Finally! I have internet! Here's your update :P Ya'll the drill! And I don't think there's any translation needs. So just relax and enjoy!
Chapter 37
Needless to say that when Anko finally connected the dots she was… well, the best way to put it to words is to say that she spluttered as she stumbled over her words. It was Oretzi who finally got the words out, "Mitarashi as in, you're related to Anko-sensei?"
Haruko nods her head, "Our father, Mitarashi Kinpira, is Anko-san's big brother."
Anko swore under her breath as she rubs her temples in thought. Oretzi glances at her sensei for a moment before clearing her throat. "So… where are your parents?"
A sad look came across the twins' face, causing the hanyou to wince as she realizes belatedly that she stepped into a minefield with that question. "They're dead," Haruko mutters, snapping Anko out of her cursing. "They were killed by a couple nuke-nins they were charged with bringing down." The woman frowns at them for a moment before sighing.
"I don't know what Kinpira told you two," Anko starts slowly, "But I'm not the same girl he knew me as. I can only imagine that he sent you here for me to watch over you."
"We're fully capable of watching after ourselves," Tsukiko interrupts stubbornly.
Oretzi looks back and forth between the pair and Anko, worried. She ducks down to whisper something to Tsukiko and with a nod the wolf demon - with the help of the Juujin Bunshin no Jutsu - gently pulls Anko away before she can say or do something she might later regret in her state of shock. Once they were gone the hanyou eases herself up, dusting off her pants. "How much do you know about Anko-sensei?" she questions the girls softly, keeping her side to them instead of looking directly at them. She could feel her doujutsu activating on its own violations.
"Everything up until otou-san left the village with ojii-san."
Oretzi sighs to herself, it wasn't her place but at the same time it's obvious to her that they have no idea. "Hoshi, Tamashii, do you guys want to try and explain?" she asks them, hoping that one of them would step up to the plate.
"You go ahead, Oretzi. You know it better than us," Tamashii tells her, getting a short nod of agreement from their third teammate. Oretzi frowns at them, her eyes widening subtly in a pleading look but they firmly shook their heads no and gave her an encouraging look.
With a reluctant sigh she gestures the twins closer so she doesn't have to raise her voice too much. "I only met Anko-san just a little over two years ago. But she has a reputation among the villagers - how she's a blood-thirsty psychotic woman who takes after a Sannin who became a traitor," she starts. "Her jonin-sensei was a man named Orochimaru, a shinobi trained by Sarutobi Hiruzen. Over the years no one saw any flaws in him, no one had any reason to.
"When she graduated from the academy she and her teammates were handed over to Orochimaru. As her mentor, he taught her everything he knew and gave her the Summoning Scroll for the Snakes. At some point in her life he experimented with something called Juinjutsu and… well, the basic of that story is that she survived while the other nine did not.
"He abandoned her in a country not far from here and…there's not a doubt in my mind that he did something to her to change her from whoever she used to be to the woman she was before we met…"
It went without saying that as Oretzi explains everything about what she knows about Orochimaru and his influence over Anko - what he had done to her - she was also studying the twins before her. She also explained that its likely Anko doesn't remember her family, that her most of her past had been wiped out or at least distorted by something Orochimaru did when he abandoned her. They didn't give any look of disgust or revulsion at Anko's life story - or the basics of it - thus earning some respect from the hanyou since her protective tendencies are their strongest with Anko and her little brother - even her faux sisters and brother. But it will be a long while before they earn her complete trust and respect.
"Then… why are we here?" she hears Tsukiko murmur to her twin.
Oretzi gives them a long look before shaking her head, "It's up to you guys if you want to stick around. I'm just letting you know that the Anko your father knew is not the person she is anymore." She dusts her pants off before walking away, intent on doing something hopefully productive with her time. Since it is likely that Anko is probably drinking to get some chaos inside her own mind - the woman believes that to have one of those 'eureka' moments she needs to be buzzed or at least drunk.
After a moment of thinking she curses to herself and goes to find her sensei. She might as well keep the woman from making a big scene.
~Kazama~
"TSUKI!" Oretzi yelps at the wolf demon, disbelief coloring her voice. "You were supposed to keep an eye on her!"
"And I did," the wolf states in a manner that suggests that nothing is wrong about the picture before them. Oretzi executes a perfect face-palm, her ears flat against her head as she mutters under her breath.
The scene that which Oretzi was ranting to Tsukiko about is Anko currently curled - yes, curled - up against a wall with a bottle of what appears to be sake. Though Oretzi did have to wonder about whether or not it was empty. In either case the fact is Anko is so drunk she passed out.
"Not to the point where she can't even function!" she growls at her companion.
"Are we seriously going to have this conversation in a bar?" the wolf questions her, her eyebrow raise. Oretzi scowls at her before sighing. It felt too weird to be arguing with Tsukiko when she looks exactly like her.
"How the heck are we going to get her to her apartment?" Oretzi whines, thinking about the traps. The last time she tried to sneak in there - she was trying to steal back something Anko took from her! - she nearly gained a second scar on her tail not to mention a new one for the second tail.
"Why are we even going to bother getting her to her apartment? What about getting Yuhi-san to take her in for the day?"
"Because Yuhi-san would lecture Anko-san for getting drunk before lunch!" Tsukiko blinks and looks at the clock to find that yes, it was before lunch time.
"Huh, I didn't even notice the time," the wolf confesses.
"And this is ironic considering we live by the sun and the moon," Oretzi shakes her head as she kneels down next to the unconscious woman, keeping well out of immediate reach. "How long has she been unconscious?"
"Not that long. Maybe twenty minutes?"
The hanyou groans. It apparently took the woman less than thirty minutes to get completely smashed since it only been an hour since she started explaining to the twins about Anko's history. "Just how strong was this?" Oretzi mutters as she reaches over to pry the bottle away.
"Wait, don't!" she hears Tsukiko yelp just before she tug on the neck of the sake. A hand shoots out and wraps around her neck. With one quick jerk she is sent crashing to the floor with the heavy weight of her sensei on top of her. Figurative hackles nearly rose before settling when she realizes that the woman isn't going to hurt her. How she could tell while on her belly with Anko's knee on her lower back and a hand gripping her shoulder she doesn't know. She just… knows.
"Gaki?" she hears Anko slur above her.
"Hai." With that one word the woman is off her and she eases herself up with a wince as a few joints pop here and there. Yeah, she'll need to start lightly with the training. If ten minutes of hard core sparring and running around can make her creak and groan like an old wooden boat she couldn't imagine what a five hour training session with Anko would do to her.
Actually… she can and it wasn't a pretty picture.
"Gaki, wha-what ya doin' 'ere?"
"You got drunk, Anko-chan," Oretzi informs her gently as she pries the bottle out of the jonin's limp fingers, noting that the sake is eighty percent proof. No wonder she got drunk so quickly. "C'mon, let's get you home," she mutters as she helps the woman up and casually maneuvered her so that she's on her back, piggy back style. "This never gets comfortable," she mumbles to her companion who snickered at her. "Oh shut up. It's your fault she's drunk."
"My fault? How is it my fault? You told me to keep an eye on her!"
"How is keeping an eye on her translate to letting her drink before the sun is even at its peak!" Oretzi would've kept ranting but got her ear tweaked by Anko who had been stirred awake by the constant snarling between the two.
"Stop growlin' gaki," Anko mumbles, "Too effin' loud." Oretzi whined pitifully at the woman for pinching her ear before falling silent with a smirking wolf next to her. If anyone had any doubt about Oretzi's ability to smirk evilly all they had to do is look at her 'twin' and they could see it etched perfectly on her 'face'.
"Next time I tell you to keep an eye on Anko I mean, don't let her do something stupid," she growls in a low voice.
"Be more specific next time," Tsukiko remarks with a grumble, the Ancient language more fluid compared to the rough dialect of her native tongue and less likely to grate on Anko's ears. "She's your sensei. Not mine."
"You stay at her place when your place, your bed is with me. We are partners yet you always bail when things are bad." They stare at each other, dark brown meeting dark brown before Tsukiko looks away first. "If you stay with her you will respect her and watch over her as she would for you and me. It is only right."
"Fine…" the demon mutters quietly before she gets a one armed hug from her partner. "What are we going to do about the girls?"
"Who?"
Tsukiko gave her a look that said 'you're really asking me this?' but when Oretzi makes no signs of remembering just who the wolf demon was talking about she sighs. "How is it that you already forgot the reason why Anko was drinking in the first place?"
"Oh right," Oretzi mutters. She had forgotten in the need to get Anko back to her place - and judging by their location it'll be another five, ten minutes before they get there at this rate - but now that she's been reminded Tsukiko's question is actually valid. "Right now the ball's in their court. They could move on with their lives, forget about the fact that they have a surviving family member here in Konoha."
"Or they can stay here and start a new life?" Tsukiko questions thoughtfully.
"Or that," Oretzi agrees softly. On one hand she wanted Anko to get to know her nieces - there really was no other way to look at that - while on the other hand she wanted to protect her. No one knows the twins and paranoia told her to keep an eye on them until they prove themselves to be on the up and up.
"What are we going to do about them for now?"
"Keep an eye on them I suppose. For all intent and purpose they aren't shinobi registered in Konoha's ranks. Until that changes and they've proven themselves to Ibiki I propose monitoring them."
"That's just a lot of work," Tsukiko whines, switching suddenly to the human language. Stepping up to the Anko's apartment door with a nod to a passing neighbor who glances between the two girls and the unconscious woman before hurrying along.
"That may be, but keep in mind they're also attached to our team. That means…"
"Oh, right, they'll be around us for most of the days," the wolf demon mutters as she disables some of the traps to enable them to enter the apartment. The demon waits out in the living while Oretzi took Anko to the bedroom, lowering her to the mattress before going around the small space to gather a few necessary but lifesaving items to potentially help Anko with the hang-over she'll have later.
Once everything has been said and done the pair left the apartment, the demon resetting the traps to ensure some measure of protection for the inebriated woman. "C'mon Tsuki. I had an idea and I want to go get it done before Hoshi or Tamashii comes looking for me," the hanyou says mischievously as she swings herself over the railing and onto the roof across from them.
With a reluctant sigh the wolf drops the ninjutsu and follows after her companion. When she gets those ideas it just better to follow along and make sure she doesn't do anything to hurt people around her.
What she didn't expect was for the hanyou to lead her to there of all places…
~Kazama~
The hanyou was practically vibrating with tension as she forces herself to stay still. Her eyes narrowed in a painful grimace as she clenches her hands so tightly blood welled up from her sharp nails digging into her palm. Across from her Tsukiko tries to make funny faces to distract the hanyou but with each hiss of the gun the wolf's concentration was shattered and she ends up grimacing in sympathy as the growls in Oretzi's throat worsen.
When it was all said and done the hanyou, in a very tight voice, had one thing to say to the man. "Cover your ears and get down." She doesn't bother to look to see if he did as she bidden and took a deep breath, gathering about a tenth of her youki in her throat.
A loud piecing howl broke the law regarding sound and owned it - causing many people to look up in amazement at the howl, after of course wincing at the near ear shattering noise. It goes without saying the closer they were to the source of the sound the worse it was for their poor defenseless ears.
Why exactly Oretzi was howling so loudly is simple. Though completely unexpected.
She had just gotten five piercings in her sensitive wolf ears, three in her right ear and two in her left. In her right ear sits three gem studded earrings - a ruby, sapphire, and a brown topaz ranging from the top of her ear to maybe the mid along the outside of her ear. While in her left ear sits two small hoops made out of what appears to be silver. The topmost hoop held a small stone called a bloodstone - a black gem with traces of what appears to be blood streaking through the stone. While the other one is a small round stone of lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone with an intense shade of blue with faint streaks of yellow.
Inside the shop the store owner stares at his partially demolished wall. Oretzi grimaces at the damage while rubbing at her extremely sensitive ears. "Why didn't you stop me?" she whines at Tsukiko, almost regretting the decision to get them pierced.
"Like you would've listened to me," Tsuki huffs.
"Just for that I'm gonna…" Oretzi starts with a mild growl in her throat before she cuts herself of, deciding that it's not worth the effort. "Hey, Mamoru-san, can you do another piercing for me?" she asks the man sweetly, despite the fact he's staring at the wreckage of his wall in shock. "I'll pay for the damage," she adds in to get his attention.
"Aright. But no more for those ears," the man states, gesturing to her wolf ears before he gestures to the large hole in his wall.
"Yeah, I wasn't planning on getting the next one there," she comments before explaining to him what she wanted.
Another ten minute went by before Oretzi walked out of the store, humming happily to herself. Her ears completely healed and adjusted to the presence of the earrings. Her tongue playing with the cool metals that has been pierced into her lower lip, two on both sides. Four stainless steel hoops have been inserted into the new piercings, so now, when she bites her lips there is a distinctive pressure from the metal between her teeth and lip.
"You are going to be killed by your okaa-san," Tsuki mutters in ancient demon, her paw covering half her face.
"What can I say? I've been wanting to do this for a while," Oretzi retorts with a lazy grin on her face. She wanted to go and do something silly. Maybe she should go find Naruto…
"How did you even get Mamoru-san to do the piercings? Isn't there a law?"
"Maybe. But I look a lot older," she remarks as she idly plays with the onyx black snake wrap around earring on her left ear. It was the final ear piercing she had done before she requested the shark bites. She left Mamoru a very happy man, the total of the piercings and the wall repair bill left him with a very fat wallet. "I wonder if Anko-san woke up yet," the hanyou comments to herself, it's been about two hours since she left the woman's side.
"We just left her. Can we please go and eat?"
"Sure. BBQ?"
She got a quick 'yes' from the wolf demon and with that they were off.
~Kazama~
"Hey," Tamashii calls to his teammate, "Wasn't that Oretzi's howl?" His hangover completely gone he was able to think clearly for the first time since last night and his ears buzzed with that distinctive ring that comes to hearing Oretzi's howl.
"Now that you mentioned it, it was," Hoshi mutters, turning away from the Mitarashi twins. "It's been awhile she made that kind of howl." Her eyebrows furrow in concern before she is up on her feet stretching. "Let's go find that baka and see what happened."
"Can we help?"Tsukiko questions, glancing at her sister."If we split up, say, Haruko with Hoshi and me with Tamashii, we might find her faster." The teammates glance at each other before shrugging their shoulders. They really didn't see anything wrong with her plan. And this way, with one of them with the twins it's likely Oretzi won't dodge them.
"Alright. Hoshi, do you have your mic piece?" Tamashii questions as he pulls his standard issue out.
"Yep," the smaller girl answers and compared to the twins she was smaller. Haruko stood at least two inches taller than Hoshi, and she was 5'2 even, while Tsukiko looks to be just a bit shorter than her twin.
The only ones who look profoundly tall is Tamashii at his 5'8" height and even then Oretzi had begun to rival that at 5'7". It was amazing how she is only ten years old - she had grown nearly a foot tall in a span of two years. Most children her age are barely past five feet. There was a question of how tall she'll get but no one knows any details about her mother's human form and Tamashii overheard Tsume talking to Anko about her former partner and how he wasn't very tall until his mid-teens where he reached the height of 5'11.
In either case the pairs were formed and they agreed that the Northern and Western districts would be searched by Tamashii and Tsukiko - with the Hyuuga giving her a tour - while the Southern and Eastern districts would be searched by Hoshi and Haruko - again, with Akino giving her a tour.
"How long were you a team?" Tsukiko questions the Hyuuga boy, her voice low and curious. In some way she reminded him of Hinata but more willing to speak whatever it is on her mind and not afraid that she'll meet scorn for her thoughts.
"It'll be two years in three months," he answers after doing a quick math. "It's been a little over two years since she came to Konoha though."
"And you achieved the chunin ranks," she comments, her hazel brown eyes traveling over his outfit with the chunin flak half zipped up. "It's impressive. Most genins don't achieve that until after their third year - if they're smart about it."
Tamashii chuckled, thinking about Oretzi's blatant determination to advance through the ranks. "We probably would've entered an earlier exam if our sensei didn't have an age restriction," he comments. "As it was we had to wait for Oretzi-chan to turn ten before we could send in an application."
"Wait, how old is she?" Tsukiko stopped him with a hand on his elbow, "She didn't look that young. I pegged her to be at least fourteen or maybe even fifteen."
"She's ten, just turned six months ago," the boy informs her.
"Whoa, she's tall for her age," Tsukiko mutters before something bothered her. "Um…" she shakes her head, "are those ears and tail just for show?"
"No, she's a hanyou, a wolf to be specific," he frowns before he looks at her, a bit suspicious. "Listen," he starts, his voice losing the soft edge and gaining a protective tone, "some stuff happened back in our first year. The fact that she's a hanyou, an offspring of a demon and a human means she's in danger with both humans and demons." Tsukiko averts her eyes for a moment. "If, for any reason, you think you or your sister can't tolerate her presence I want you to request for a different arrangement."
"Hey, calm down," Tsukiko gently tells him. "I didn't mean it like that. Haruko and I, we're pretty accepting about other species."
Meanwhile, across the village…
"We have to be," Haruko comments with a shrug that almost seems careless, but her voice spoke volumes about the acceptance she's talking about. "Our parents and us, we were constantly traveling. We've had our fair share of demons out to eat or befriend us," she adds thoughtfully. "We even rescued a black lion cub from a human trap."
"How does this has to do with the fact that Oretzi is a hanyou?"
Haruko smiles at Hoshi, "The fact that the cub was a demon. We traveled around often enough to know when there's a demon in the area." Haruko glances around them, taking in the industrial buildings. "We know there are hanyou children out there. Some we had to kill ourselves because they were a threat to humans." She gets a ferocious glare from the smaller girl and quickly tries to explain. "There are hanyou out there who are unstable. From what I saw of your friend, Oretzi, she's literally one of the rare few children who is a perfect blend of both human and demon. There are many and I mean many who are not as fortunate. The ones I had to put down, they were all unstable in the minds and dominated by their demons. The ones who were the opposite… we couldn't do anything for them."
Haruko turns away, her face falling as she remembers the ones they couldn't help. The exact opposite of the demonic hanyou, frail and overall weak compared to their counterparts. Often they are eaten by demons before they are able to defend themselves. If they managed to avoid that fate and stay alive it was likely they would succumb to malnourishments or dehydration. That is, if they weren't killed by the hands of blind moronic people. All in all, it's a sad life for anyone borne as a result of a union between humans and demons.
"Your friend is a unique person and I'm not saying it because she's a hanyou - though she is very special person due to this fact - but because she obviously have people she can trust and rely on," Haruko finally starts, her chest moving in a deep sigh. "I'm not sure how much you know about the lives of hanyou children but Oretzi is very… fortunate."
Hoshi hummed in thought. "I think, we all owe her life, her presence, to her mother. If she hadn't placed Oretzi with the…" she stops herself before she reveals too much information and looks around them. They were in the south district where it was mostly civilian houses and a shopping center as well as rundown buildings.
Haruko looks at the buildings too and, just as they were walking by what seems to be a restaurant, she sees a flash of white that catches her attention. She reaches out to catch Hoshi's arm and gestures towards the restaurant with her other hand. "Correct me if I'm wrong," she starts as she narrows her eyes at the window, "But your friend. She has a companion with white fur?"
"Yeah…" Hoshi mutters before she taps the mic, turning it on. "Twinkle to Soul-boy, come in Soul-boy. Over."
"This is Soul-boy," she hears the husk of his voice come in through clearly.
Hoshi glances at Haruko, mentally summing her up. "Sunbeam found a trail on Jaakuna and partner. We'll check back in five. Over and out."
"Sunbeam?" Haruko chuckled in amusement.
"Your name does translate into sun child," Hoshi comments, suddenly worried if she angered the other girl. Before telling herself that her priority is Oretzi, not Haruko's feelings. Without waiting for the ronin's remark or reaction she made her way towards the restaurant, realizing almost at the last minute that it's one of the BBQ restaurants owned by the Akimichi clan.
It is also one of Oretzi's favorite restaurants right after Sweet Dango Shop. In fact, put a plate of perfectly BBQ pork, chicken, and beef in front of her and then put a plate of dango dumplings next to that plate - which one would she attack first. Hands down, all bets are off, she'll attack the dumplings first. It goes without fail that dumplings will always come first when the hanyou is debating which food will go down the hatch. Actually, it's not even a debate. She automatically reaches for the dangos first.
Hoshi steps into the restaurant and turned her head toward the flash of white, where she sees Tsukiko sitting rather primly at the booth as the hanyou - with her back towards the entrance - gestures at the demon. The purple haired chunin notes Haruko stepping in behind her but chose to focus on her friend, wondering why there seems to be a hint of something different about her.
"Oretzi," the Akino heiress calls to the girl when she's closer and when the hanyou turns around her eyes widen in shock as she realizes just what was different. "Oh!"
"Konnichiwa," the ten year old greets with a mischievous grin that made Hoshi's eyes zone in on the new additions. Her eyes flickering briefly to the amused Mitarashi girl behind her teammate, the grin morphing into a welcoming smile. She gets a mouthed 'Nice!' from the girl and chuckled.
"Kami-sama," Hoshi breathes, her eyes roaming from each new piercing. Each one practically making them widen until it looks like they were gonna pop right out. "Wha-what did you do yourself!"
"I got piercings!" the hanyou exclaims in a tone that sounds really chipper.
"You're only ten!"
"Yet looks completely older," Tsukiko comments from her seat, her eyes riveted on the food that is currently grilling in front of them. Particularly a large venison steak.
"You encouraged her?!" she squawks at the demon.
"No," Oretzi giggles, "She was totally against it." She giggles again before she manages to calm herself long enough to execute a perfect Juujin Bunshin no Jutsu so that Tsukiko is no longer looking like an out of place pet inside the restaurant.
"Oretzi!"
"Hoshi!" the hanyou mocks exclaim before scooting over to make room for the girl, telling Tsukiko to do the same for Haruko.
"Why? Why would you pierce your ears! And-and your lip!"
"I wanted to," was the simple response that has Hoshi groaning.
"You and your 'I wanted to' is gonna be our downfall," she mumbles, shaking her head. She gets a tap from Haruko who gestures to her own neck. With a puzzled frown she touches her own, her fingers brushing against the mic strap. "Oh!" she exclaims in understanding before she quickly relays a message to Tamashii, giving him their location. "This conversation is not done yet," she reminds the hanyou after their teammate confirms the coordinates and his ETA.
"Considering the reactions so far," Oretzi starts with a grin that flashes a hint of her canines, "this day is going to be fun."
"Is there a reason why you're so amused by this?" Hoshi questions her with a bit of incredibility.
"She's a bit high on the natural chemicals her body released during the piercings," Tsukiko remarks as she takes the venison steak off the grill, cutting into the meat to reveal that it's still rather raw along the insides.
It had been on the heated surface long enough for the outside to be warmed and slightly browned. Haruko made a face at the bleeding steak and turns away just before the first piece lands within the henged wolf's mouth.
"I have to say, from a completely unbiased point of view, the difference is… well, shocking," Haruko comments for the first time since this whole… she had no idea how to label it. "I know we just met today but I like the new look."
"Don't encourage her!" Hoshi exclaims as she face-palms. "Have you even thought about what your okaa-san is gonna say?"
"Nope," Oretzi answers with a lazy smile, popping the second syllable.
"Endorphins," Tsukiko reminds Hoshi before she could say anything in response.
"When will they wear off?!" the Akino heiress shrieks. Her attention was so divided between the wolves that she completely failed to notice the amused expression on Haruko's face. Her response when Tsukiko gives a clueless shrug was simply off the scale. And this is when Tamashii and the second half of the Mitarashi twins stepped in.
Chaos anyone?