Whaz up ladies, gents an' other! Let's see how I can screw-I mean fuck-I mean...ehh...FUCK IT! I mean fuck 'round with this shit, 'kay?! Anyhow, I'm gettin' started whether anyone's ready're not. Short disclaimer for ol' times sake: I don't own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden or any of the other animes I may/may not bring into this series.
'Paraphrasin'
Thoughts or emphasis
"Normal speech"
"Demonic speech or Inner Sakura" (Haven't used 'er in a while, gonna try an' reintroduce 'er ass into this)
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(Cue: Taio Cruz ft. Flo Rida-Hangover) Naruto was sitting there, swishing the alcohol around in his shot glass as his eyes seemed to see into more than what was there. The game of 'Will it Booze' had ended by the time everyone in the inn was feeling hammered from watching them, making them stop for fear of giving someone a murderous hangover from their game. "So," He said calmly, his voice only loud enough for his niece to hear him.
"So?" Tsunade asked testily with a slur in her voice from how hammered she was. "How's my niece been these past few years..." Was Naruto's quiet question before downing his shot, while Tsunade was trying not to choke with a blush on her face. She'd always hated his place on their family tree, as well as the fact that he was both younger in appearance and age than her even though he was higher up in their family's hierarchy.
Swallowing with a gasp afterwards at the effort, "I've been fine. But it should be me asking you that!" She said soberly, any enjoyment from drinking being gone from Naruto's party-killing aura. A smirk grew on his face as he kept staring at his shot glass blankly, "I've been fine, Mei-chan!" His use of the word for niece was clever, as well as useful seeing as he'd seen the developing rivalry between his former opponent and his niece. Tsunade wanted respect and to be taken seriously as a Kage while Mei had all of that while still wanting to become the first female Mizukage, they were each other's status polar opposite.
Only a few sets of ears were able to pick up on the conversation between the two bombshells. Those ears belonged to the redhead's student/daughter, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, Anko and Kakashi. The silver-haired cyclops, white furred dog, Aburame heir, and Inuzuka heir all had wide eyes while Anko was smiling that her son-figure was starting to open up to his relative as Isaribi was doing the same, leaning against Anko for support from the atmosphere of alcoholic stimulation.
"Why is it that you hate me, Mei-chan? I've been nothing but polite," Tsunade snorted almost inaudibly at that, not interrupting him seeing as he was a tough adversary she wasn't sober enough to fight. "Done what I can to make your life easier," A groan of pain was Tsuande's response from all the headaches her uncle had caused. "And I've even made acts of peace or gifts to settle any misunderstandings. And yet, you still hold such hostility towards me, why?" His question was simple but it held much more meaning to his niece besides what was at face value.
"'Why?' Why?! Why?! I'll tell you why, asshole! Every time you're around you're either causing trouble for me, your friends, or others who've nothing to do with you! You're a walking disaster, just look at the Hell you've encouraged these poor kids into!" The faces of all the shinobi who had come to become Jounin were seen as a single image with separate sections for each one of them. "They are going to die, and it's all your fault. How can you act so calm when their deaths are on your head?! HOW, DAMN IT?! WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE THE THING THEY CALL YOU?! When we met, all you would talk about was killing, eating the dead, getting stronger, surviving or protecting your friends...And now? All I see is a man who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'friend', why are you so calm?!"
"All the times we've talked you act as though you're in control, like you're superior to everyone else in the world. And you don't think that effects them, effects your friends, effects me?! Your niece! I know all about our family tree, I knew from the moment I found out who your parents are. Your parents were great shinobi, and you dishonor their memory by acting like the lives of these twelve Chuunin mean nothing to you. Your attitude towards the village is hostile, towards me it's like I'm incompetent or aren't deserving of my title, towards your friends you act as if they aren't there and are just objects...WHY YOU SON OF A BITCH?! WHY?!" The anger in her eyes as she slammed her fist against his chest, he'd decided turning to look and stand in front of her would make her feel better, making his feet break through the wood and send him into the ground until he was at hip level.
She fell to her knees and started babbling on about respect, her lost loved ones, the war and evil she had seen, the pain and loss of being constantly on the move and how her own family was betraying her like her grandfather's crystal had done for its wearers. By the time she was done all of the Chuunin from Konoha were awake and listening to the two powerhouses. Tsunade had resorted to powerless, normal hits that didn't even make Naruto flinch. The blonde Hokage wouldn't let herself cry, all she needed was to get this off her large chest, and Naruto was taking that with ease.
Soon she was finished, breathing heavily from taking few breaths and from the lightness she felt now. "You done now? 'Cause no matter how you dress it, Mei-chan, you haven't earned my respect." Everyone in the building who heard him had wide eyes, all except Anko, Jiraiya and Isaribi. "What do you mean, Teme?!" Pulling himself out of the hole in the ground Tsunade had forced him into, he said with a pop of his shoulder and collarbone being relocated, "Your demeanor and attitude aren't deserving of respect, Kodomo. You may have my ancestry, but you and I aren't related. Relations are based on some similar quality of two or more persons, you and I don't have that. Not even close. The only thing we've in common's our lineage, but that's nothing to go off of."
"When we met I was a hormonal, short-tempered, and hotheaded psycho. I've matured more than I was when I was fifteen, Kodomo, and in that time I've become much more of a level-headed and dependable psychopath. I'm still a psycho, no amount of therapy can change that, but I've learned to curb my insanity to a level that it's both manageable and acceptable by both public and private parties. I've become a sensei, a father, a cousin, a an uncle, a rolemodel, a rival and an ally of many. My connections aren't that many, not as many as Jiraiya-sensei, but enough that I can know what's going on in other countries to a relative degree. But each of my connections is someone I consider an ally and a part of my kur. All of my relatives are distanced between each other, yet we're tightly knit even with that distance there. Our clans are ancestral and dead-loyal, but our loyalty belongs not to those undeserving!"
A sound of a selection was heard, as the faces of Isaribi, Anko, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Temari and Ino were seen in a pinwheel of the imagination. "What makes you worthy of an Uzumaki's loyalty, after what your family did to Uzushio? We did what we could for you, and when we needed you, you left us out to dry and die. But that's not the problem, is it? You want my respect, the respect of the Kitsunin and your uncle, and with that the rest of the shinobi world's respect since no one looks at me like a pushover anymore."
"But, you've gotta realize, Kodomo, that I've got next to no respect at all for you. You've done nothing to earn that, all you've done to gain my respect is bitch at me to prove you're a human being. And, going off from what I said a moment ago, I'm not as respected as I'd like or pretend to be. All the respect I get is from killing enemies, most of the time in the grossest of ways. My most memorable method of killing is eating my enemies, which's what's gotten me into being a high A Rank shinobi." He said this with a sigh of sadness for the lack of resignation he'd relieved. All of the recognition belonged to the Demon he'd been as a teenager.
"All of the recognition received towards me's belongs to the Demon...I don't mean my Bijuu, I mean myself. When I was a teenager, I was a demon in my own regard. As the Demon I got myself quite the, uh, fanclub...Mostly women and men with a vore and/or gore fetish!" Those damned, slitted, piercing, blue eyes stared into Tsunade's soft, chocolate orbs before flashing red for a split second and sending chills throughout the shinobi nearby.
"That's all the respect your looking for, the respect of the Demon, not me. Everyone, everyone who looks at me sees the Demon, not the Kitsunin...I-" He stopped at that, hesitance obvious on his face. "I-I'll give them a show. I'll give them a reason to fear the Demon and, in turn when I tell them that you're my niece, they'll give you the respect you're looking for since our connection's not well known..." The look of surprise Tsunade gave him was accompanied by her arms wrapping around his frame and squeezing him blue until what they thought was his soul floating around. Anko, seeing her son in danger, grabbed the apparition and reinserted it into the redhead before tapping the Godaime Hokage's shoulder as a message to stop murdering her uncle.
"Arigato! Arigato! Arigato!" She kept repeating, making Naruto's ears feel ready to bleed with how loud she was. Pushing his niece back, he took grateful, deep breaths and tried to knock the ringing out of his ears. He then noticed that Tsunade was speaking to him, making him say rather loudly, "Wha? I can't hear you, your loud 'arigato's made me deaf!" The look his niece gave him made him turn around only to find his former fangirl glomping him, Just like old times... He thought before he realized that she was drunk off of the aura Mars and he had given off. It was a good thing Mars had returned to the carbuncle home area, otherwise Ino would've been sexually harassed to a new extreme.
"I found you, Naruto-kun, and you're not getting rid of me anytime soon. Not like-" She suddenly hiccuped, making her giggle before passing out with her chest in his face. "Just like old times, eh? Nothing's changed, the only thing missing's the fact that we're younger, I'm a Demonically-thinking psycho/sociopath and only four kids know even a little bit about me..." Were Naruto's mumbled words, making Anko come over to him as she rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "It'll be okay, Gaki, you'll see. We'll all see."
Naruto, seeing that he had to see with his eyes, removed Ino from his face which made her groan at the lack of warmth and pleasure generated from him talking and naturally high body temperature. By this time, Tsunade had passed out from alcohol, making Jiraiya pick her up and carry her up into her room. "No, no one'll see. 'Cause once I'm done, no one's gonna remember who I am to care. All they'll remember's the Demon I was as a teen, eating people's hearts out literally only for my own pleasure. Ripping apart human beings on a whim. Brutally murdering those who might've had families, all for a few laughs. I'm really just a demon who doesn't know the blessings humanity gives us."
Anko, knowing where this train of thought was going, punched him in the face and then slapped him soon after. "Snap outta your shit, Gaki! How many times've I told you, these kids aren't going to let you take away their memories again. They want to remember you, get to know you, die by your side-" She then saw those were the wrong choice of words, "Like Hell they do. I'm gonna be nothing but a reminder of what they can't be: damn-near immortal! I have to watch you die in front of me. I don't want them to die by my side, I want to die by their's! Like for several others, I want someone to be able to wave me off as I cross over. But I can never have that, if I make new kur or belonged ones they'll only be a reminder and replacement for what I once had."
"I'm doomed to be alone. I'll have to watch my mother die in front my eyes, I'm gonna see my kids die before me, I gotta know my belonged ones become nothing but dust when I want nothing more than to be by their side while they want to be by mine...I'm all alone, and I can never know happine-" He was once again struck, this time by Temari with her fan and Uzukaze, sending him into the bar. "Damn, I'm getting too used to this..."
What he saw really made him feel guilty. There before his eyes, was a pissed-from-drunken-atmosphere Temari with a sad auraed Uzukaze. "Shut up, you Demon eyed bastard! Don't you dare say that shit again, or I'll kill you personally, you got that?!" Seeing he was about to get his wish, he did the only thing he knew how to: He screwed around. A puff of smoke surrounded him before revealing a partially nude Mitarashi Anko dressed in a bikini made of snake skins, "Hey~" 'She' said seductively with a wink, making most of the shinobi in the inn look at him(Her?) with shock and blushes.
(Additional cue: Timmy Trumpet ft. Savage-Freaks/Hollywood Undead-We Are/ Fall Out Boy-Thanks for the Memories/ Awaken the Giant-I Fooled You) She transformed into Hinata in a hoodie that was zipped in such a way that her breasts could be partially seen while still retaining her modest aura. Her hoodie had eye-openings so when it was zipped up all the way and pulled down the 'woman' inside could see the world with those large, moth/owl-like eyes. The sleeves were sewn at the ends into mitten-like appendages that 'she' flapped like wings to show them off for what they represented. 'Her' hoodie's material looked like it was made of moth wing-silk, a soft material but able to withstand the constant flapping of the insect's wings. The real Hinata was blushing up a storm at the perverse attire Naruto had imagined her up into.
"G-G-Gomenasai!" 'Hinata' stuttered out with a blush, bringing her arms up to her chest to hide her large breasts like the shy girl 'she' was. Kiba, being drunk and altogether unaware of reality, strolled over and said just loud enough for the whole bar to hear, "You didn't have to dress up for me, Hina-chan. You look gorgeous even without it o-on..." He soon after collapsed at Naruto's feet, making the disguised Kitsunin tap the dog-lover with her foot like he would normally even though he looked like Hinata. "I'd say he's gonna have one Helluva hangover tomorrow, meaning..." 'Hinata' looked to her double and pointed at her before pulling the buxom blunette next to the unconscious Inuzuka.
"He's all yours, girly!" He had reverted back to normal, looking Hinata in her pupilless eyes with his piercing blue, slitted orbs that sent chills down her blushing body. "N-N-Naruto-k-k-k-kun..." His face had been blank a moment ago, but now he was scowling lightly at her. "Girly, you don't even have any idea who I am..." Closing his eyes once, he opened them to see he was in the arena the day after the next. His opponent? (I wanna be evil, ya'll 've no idea how much I wanna torture ya! But...SCREW IT!)
Competitor's Box
Is he really serious about making the population fear him again? I saw what he was willing to do when we were younger, and I know how much he was feared, but is he really willing to throw that all away after all he's done to gain acceptance? Temari's thoughts were interrupted by her son's comforting gripping of her palm, the closest thing Uzukaze could do to holding her hand reassuringly. It'll be alright, Kaa-san. Tou-san's always been loved, you're a fine example, Kaa-san! His endearing title for her as well as the obvious fact that he thought his parents were om that kind of relationship made her both blush and smile at her son.
"Thanks, baby..." She whispered, making her son's wrap around her hand tighten happily. Tenten came out of the hallway, in her hand was a medium sized scroll. She twirled it around her hand for a moment before resting it on her leg. She sat down comfortably, thinking hard on what her old classmate had said to her. 'You won't understand until you know it's time. But keep this close until you see the stars align...' He said. What does that even mean?!
"What's in the scroll, Tenten?" Neji's voice brought her out of her reverie, "What?" He groaned at that, hating to repeat himself. "I asked, what's in the scroll?" A look of uncertainty came upon her face, "I, uh, don't know actually. Hehe! Naruto gave it to me, but he didn't say what's inside. All he said was that I should keep this until I see, 'the stars align'. And I've not a clue what that means!" The Hyuga prodigy sat down next to his teammate, a look of thought plastered on his face.
"Maybe it's a test or some form of training. He's always been somewhat training excessive, after all?" Tenten only shook her head sadly, "But we've never known what he's actually like. We've only seen the afterimage of what he was like, the Naruto we see before us is the Naruto that's been with us from the start. Naruto's always been an enigma when we think about it...No one ever talked to him besides insulting him, no one bothered to try to know him, and he's always been alone. Imagine how that effected him, an innocent boy at the time we knew him, all alone everyday of his life. This," She gestured to the arena floor where Naruto was dancing away from his opponent's strikes like it was boring. "is all we're ever gonna get to know Naruto..." The morbid atmosphere was broken by a shout of pain from Naruto on the arena floor.
With Naruto
He'd been hit. That last strike had been well aimed and Naruto had gotten cocky, but he needed that to happen to strike fear into the onlookers. The strike had been to his shoulders, leaving them immobile until-SNAP! With just the flex of his arms, they were relocated and everyone was either disgusted or freaking out. His eyes closed once more, this time to open abruptly for the world to see his eyes were blood red again. "Thanks for the memories, Hinata, but I'm gonna have to kill you now!" Were his exact words, bloodlust apparent in his voice and actions as he dashed at the blunette with the intent to leave a long lasting impression on everyone later. Fear me, Hinata, fear me for this fight...
"Thought you knew me well enough to use '-kun' at the end of my name, eh?!" He said as he appeared in front of her and slashed his clawed hand for her throat, slow enough for her to dodge. She ducked under the slash and twisted behind him before turning to find he was behind her with a claw ready for her head, to which she flipped over him and received a bloodthirsty smirk. She landed and went to trip him, succeeding in knocking him off his feet only for him to roll until he was at a fair distance. His smirk never stopped being there, even when he gathered youki into his claws before sending a rising of earth towards his fine opponent.
"I was told all of you'd been training your...fine asses off during those three years I was away. Yet I haven't seen anything to believe this, as my student was able to catch all of you in her Kiragenjutsu. But then again, kids aren't supposed to be relied on when it comes to serious work!" Hinata rolled out of the way of the rising rocks, only for her to elbow her superior in the face, making him groan before he bit into her arm and held on. She started twisting, flipping and Juken-ing him all over, only making him make noises of discomfort and pain before she chopped him in the throat. He let go of her arm and crumpled to the ground, making her run over to him out of concern before she was caught by his chakra claw by the face.
"Why? Why are you acting so weak towards me?! I know there's more power in here," He said as he placed his other chakra claw to the center of her chest, any perversion nonexistent for the moment. "So WHY ARE YOU ACTING SO COMPASSIONATE?! SO CARING?! SO WEAK?! I've seen you train in the Juken when no one was watching." Her eyes widened at that, as did the Hyuga audience present and in Konoha. "All the times you thought you were alone when you practiced, I watched to make sure you didn't push yourself too far. That's what I've done for years for you, Ino-chan and Beri-chan. But here you are, acting like that NEVER EXISTED! WHY?! IT MAKES NO SENSE!"
He threw Hinata into the near wall, making her gasp in pain and got many to wince in sympathy for the poor girl while a few were being held back from committing suicide by getting mixed up in Naruto's fight. He doesn't understand compassion aside from his kur unless it's got an ulterior motive! Ino realized, her thoughts being transmitted to 'Dusty Tails' Temari who only nodded with a light grunt of confirmation. Naruto appeared in front of a still recollecting-her-breath Hinata as the pieces of wall floated in front of her and in between them both.
His youki covered claw was sent for her heart, only for Hinata to push out of the wall and spin like a top, making Naruto's claw pierce the wall. Eyes wide, he then received a palm to the face, sending him sprawling with a slight bounce until he got his bearings and went with the sprawls to a stand. "That's more like it! About time you got serious, Girly, 'cause I ain't gonna be holding back much longer..." Please. Naruto thought somberly as he charged at his opponent, youki covering his forearms now as they blazed a bright red-ish orange. Hinata...
Reaching his enemy, he went for her chest once more, intent on ending this fight quickly. Everything vanished at that, turning to black. Forgive me. Light surrounded the two of them, blood spraying from Hinata's chest and back as well as Naruto's mouth. He was coughing blood from his sharp canined mouth, but Hinata's wound was worse. Naruto's claw was piercing her torso, blood leaking from her chest and back which her former crush's arm occupied. "N-Naruto-k-kun...I-I l-l-loved you...w-wh-wh-w-" She stuttered out, getting Naruto's eyes to widen in shock and horror.
"W-w-wh-w-why..." With that said, she slumped against him, her eyes lifeless and empty as she let go, happy that she had finally told him but sad he had hurt her. Naruto tossed Hinata's limp form away from himself and crouched to the ground in fear as his hair bristled. This was only the first stage of his next irrational actions. Hair lengthening, youki covering and shredding his skin, tails of youki forming behind him, he rushed her. He rushed with the intent to destroy this being who would bring about a foreign concept into his once safe, comfortable, painfully familiar world. "DIE!"
Just before he could reach her, Kiba and Akamaru hit him as one cyclone. "KNOCK IT OFF, NARUTO! SHE'S DOWN, YOU DON'T HAVE TO KILL HER!" "She shouldn't have said that! She shouldn't have told me! She shouldn't hAVE BEEN! rrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Shino sent swarms of his insects to consume Naruto's youki, as he'd been around him enough times for his insects to develop the capability to consume youki instead of dying from trying. Choji became a rolling boulder that rammed Naruto into a wall before stopping but keeping the redhead pinned long enough for Shikamaru to catch his shadow to restrain him.
"Got him." Naruto was still thrashing, unable to move his body but able to thrash his head about like a beast while he grunted and growled loudly. "LET ME GO!" "No. Not until you calm down." Sakura rushed down to Hinata's side, beginning to heal the wounded girl with fervor before Shizune came up next to her and said calmly, "You're skilled but this takes more than one to heal her." "Do as she says, Bitch, even I'm not strong enough to give you the boost you need for this!" She nodded and moved over for the older iryo-nin get some room. Today had started out fine, besides Ino disappearing after saying it was for training and how they'd all woken up with hangovers from Naruto and Mars' game of 'Will it Booze' the night before, but here it was, going downhill fast.
Naruto smirked all of a sudden, chuckling darkly before all out cackling maniacally, his shadow was thrashing now before breaking free of Shikamaru's shadow grip and joining Naruto's youki covered form. He was now shadowless, like a true monster. Like a true demon...
(I wanna be evil 'gain! But...I can't 'cause I've gotta meet my quota of at least 7,000 words per chapter... Additional cue: Rise Against-Savior) Now free, he roared at them, sending them stumbling back before a wind was sent at him from his betrothed(Sorta?). "What is this?! My chest hurts, but I haven't been injured, so that can't be it...WHAT IS THIS PAIN?! rrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" His body was engulfed fully in youki, his size increasing to be that of a small house and his pain and rage grew larger. "DESTROY!" The moment his eyes fell upon Hinata, he charged with glee in his rage-filled eyes that his confusion would be no more soon.
He'd already won, so the battle was legally over, meaning that it was fine for Tenzo to intervene. Wooden pillars started lacing over and around Naruto's large form, making the large vulpine being look around confusedly before tearing through the wood easily. Seeing he'd need help, the others pitched in where they could. Sai drew up large elephants, the beast now holding Naruto's clawed forepaws with their trunks so he'd stay down long enough for the others. Out of the blue, Temari landed on his back, Uzukaze on her hand in between his shoulder blades. WAKE UP, TOU-SAN!
"deeeeeSTROOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYY!" Before he could continue roaring or charging, he returned to normal size but he was covered in purple, star-lit-sky-like markings. Lee and Neji came out of the Competitor's Box, each striking where they could or how they could. Neji took a Taijutsu stance, "You're within my divination. Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Naruto was then struck repetitively, each palm strike hitting one of his tenketsu and leaving him wobbly before falling to his knees in gasps. It took a few moments before the Kitsunin was finished gasping and started laughing maniacally, "This is the best you can do?! If this is what Konoha's best have to offer, I worry for the future of the village of burning leaves! I see what you lack, what you strive for, what you can't have...And it's amazing you're not all dead! HAHAHA!"
He went through a series of handseals, making Sasuke in the Competitor's Box activate his Doujutsu. Finishing with his sealing, a group of peacock feather-like appendages of light purple chakra started spreading out from behind him. The 'Last' Uchiha slammed his fist against the wall, gritting his teeth in rage as he yelled, "WHY CAN'T I COPY YOUR JUTSU?!"
More cackling ensued, this time in a condescending fashion as Naruto placed a hand to his head before removing it to look Sasuke in his swirling eyes with that damned smirk. "A hidden kinjutsu that's something which can't be ripped off, Brat! This is actual chakra, enhanced though it may be, but chakra nonetheless. It's almost like Tenpa, but weaker yet stronger in its own right. This is Sutahane, power of the stars fallen down as a Kami no Namida. Anything you do, I can replicate better! Yoku!"
The feathers gathered together on Naruto's back, taking the shape of-"WINGS/WINGS?!" Was the unanimous shout of shock from the entire audience, near and far, before Naruto landed at the Kage Box where he looked to his niece proudly. "Whatcha think, Watashi no Mei?! Neat, huh? And, to the man who taught me: Arigato, Akahoshi-sensei." Naruto said this with a bow to the Hoshikage, making the man bow in return before patting the young man on the shoulder as a sign to stand that they'd set up during the younger Kitsunin's training trip. "You don't need to address me as teacher anymore, Sutsugyosei. We're equals now, in both power and respect, as we've both repaid our debts and done each other good. Now, on a more serious note; did you do as I asked for when you used this power?"
A nod answered the man, seemingly unaffected by Naruto's proclamation of being Tsunade's uncle. Everyone else was either stunned stupid or checking the vital signs of those nearby. A sigh of relief from the older man answered the redhead, before Naruto's slitted eyes narrowed as he leapt out of the Kage Box and hovered down to the ground. Wings receding, Naruto landed with a crash as the ground beneath his feet cracked and dug up as a crater. "Since things are going smoother than planned, I think I'll have some fun..." He disappeared before reappearing in front of Hinata with the intent to kill her, before he was punched away from the girl, making him sprawl as he bounced into the far wall. "LEAVE HER ALONE, NII-SAN!"
"rrrrRAAAWWWRGH! KEMONO!" The feathers gathered around Naruto's body, his form seeming to disappear into the star-spangled-purple as it took the shape of a six tailed fox. Its color darkened until it looked like it was made of the starry night sky with clouds of color inside. "THIS IS THE POWER OF THE STARS!" Just as he said that, what appeared to be bones in the shape of stars became visible in his tails, making Tenten's eyes widen. THEY'RE ALIGNED! Unrolling the scroll with haste, as the others distracted the large fox's attention, she bit her thumb and smeared her blood on the writing.
A puff of purple, stardust-filled smoke answered her. Out of the cloud stepped a strange creature unlike anything a normal person could've possibly seen in their lifetimes. It was about as tall as a person, its feathered wings and body kept close to stay as inconspicuous as possible; a feathered tail came down from its tailbone; and at the brow of its beaked face were two string-like feathers with glowing ends. "Who dares summon me..." Said the creature, a definite male voice escaping its toothed beak. There was an accent to his voice, an accent unrecognizable to anyone but Akahoshi, Jiraiya and Naruto.
"What are you?" Turning, he laid his eyes upon the young woman with buns in her hair. "I see, so it was you, girl, to have summoned me. Why?" She pointed at Naruto, uneasy from the hawk-like head of the creature before her. His expression looked like a glare, when it was really just a blank stare. He once again turned, seeing Naruto's astral form, a sigh left him as he placed a taloned hand to his face before strolling towards the fox and running through handseals no one could replicate from both complexity and lack of hand fluidity.
"Remove this power from one unneeding. Take this strength from one unrequiring. Strip this energy from one undeserving..." He then spread his wings, the astral energy leaving as visible wind into his wings before he folded them and left the returned to normal Kitsunin to retrieve the scroll from Tenten. "Return my scroll to me, girl. You have no need of it nor a desire for it." She gave him the scroll, removing her hands from it the instant his talons wrapped around it, before he vanished in a puff of purple, stardust-filled smoke.
Naruto laughed goodnaturedly, the markings receding back to his seal where they remained, as he sat crossleggedly. "You figured it out. Good. Very good! Would've taken most people forever to understand. Anyway, everything went according to plan!" "Does that include nearly killing Hinata?!" The hostile attitude came from Kiba, only making Naruto's smile seem forced. "I don't know what you're talking about. Hey, what happened to her?" He looked behind the group to see Hinata on the ground, unconscious but breathing.
"YOU!" "Really? I don't remember doing anything to her. Unless I was...OW!" He was struck by Temari's fan, knocking him out in the process. Everyone in the audience was still stunned by Naruto's proclamation of his relation to Tsunade, although a few had already figured out that Naruto wasn't someone that could be understood, just endured. (DAMN IT! I WANNA END IT HERE, BUT IT WON'T LEAVE ME BE-*I begin whimpering outta self-pity in a corner as the leather-cloaked man comes into the room and brings me back to the keyboard* Him: Keep going, thou art almost there and thou art doing fine. Me: *I nod with seriousness in my eyes* Shouldn't you be watching over Dragon Arc or hasn't that come up yet? Him: Thee knows that tis but a game of patience...)
Temari's fan was resting on Naruto's unconscious head, his face in the dirt, while Temari held it with her hand at the top calmly. "Looks like he's forced himself to either forget it happened or he's in complete denial. No surprise, he's never known love aside from family, and I doubt he's been entirely trusting of that either." But, just like all the other times, the Kitsunin awoke and rose from the ground. "Nice to see your still you, Mari-chan. Don't want you going loopy on me. Now, where's Ino-chan?"
"Floozy said she's going to training a few hours before we got here, so I'd wager she's still training." Naruto let a dangerous smirk cross his face, "Well then...Might as well contribute to her progress, right?!" And he was gone! He stomped one leg into the ground, causing a crater to form underneath him before he leaped into the air, reaching halfway up the nearest wall of the arena. His excitement wasn't unwarranted, as he could feel and smell the power coming from Mars' special training.
As he ran through the village, he couldn't help but wonder how it was that carbuncles learned how to train people so quickly. Just three days and she was ready for the next part of the plan. It was still a risky plan of having Mars, one of the strongest carbuncle alive, training a young Chuunin with little to no experience she could recall of nonhuman creatures who held nothing back. When they'd gotten back to Konoha and along the way to Kiri, he and Tsunade had stayed in contact. The messages also included mission summaries and the reports given, but not once did anyone from the Konoha no Juichinin face off against a summon species that they hadn't heard of.
All he could do was hope Ino-chan had survived mentally as well as physically...
With Mars and Ino
'You fought the Kitsunin back at the academy, but the thing you don't understand is, he and I are nearly equals in power. Only difference? I've got the experience even he lacks!' Those had been Mars' exact words. Said carbuncle's greatsword-sized knife passed by her head, barely being dodged. 'Okay...' Had been the platinum blonde's response, understanding that the red carbuncle wasn't kidding when she said those words beforehand, so she had almost taken a step back before taking a Taijutsu stance. 'Even so, Mars, I'm not coming this far just to back out just 'cause you're stronger than me!'
Mars threw her javelin-sized fork at the Yamanaka's midsection, the intent to hit her almost palpable as the options were very limited. Ino, acting intelligently, sidestepped the attack with a spin that ended up catching the red carbuncle's clawed fist. She then went with the fist's momentum, spinning again, this time jumping onto and off of the large fork, landing on Mars' shoulders with both feet down. 'That's exactly what I wanted to hear.' Were the sincere words spoken by Ino's personal summon.
Three tails went rigid and crooked from the pain, traction of the sandals pulling on her fur in a painful manner, before she jumped high into the air. Her summoner was sent flying off her shoulders and then caught by the basically nude nature spirit, a devious smirk on her red-furred face. Going down. She thought playfully, Ino hearing it clearly from her psionic abilities, as the corporeal spirit's tails wrapped around her and they neared the ground.
Just as they were about to hit the ground, blonde hair became damp and sharp, cutting the tails deep as they wrapped tightly around the young woman. She grunted out in pain, releasing the kunoichi a few meters above the ground, which was all Ino needed. "Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri!" Ino shouted, a fast-moving jet of water coming off the ground and up to the falling Mars, making her eyes widen and a slightly frightened face come into existence.
The jet of water was upon her now, and it hit, or so Ino thought. Water droplets flew through the air like rain in a storm as it becomes a gale, Mars standing there in midair, making her summoner's jaw drop and eyes widen. "What? You really thought that only Naruto could do this? He courses youki into his feet, and with youki being so dense, keeps him in the air like it's solid ground. But spirits like myself, we use Shiki!" (Additional cue: Sofia Carson-Rotten To the Core/ Hollywood Undead-We Are. No shit 'bout my song choices, 'kay?!) Mars was gone, appearing at Ino's side with her entire body spinning, her tails triking her summoner into a nearby building. Said structure cracked, each splinter spreading from the indent the Yamanaka heiress was in with all of Ino's joints popping painfully more into place.
"AHCK!" Was all Ino could utter before Mars' foot came into contact with her side, sending her into another building, this time flying through the wall and into the dining room with a bounce on the table, making the family's eyes widen in surprise and back up as the nature spirit came through the hole. There was a hum in her throat as she strolled forward, her breasts bouncing with each step and her tails swishing mischievously. "Don't worry about us, just continue with your day!"
Her tails caught hold of Ino's ankles, pulling the groaning girl with her until she was thrown out a wall with no hole. All of a sudden, Mars hand Ino slung over her shoulder as she rose in the air with each step. She looked to the damage they'd done so far, feeling pleased at the village she'd one known with a sneer. This isn't my home anymore, I don't have to feel guilty for destroying things...SNAP OUTTA IT! I've gotta meet up with Uzumaki before he comes looking for us.
The pink eyes of Mars held a history, a history unknown to most mortals. Her life hadn't always been like this, there was a time...when she knew what it was normal to hear the name of her species. Something zoomed into her eyes, a different seen before whatever was looking into her past. A battle was being waged, the different sides fighting for no reason anymore. Blood was no longer blood, but currency. And weapons weren't made to protect or to carry a warrior's spirit, they were made to collect wealth and wear the pasts of pointless killers.
There was no fire like most would imagine a battle to be, it was a plain, foggy forest and grassless clearings. Where would be buildings were pillars of stone and flora. There she stood, surrounded by the dead. There she stared, eyes filled with depravity. There she stood, ready to pay for her crimes. There she stood, there...She'd commit the greatest sacrifice to save the families of innocent and groups of corrupt. There...She spoke her name for the last time as the stone, fur, power and near deathlessness came into being around her.
Reaching to the sky in a sign of resignation and a vain attempt to escape her inevitable fate of her choosing, a fate she'd wish to never come to meet...Stone crawled up her body, fur preceding it, from her the toes of her now-paws-once-feet as it climbed to her now two pairs of top-of-the-head ears. As it reached her head, she let her tears fall down her cheeks. The tears she'd held for nearly countless battles, for close to an unknowable number of kills, an almost endless amount of pain-causing.
With her last breath, she shuddered out quietly, "My name is no longer..." The stone was slowly creeping up her neck now, "...Akabatsu Ririkika..." (Uncue music.) And with that, she was petrified as that which she'd summoned for years, atop a mountain of corpses that she had created with the help of her summons. There she remained, three tails now existent and petrified. There she stayed, two pairs of cat/rabbit-like ears on top of her head folded back and down in grief. There she held stance, her tears traveling down her body like a lost spirit searching for its family from days and nights in life.
Those tears, traveling through petrified fur and skin, found their way down to the ground where they touched not a mountain of bodies, but a mountain of soil. From those tears sprouted tendrils of plants that crawled up her petrified form and pulled her into the ground, where she would rest...
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That's a fuckin' wrap ladies, gents an' other! I'm sorry that this chapter seemed a bit forced, but I like keepin' my quota of 7,000 words an' up, so there were areas where it was mostly me just improvising. This is somethin' of a self-esteem thing for me, but I reread almost everythin' I post, so when I looked at how I made most of my OCs, I found that they're a little too 2d an' lack material character. So this chapter was supposed to expand on Mars and Ino bondin' as well as Naruto's reaction to Hinata's feelin's for him.
He'd grown up knowing only neglect, abuse, an' lovelessness. So when he first met Anko, he's untrustin' an' it took a while for 'im to get to where he's at with his semi-adoptive mother. But, he's never met anyone who loved him outside of distanced friendship an' shaky kithship. Hinata's sayin' of lovin' his demonically-inclined ass almost confused him more than Ino's forgiveness of him during the trip in the Kiragenjutsu he'd gotten them in. His reaction wasn't outta character for him, 'cause he's never known love like that. Knowin' familial protectiveness an' concern, sure; makin' friends an' keepin' them safe, absolutely! But love?! HELL NO!
Anko loves 'im as her own family, but that's a stretch in an' of itself since she never had anyone like family 'cept Orochimaru. She can't love 'im the way we think of family. They've a mutual understandin' of solitude an' pariahdom, an' that's 'bout it for family connections for 'em. Hinata thought she loved 'im, but now 'er feelin's are comin' into question from seein' what he's actually like. But she said it 'cause she needed to get it outta her system, an' she did. It only backfired from makin' Naruto reciprocate her feelin's to instead make 'im go rabid for killin' 'er an' denyin' anythin' concernin' their fight.
I know I'm ramblin', so I'm gonna shut up. Only question I can think to answer's why Isaribi's glad she's actually fourteen, but it's kinda obvious when given enough thought. Imagine if ya'll oblige, an' picture yourself in the shoes of a fourteen year-old girl stuck in the form of an seventeen-nineteen year-old. Glad you're not gonna be made fun of 'cause ya don't look like you're still developin', but since you're still fourteen ya can turn down idiots without them comin' back after your ass since ya gotta mention you're basically the daughter of the Kitsunin, a dangerous, high B-low A-rank threat shinobi with power in each attack as well as a highly overbearin' personality that branches off into protective fatherhood.
If any idiots who think you're theirs try anythin', your adoptive father/sensei's gonna either kill 'em or scar 'em so bad they might as well be dead. That's why Isaribi's glad she's younger than she looks, 'cause she's able to be flirted with an' not feel any negative repercussions since her father-figure/teacher sees her as one of his most precious people, he won't hurt her or do anythin' aggressive against her unless necessary. That's why, if it makes any sense to anybody 'sides me.
As always: R&R, no flamin' my ass, constructive criticism, an' SEE YA-G'NIGHT!