" asked Amarillo.
"I...can't say, I'm sorry. But as for how I could take it down so easily? I used a special fighting style I created a few years back which involves attacking my opponents source points" says Musashi.
"Source points...?" asked Amarillo, her words being drowned out by sirens blaring out as the real security guards finally arrived. "Anyways...thanks for the save, new kid."
"Sure thing" says Musashi as the guard finally arrived, confused to see six dead Yoma, and having a lot of questions for these kids from the academy.
(present)
"And that's my telling on the first day I met Musashi. Little could I have imagined how things would go for the both of us in years to come" says Mada.
"Is that REALLY how it happened?" asked Naruto.
Mada gives him a sly grin, saying "Why, yes it is...more or less, though I may have embellished a few moments here and there."
"Master, how did Musashi know about the Yoma's aura's pattern? And his fighting style. Was it some precursor to the Gentle Fist technique?" asked Hanabi.
"I didn't know of it at the time, but Musashi possessed the first ocular based doujutsu; the Reikigan or Aura Eyes which, when activated, made his iris's glow like a rainbow and allowed him to see the aura that surrounds all living beings. In time, and as a side effect of being exposed to both Makai and Celestial Realm energies, his Reikigan would become the Rinnegan and then in time, the Reirinnegan, or a Rinnegan that had a different color present within each ring. And yes, Musashi did use the original version of the Gentle Fist art" says Mada before getting up.
"Now, it's time we head back. We'll have more time to speak on the past in the future" says Mada as she turns and heads towards the entrance of the shrine with Naruto and Hanabi right behind her.
(present present)
A rain had began to fall upon the Final Valley as Naruto and the others finally arrived, having tracked down their aged elder, shocked and heartbroken to find her having fallen in battle...
to be continued...