Chapter twelve, man, I hope this Chapter isn't so bad
the 'OCs' here are one notes that probably won't appear at all after this Chapter basically just there for world-building but if you've read RV you'd know the ones that are gonna be here to stay, sorry for the wait
Normal Speech: "twenty-one twenty-five"
Flashbacks: "I was on a mining colony on mars"
Biju/Fox/Summoning/Inner Moka/Mikogami: "just a quiet backwater facility among the stars"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV for scene changes
"you in your gray jacket with that oh-so-familiar coffee stain just as you always are"
Yūgao scoffed as she twisted the knob to change the station, she couldn't believe the week came and went so quickly.
"Hey! This is radio station w-s-k-e-e, we're taking calls on the wish line, making your wacky wishes come true!"
Yūgao rolled her eyes and once again twisted the knob to change the station, they were already heading to the party with the Bus driver being oddly silent, most of the supplies were in a gym bag on the seat next to Yūgao just to see what they'd need to get the job done
"We spoke of was and when, although I wasn't there, he said there was his friend, which came as some surprise"
Yūgao sighed, she just couldn't get into this world's music it was just so different from what she was used to in Konoha...or maybe she just hadn't found anything she had liked yet?
"It's a miracle that thing can even get signal this far out," the Bus driver said, breaking the silence
the Purple-haired Anbu shrugged and placed the small gray Radio next to her and let the song play, while she watched Naruto adjust his bow just in front of her
"Why do I have to wear this thing again?" Naruto asked, fiddling around with his orange tie, the Uzumaki shifted uncomfortably in his black suit though Yūgao had to struggle simply just getting him to wear it, she eventually did though with some minor concessions.
"Stop complaining, it's just for the night" Yūgao dismissed, Naruto finally left the tie alone and muttered something under his breath.
The blond Shinobi sat there in silence for a few seconds trying to calm his nerves, he was about to be in a mansion full of extremely powerful people and yet again would have to kill someone.
Naruto looked out the window from the Bus and noticed the road they were on slowly degraded into more of a dirt path, a lot like Konoha's roads
"The Tunnel shouldn't be that far away, we should be at the party on time but there's nothing wrong with being fashionably late, so we're taking a detour" though Naruto couldn't see it from where he was sitting the Bus driver was smirking and that was something Yūgao caught
"A detour?" Naruto said, the Shinobi stood up and grabbed a metal pole but the Bus suddenly stopped causing the blond to almost fall while Yūgao caught the small radio that nearly fell off the Bus seat.
"...I need Gas" Nurari said as he held up some money and the bus doors opened, Naruto glanced out the window to see a small Gas station in the middle of what was basically nowhere
"Uzuki...do you mind?" The Bus driver asked, Yūgao grinned, she had done this before already during their night out in the city so she knew what she was doing.
"Fine but I'm keeping the change" Yūgao answered as she grabbed the money and stepped out of the vehicle, Naruto and the Bus driver stepped out after her, the blond decided to stretch out and while the Bus driver took out a cigar.
"You're smoking?" Naruto questioned as he crouched down and Nurari chuckled
"Of course I'm" He answered
Now, Naruto wasn't stupid and he wasn't the smartest person but the Uzumaki knew just what was wrong with that
"But...we're at a Gas station" Naruto commented and the Bus driver shrugged
"So?"
Naruto blinked at the answer before standing up
"What do you mean, 'so'? Why do I even have to explain it?" Naruto asked with a short glare and the Bus driver laughed again before noticing Yūgao wave at them from the store and give them a thumbs up
"Alright, kid, you're pumping the Gas," Nurari said as he went behind the Bus, Naruto looked confused before following him behind the bus
"Why can't you just do it?" Naruto asked Nurari had chuckled before heading back into the Bus
"It would be very dangerous for me to do it while I'm having a wonderful smoke break, just grab the Gas pumper, stick in the Gas tank and pump it, it's really simple." The Bus driver spoke before closing the Bus doors leaving Naruto outside, the blond Shinobi silently cursed, he wanted to go in there and force the man to do it himself. after a few seconds, Naruto grumbled something and went behind the bus to learn how to refill it
Yūgao eventually returned from the store with a small black bag and narrowed her eyes as she couldn't find her blond student
"Where's Uzumaki?" Yūgao questioned while Nurari took a drag from his Cigar
"Pumping the Gas" He stated
"Why?"
"He has to learn someday," The Bus driver said before going back to his Cigar, Yūgao raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she threw the black bag on a seat, it only took another minute for Naruto to stumble back on the Bus.
Yūgao motioned for him to come and the Uzumaki did so without hesitation
"Did you brush your teeth?" Yūgao asked and Naruto turned away to avoid her gaze
"I...yeah, I did," Naruto said, Yūgao for a brief second caught Naruto's squirming and she sighed
"Here's some mouthwash, mint gum and a water bottle" The Purple-haired Anbu stated as she dug into the black bag she got at the store and passed Naruto the three items.
Naruto opened one of the Bus's windows and opened the bottle of mouthwash, just as the Bus started moving
"With that out of the way, we can talk about what the plan is" Nurari started, Yūgao nodded and turned off her radio
"Alright, let's hear it" Yūgao commented
"When we get there, we'll most likely greet Kanda himself at the front, he's the host this time around, don't try to make any sort of physical contact with him even if he's being polite," The Bus driver said while Naruto gurgled some mouthwash and spat it out the window
"Why?" He asked and Nurari took a deep breath
"As I said last time, he's a death worm, they originate from Gobi desert a place outside of Japan, on the mainland continent, and despite all my years walking this world, I've only gathered so little on them just because of how rare they are but what I do know should be enough…"
Naruto and Yūgao glanced at each other as Nurari continued
"A death worm is huge for a worm, around the size of a human teenager, and as for why I say to not make any skin-to-skin contact. they are said to have enough poison to instantly kill anything that touches it among other things, it's also said that they are able to spray acid at their victims but you shouldn't need to fight his Monster form, this is an assassination after all…" The Bus driver glanced at a metal box he had next to him
the Bus entered a dark tunnel ahead, he grabbed his metal box and handed it off to Yūgao, the Anbu woman opened it up to see a glass bottle with white powder inside it
"A death worm can't be killed by any normal means but their insides are said to be filled with Acid, the White powder there is 'lithium monoxide anion' the strongest base on this planet, I won't bore you with the scientific stuff, I'm sure you've had enough of that, Uzumaki…"
Naruto scoffed as he remembered all of those chemistry lessons at Yokai, the Bus driver continued
"But all Death worms need to have a lot of acid in their stomach if they don't, they'll die, enough of that stuff should really do the job for you, it helps that it has a few Magical properties to amplify it...sounds a bit overkill, I know, but with these types of jobs, you can never be too sure" The Bus driver explained, Naruto frowned as he watched Yūgao observe the glass bottle and it's contents
"Is that all?" Naruto spoke up and the Bus driver took a deep breath
"Pretty much...our objective is to poison his drink and confirm his death, the headmaster already explained to me how your clone ability works along with some other abilities you Shinobis have" He started while Yūgao put the glass bottle back
"The Proper term is Jutsu" Yūgao corrected and the Man smirked
"My mistake, well, ideally, the Plan I came up with is really simple...so...we will talk with some of the guests and servants. one of you should choose a servant to impersonate, disguise yourself as the servant of your choice and slip into the Kitchen, spike the man's...personal drink and serve it to him, slip away once again to drop your disguise and rejoin us" The Bus driver continued but Naruto looked confused and voiced his concerns
"What about the other person?" Naruto asked
"I was getting to that...the poison is going to work there's no doubt about that, we'll be leaving the party a bit early, by the time everyone realizes what's happening we'll be nearing the tunnel, the other person is in charge of making a scene so the first one can slip away, how you do it is irrelevant" Nurari finished.
Yūgao appeared to be lost in her own thoughts, she recalled going on Missions similar to this, and she knew how things could be so calm one second and completely chaotic the next second.
The Anbu stole a glance at her blond student and then back at the Bus driver. a part of her wanted to use this mission to test Naruto's abilities but something like this was too delicate to be left with Naruto, there were so many things that could go wrong so quickly, and her mission, first and foremost was to protect Naruto.
"I'll handle the hard part" Yūgao spoke up, Nurari nodded but didn't take his eyes off the road.
"Fine, Uzumaki, you'll be covering her now as for what we will do if it goes wrong? You just have to hope everything goes well" Nurari's glowing eyes scanned the tree line on his left side, just in the distance was an old mansion sitting on the edge of a cliff
The Bus took a left on the dirt road and began to climb a small hill despite it starting to get very bumpy, the vehicle was still doing just fine. The Bus finally stopped at the entrance just as a couple of guests were gathered out in the front.
"And we're here…" The Bus driver said as he turned off the lights, instead of opening the Bus doors, Nurari took out two vitals glass bottles, one was glowing pink while the other was glowing blue
"And we're going to finish that communication spell here, drink up," Nurari said, he passed Naruto the pink bottle while passing Yūgao the blue one.
Naruto looked at the bottle before glancing back at the Bus driver, he noticed Yūgao being equally hesitant before she took off the cork and drank away, Naruto followed soon after.
Despite the taste of the drink being bitter and awful, the two Shinobis were able to stomach it, Yūgao took Naruto's empty bottle and handed both of them back to the Bus driver.
"Good...to activate the spell and send a message, go ahead just scratch your neck, the same place where Ruby placed the spell," The Bus driver said as he exposed his own neck to the two, paying closer attention to both Yūgao and Naruto could see it glowing green, Nurari sniffed the air then smirked
"The Drink also did wonders for your scent, it's all over the place but I can't trace a whiff of Human on you...that'll confuse some of the guests maybe even bring some unwanted attention on you two but it's better than them finding out the truth" He commented, this confused both Shinobis as they couldn't smell anything but decide to take Nurari's word for it
Naruto and Yūgao went through some last-minute preparations before finally hopping off the vehicle, the blond took a deep breath as his eyes finally landed on the mansion
The architecture almost reminded him of a miniature Yokai academy but the stone walls were very clearly old...very old, the Shinobi noticed a huge water fountain behind them and several vehicles of all kinds parked in a circle.
Naruto swallowed as he finally saw a short pudgy man at the front of the door with a sinister grin, the Uzumaki kept staring at him and realized this was the target before he could do anything, Nurari motioned for the two to follow him
"Apologises for arriving a tad late...Masatane Kanda, was it?" The Bus driver feigned Ignorance as he walked up the steps to greet the host, standing next to Masatane Kanda were two servants, one was clearly a goblin, Naruto had already seen one of those back at Yokai due to an unfortunate accident with Yukari.
But it was the second one that had Naruto and Yūgao on their toes, she was clearly a human though both Naruto and Yūgao clearly saw something wrong with the Human servant as she stared at Naruto and Yūgao with glassy eyes.
"What? Ain't you ever see a Thrall before?" The Short pudgy man said while Naruto froze up, Yūgao simply put up an emotionless stare but neither of the two noticed the Bus driver scratching his neck
"Keep in mind, when you walk in there you'll see things you don't necessarily agree with or like, just keep your emotions in check, this is just how the Monster world can be sometimes..." Nurari mentally told them as he flashed a white envelope to Masatane and both Naruto and Yūgao froze when they heard this
"Eh...anyway go head-on in, I can't believe the exorcist decided to send his lackeys this year instead, a total lack of respect on his part..." Masatane casually dismissed and motioned for his servants to move out of the way
with a shred of hesitation, Yūgao was the first to set foot in the Mansion and to say she was surprised was an understatement, she had seen fancy places back in Konoha but nothing compared to this, the brown Marble floors, the paintings that were all over the stone walls and Colored stained Windows really screamed rich and powerful. Hell, not even the Daimayo's palace could compete here and that was saying something...
Naruto wasn't fairing much better but the Shinobi was more concerned with the people in the ballroom. thankfully for him, all of the guests seemed to be in their Human form but Naruto knew unlike the Students at Yokai these Monsters could be...no these Monsters were most likely far more dangerous than the Students at Yokai.
it was like walking into the belly of the beast for the Uzumaki.
"Come on, let's take a seat," The Bus driver said as he walked towards the center of the first floor, there was a large number of tables and many of the guests were casually making small talk.
"Can you believe the Gashadokuro's main family didn't attend this year?"
"I'm not surprised, they've been in quite the power struggle with Aribumi's death"
"It's close to a full-blown civil war in their whole family, I heard the Eldest son was killed by his own siblings during a ceremony, their mother was quite...distraught afterward...She eve-"
Naruto did his best to ignore the chattering of the other Guests and finally took a seat on the far right of the room along with Yūgao and the Bus driver
"Why don't you get something to eat, Uzumaki?" Nurari said with a grin, Naruto looked nervous as he turned over to see several tables at the edge of the room, scanning the contents of the food trays there, they seemed to be...editable, fruits, meats, and even some sweets.
The blond Shinobi stole a glance at Yūgao who shrugged at him
"Alright" Naruto muttered and stood up, Yūgao hummed before gesturing to the same goblin servant they had met at the front door.
"You wouldn't happen to have some red wine here, would you?" Yūgao asked, the servant nodded slowly and scurried off to the Kitchen, the Bus driver inwardly flinched, that drink could be confused for something else in the Monster world.
"Uzuki, I'd be careful with that request"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Naruto picked up a plate and spoon, he stole a glance at the guests by the food trays, they all seemed to be friendly enough, maybe a bit stuck up as well but it wasn't like he was expecting anything less in a party like this.
The blond even began considering going up to them to strike up a conversation...That's what Old man said to do...blending into the crowd and all of that but these Monsters all came from well-known families, just walking up to them and announcing who he was would put a target on his back.
In fact, now that Naruto had taken the time to think about it, why were they here? The Headmaster said they were going to take his place but he had no clue what this meeting was about and he was positive Yūgao didn't either.
"Excuse me, could you please move?"
Naruto flinched as he heard a soft feminine voice next to him and pulled himself out of his thoughts
"Eh? Oh sorry about that I-" Naruto's words died in his mouth as he laid his eyes on the person next to him
Naruto didn't know if it was Jiraiya rubbing off on him or if he was finally at 'that' age but he couldn't help but admire this lady's beauty, from her light blond hair to her tan skin and snow-white dress, she was something else
"So sorry! I was just trying to pick up some of those blood packages next to you" The Woman said
Naruto's eyes widened as he looked down at the food tray and just next to the sushi rolls, he was about to pick up were a bunch of blood packages in a bowl of ice.
Despite being so surprised, Naruto gave the lady a dumbfounded nod and got out of her way
"I haven't seen you attend other meetings before is this your first time?" She asked, after a brief hesitation, he spoke
"Yeah, it is" Naruto answered, the Lady picked up two blood packs and frowned
"I hate these boring meetings but Kaa-san sent me here without her for the first time" she childishly complained, Naruto finally got a good look at her eyes and they were both red. it didn't take long for the Shinobi to put two and two together as he watched the Lady eye up the blood packs
"Vampire?" Naruto thought in slight fear and curiosity, the Lady frowned, looking at her full plate before looking back at the blood packs
"So what's your name?" She asked and Naruto looked at the food trays
"My name?" Naruto replied
"Yeah, your name, silly, you seem different than the other attendees, they can be so uptight and snotty even when they really shouldn't be…" She stated with a slight low tone towards the end, Naruto held his breath before glancing at her
"Naruto" he answered and the lady giggled
"Like those fish cakes rolls that go on ramen?" She spoke, Naruto gave a look of slight annoyance
"It actually maelstrom…" Naruto corrected but the Lady gave him a fanged grin
"But fish cake rolls are a lot cuter!" she commented, Naruto sighed and scratched his cheek.
"Anyway, I'm Kahlua Shuzen" She extended her hand for the Shinobi to shake who reluctantly did so
"V-Vampire?" Naruto almost hesitated to ask but the information was a Shinobi's best friend
"Of course!" Kahlua nodded and bit into the blood pack
"Did...you know they actually have the Human Cattle in the basement?, they're all pretty cool down there making it really good" Kahlua spoke finishing up her first blood pack for the night, Naruto flinched hearing this
"Human...Cattle?"
"Ah! Well, most Vampires like their blood warm. I for one think blood that's a bit cold is far better!" She piped up so casually talking about these things in front of the Shinobi
Kahlua was about to speak again when she froze
"O-Oh! I have to go back to my companions! It was nice talking to you Naruto-san!" Kahlua said.
With that, she picked up one last blood pack and hurried off. Naruto watched her nearly slip but thankfully for Kahlua, she was able to catch herself and disappeared into the crowd of guests
"Shuzen...I know I heard that name before..." Naruto mused before going back to his table
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
After finishing eating, both Naruto and Yūgao were pleasantly surprised to know that most of the Mansion were free to explore, the latter decided to use this as an opportunity to map out the area to plan her next move.
Her Mind wandered into the possibilities to get this next assassin done, She had to serve this man a drink somehow, and to do so, she'd probably need a disguise and a damn good one
The Anbu's eyes scanned left and right as she casually walked through the halls, the Kitchen was a restricted area with a few guards but Security was surprisingly lax, from what the Bus driver said it was due to 'internal politics' and 'a short notice'.
Yūgao didn't care what the reason was but she knew her job got a lot easier thanks to this, she looked down at her violet dress and thought about how she wanted to go about this.
She'd need to take out one of the servants without anyone noticing and hide the body, that alone was going to be difficult with so many of the servants being out on the first floor but with a bit of luck, Yūgao was positive she'd find at least one of them in a secluded area.
So she decided to check out the less populated areas of the Mansion and finally after a few minutes of searching, Yūgao had entered the Mansion's library and found a single human female servant in the library, she automatically assumed the servant was human but after some brief consideration, she could also probably be a low leveled Monster that Yūgao had never heard about.
The Anbu bit her lower lip and gently closed the doors behind her, she looked over to the female servant that was peacefully resting on the couch and completely unaware of her demise.
She couldn't have been older than Yūgao and she was quite the looker, all things considered, it made Yūgao a bit sad that this girl just got caught up in all of this and had to die like this.
Yūgao took out a Kunai from a small black Shinobi pouch that was hidden on her thigh with only some Ninja wire there to hold it in place.
The Anbu took a deep breath as she got behind the sleeping girl, Yūgao positioned the Kunai just behind the girl's head but for some reason, she began to hesitate
"Damn, that kid is really rubbing off on me" Yūgao mentally cursed, thinking that her time spent with Naruto was making her soft, Yūgao put the Kunai away and instead suddenly placed the girl in a chokehold
The Servant woke up abruptly and began to trash her arms around she even tried to get up and scream but Yūgao applied more pressure on her neck and not a sound came out of her mouth, after several seconds of the girl struggling, she finally went limp.
"Thank Kami that went off without a hitch" Yūgao let out a sigh of relief before slowly taking out some more Ninja wire and dutch tape from a storage scroll attached to her other thigh, Yūgao made sure to get a good look at her, burning the girl's face, uniform, and body into her memory before hauling the Servant's unconscious body away.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Naruto sighed as he looked stood on a balcony alone, he was glad to get away from the crowds of people on the first floor and found himself a quiet spot here, though even he could still hear the musicians downstairs softly playing their music. the stars were mesmerizing tonight and finally, he was alone with his own thoughts.
The blond didn't actually know how he was going to do his part of the mission, creating a distraction? How would he even be able to do that without putting a huge target on his own back? he could always ask the Bus driver for any ideas but there wasn't any hurry just yet.
Eventually, his mind came on to the subject of Mizore and Konoha, for the past week it had been on the back of his mind, and still, he couldn't come to a definitive answer not like he was expecting to so soon but still.
Tsunade would have probably talked some sense to him about how this would only harm him in the long run, having to return to Konoha at some point.
"For as long as it takes for this whole thing to get sorted out"
Naruto could remember Tsunade's words clearly, the vagueness of it all was what made him so anxious, Mizore seemed to want something long term but really when would he return to Konoha? Three years? Five years? It might even end up being longer than that as far as he knew.
There was still Sasuke and Orochimaru, Naruto didn't want to break his promise of bringing him back, how could he be Hokage and protect everyone if he couldn't bring back a friend?
Then finally there were his own feelings towards the whole thing, Mizore was a great person and she wasn't bad looking girl either, a part of Naruto did want to give her a chance just to see where it could go, Yūgao said it was a nice thing to experience after all.
Naruto couldn't take her to Konoha though, he didn't have the heart to ask that of her, to leave her family and people behind, and then there was again Konoha...
Naruto suddenly rubbed his face and let out a frustrated sigh
How was this even a question in his head? He was loyal to Konoha, his nindo, and his friends...but his friends also included everyone from Yokai.
He debated on whether or not to ask Yūgao for more advice but given how she could possibly be busy with something Naruto decided against it, for now, there wasn't really anyone he could turn to get straight advice for this.
Anyone from Konoha would argue against any type of relationship that could complicate the mission, Any of his friends in Yokai would tell him to give it a chance and they didn't even know Naruto could leave at any time
it could even be Tomorrow, Tsunade could send a letter to recall him and Yūgao the very next day and that would be it...he wouldn't see Mizore, Tsukune or Moka or anyone else anymore.
A part of him almost began to regret getting so...attached
"Oh! I didn't expect to see you here, Naruto-san!"
The blond turned around, the second he heard his name to see Kahlua standing at the doorway with a beaming smile
"Hi" Naruto greeted returning her smile with one of his own, Kahlua slowly stepped forward with a blood pack in her hand and leaned on the railing next to him
"I hope I'm not bugging you, Naruto-san, I just needed to get away from all those people downstairs, all the talk about politics and families and all of that." Kahlua let out an exhausted groan as she looked up at the night sky, Naruto grinned at her, despite finding out that Kahlua was a Vampire she seemed to be a lot different from Moka and...Scary Moka.
"Yeah, I never liked those types of guys either…" Naruto casually replied before briefly catching something
"Oi, you don't have to be so formal, Naruto is just fine," he stated, and Kahlua enjoyed her blood pouch
"So what were you doing out here by yourself?" Kahlua asked, Naruto simply shrugged at her
"I was just thinking about things" Naruto answered and Kahlua hummed as she neared him
"Mmm...Personal things?" She spoke and Naruto paused
"Yeah" Naruto looked bored as he stared at the forest below the cliff
"You wanna talk about it?" Kahlua offered and Naruto shook his head
"Nah, it's a bit weird to ta-" Naruto stopped mid-sentence, he thought about what she said, he didn't know her too well so opening up about this would be weird and maybe even a bit dangerous but she was offering to hear him out and as far as he knew, he probably wouldn't be seeing her again after this mission.
Despite being the only other person, Naruto had spoken to at the party, Kahlua was still a stranger. Naruto hardly knew her beyond her name...but being a stranger, Kahlua also didn't have anything to gain or lose when giving her thoughts on the matter, unlike Yūgao who still had her mission at the end of the day or Mizore who wanted him here.
"Are you sure about it?" Naruto asked and Kahlua nodded
"Of Course, We're friends!"
Naruto took a deep breath and glanced at her
"friends...right" Naruto mused, he was trying to pick the right words to say as he didn't want to spill everything. he had already heard Yūgao's opinion on it now it was time to get a second opinion.
"So there's this girl that I know and she recently told me she liked me and wanted something more than just a friendship but I have...responsibilities that keep me from saying yes" Naruto started and Kahlua closed her eyes as she took a sip from her blood pack
"Do you like this girl?"
"I don't think I ever started to see her more as anything more than a friend until recently I think…" Naruto trailed off and Kahlua shrugged
"If you see her like that then do it?" Kahlua casually said as the Shinobi flinched
"I'm not even sure!" Naruto brought up fast now forgetting who he was talking to
"I have a lot of other stuff to worry about too! I'm not someone who goes back on their word." Naruto stated as Kahlua continued to drink her blood pouch
"I'm not good at this stuff, can we talk about something else?" She casually dismissed, Naruto nearly face faulted before pulling himself together and turning back to her with a half-hearted grin
"So then why did you bother to ask?!" Naruto questioned as Kahlua stood up and tossed the empty blood packet away
"...I don't know…" Kahlua started, the Uzumaki huffed clasping his hands together and looking on at the view
"This party really sucks..." he muttered as the woman next to him nodded before putting up a fanged grin
"Then let's go dancing!" Kahlua offered, she suddenly grabbed a confused Naruto's arm and took him away from the balcony.
"Wait I can't dance!"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The Bus driver was still seated casually at the dining table and listening to the party's classical music while finishing up a cigar, he wondered where Naruto was...he did send Yūgao out to scout the area but Naruto just split off from them and went his own way, that kid worried him sometimes.
"Ow! Naruto-san, you stepped on me again..."
"H-Hey! I told you I've never danced like this!"
"Just let me lead then!"
Nurari turned around to see a familiar blond awkwardly dancing with a certain blond Woman, his glowing eyes widened. He took one last drag of his cigar and put it out on an ashtray
"Of all the people he met here...That kid really is a magnet for trouble" The Bus driver mentally sighed before he stood up from his chair, he had an idea of who Kahlua really was but for the first time the Bus driver was hesitant
Kahlua seemed to be friendly enough with Naruto and didn't look like she caught on to anything important and while looks could be deceiving, the Bus driver slowly figured intervening now could bring unwanted attention.
So for now, he watched the two from a distance and slowly sat back down.
"Hey! It's been five minutes and you haven't stepped on my foot!" Kahlua cheerfully pointed out, Naruto lightly blushed and avoided eye contact
"You told me to let you lead so I did" Naruto admitted and Kahlua nodded
"The Height difference is making this a bit awkward…" Naruto trailed off as he turned around to see others dancing around them, though none of the other guests paid him any attention. He perked up and glanced at Kahlua
"How's your head?" Naruto asked and the Blonde woman blinked
"My head?" Naruto rolled his eyes at her
"Yes, your head, you fell down the stairs on the way here and shook it off like nothing" Naruto pointed out, Kahlua gave him a pout
"I thought you would have forgotten about that by now…" She said,
"it's hard to forget something that happened ten minutes ago..." Naruto retorted, Kahlua giggled slightly
"You're so cute, Naruto-san"
the Shinobi blushed lightly before trying to simply focus on the dancing, he didn't expect the older woman to pull him closer
"This is a couple's dance, Naruto-san, just follow what I do..." Kahlua softly said as Naruto just allowed her to, it wasn't like he had much of a choice but it was hard for Naruto not to focus on her...assets
"You're getting better at this, Naruto-san!"
Naruto actually smiled genuinely hearing that this was...different than anything he would be doing in Konoha, Kahlua was a nice girl even if she was a bit strange so far.
"Naruto-kun I have to ask...did you have any experience dancing like this" Kahlua asked caused the smile to drop as the Shinobi blinked
"Did she just call me 'Naruto-kun'?" the Blond thought to himself before thinking on her question
"N-Not really no..."
Kahlua exhaled and relaxed for the first time this night.
"I don't get to do this often, thank you for this, Naruto-kun"
Naruto blinked at that hearing the changing in tone, her normally playful and cheerful personality seemly to mellowed out as they continued their slow dance. the soft medley of the live music actually easing his worries for the night as well.
"My job keeps me away from just taking easy like this so the change of pace is nice!" She suddenly perked up, the blond blinked
"Your job...what's your job?"
the Vampiress's eyes widened slightly as her mouth formed a thin line
"Well...when there's a murder scene someone has to clean up all the gore at the scene! that's me!" Kahlua lied through her fanged teeth, Naruto felt a chill go down his spine, but that was actually a pretty decent job for a Vampire all things considered
"Body clean up crew? does it pay well?" He thoughtlessly asked as the Woman grinned
"A-Ah, yes it does! I even get free snacks out of it sometimes!" She cheerfully replied, Naruto laughed nervously and the vampiress actually giggled before it soon died down and they settled back into their dance
"Say, Naruto-kun..." Kahlua started in a sudden low voice as the Shinobi looked at her with ever so slight concern
"Yeah?"
The older Vampiress bit her lower lip, thinking about something, she knew she wasn't the smartest compared to her other sisters even her youngest little red-head sister but...these thoughts in her head plagued her and she needed to hear it from someone, anyone at this point.
"Do you think someone could ever actually be...too far gone?" She spoke, Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked away
"I...like being crazy?" he replied
Kahlua flinched but Naruto didn't catch it
"S-Sure like that I guess?"
Naruto pondered the question thinking about the people in his life that were truly evil and repulsive, Orochimaru was clearly number one followed by any other of his followers and then there was also Itachi...
Still, Jiraiya's teachings about peace and understanding during their trip rang in his mind
"I think...as long as someone truly wants to escape it they can. no one is forced to be evil but sometimes there's someone that just needs that through their head." Naruto replied but Kahlua's eyes ever so slightly lit up
"Is this about you being a Vampire?" Naruto added, causing the older woman to simply continue to stare at him
"It's not really that..."
Her next words she hesitated to actually say though somehow Kahlua mustered the will to do so
"It's just what if that someone has already hurt too many people?" She just managed to get out
the Shinobi still heard her clearly and was taken aback by this question
Naruto was about to reply when he felt someone tap his shoulder, he looked over his shoulder to see Yūgao staring at him with a blank stare, Yūgao glanced at Kahlua
"I apologize for interrupting but I'm going to steal Naruto for a second" Yūgao stated, Kahlua didn't know who this woman was but nodded nonetheless as she saw how calm Naruto was, The Shinobi Looked just a bit concerned as Yūgao lead him away from the crowd and back to their table
As the Anbu finally reached the table where the Bus driver was once again seated, he grinned at them
"You two ready?" was all he said
Yūgao gave him a mock salute and looked down on her student
"I'll be here waiting for you to do your part" She whispered over
Naruto gave her a hesitant nod and stole a glance back at the dance floor, there were plenty of couples now slow dancing and it was easy for Naruto to scan the crowd
Kahlua was gone, nowhere to be seen
The Shinobi was a bit disappointed he couldn't spend a bit more time with her but he had a part to play in this mission, he just wished he'd knew how to go about it
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
"What's a fella needs to do to get a drink around here…" a wrinkled old man muttered as he strutted down the hallways of the Building. The Man was well dressed despite his reeking breath and his slumped posture
He nearly slammed himself on the wall, before using it to support himself, the Man stared in the distance to see a young blond man wandering around aimlessly and smirked, he composed himself before clearing his throat
"Excuse me, young lad, I'm having a bit of trouble and I was hoping you could help me" He stated, Naruto blinked at him as he turned around, hoping the Man was talking about someone else
"You, kid, I'm talking to you," He said in a more demanding and stern tone, Naruto narrowed his eyes as he approached him
"Oi! I'm not a kid" the blond replied and the Man mostly ignored him
"I'm over two hundred years old while you look to be in your teens as far as looks go I doubt you're a vampire or something similar...anyway, I'm Lucien Curio, I have a high position over at a tech company in the silicon valley over in the west" The Old man introduced himself, Naruto was still confused as to why this man was speaking to him and didn't know anything about what the old man was talking about.
"I...see, so what do you want from me?" Naruto questioned, Lucien, gave him a brief paused before sniffing
"They won't serve me another drink, apparently they think I've had enough...but I've only had three, maybe four bottles...guess they're afraid I'll cause another scene, I suppose" Lucien started before glancing back at him and placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders
"But you, Kid, they won't hesitate to give you a drink, so pass it on to old Lucien and in exchange, I'll give you a favor...what do you say?" he finished and Naruto blinked at him
"I don't think I'm old enough to even ask for one" Naruto stated and Lucien scoffed
"What? Were you raised in the Human world or something? They don't care about that stuff here" Lucien replied
Naruto was a bit surprised to hear this
"Really?"
Lucien narrowed his eyes at this kid, Naruto looked a bit nervous forgetting about his cover
"Yeah, Really, now what do you say?" Lucien said as Naruto looked away, his mind slowly began to process what this could do for the mission.
"I'll...see what I can do, Old man" Naruto said, Lucien smirked and sat down at a nearby bench,
"Then I'll just sit tight right here and wait for you here"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
"Old Admiral's brandy…" Naruto softly readout as he held the odd-shaped bottle, he finally turned back to make for the hallway where the Old man said he'd be, and to his annoyance
Naruto found Lucien fast asleep on the bench
"Oi! Mr. wrinkles!" Naruto shouted, Lucien, grunted as he opened his eyes, the Old man planned to say something witty but instead his eyes fell on the bottle in Naruto's hands
"...Damn, Kid, you really spoiled me!" He exclaimed and took the bottle off Naruto's hands
"Now, kid, if you need anything at all, don't be afraid to ask, you really came through for little ole me" Lucien stated, Naruto smiled at him
"Well there is something you could do for me" Naruto spoke as he watched the man in front of him pop the cork out with a single twist
"As long as it doesn't require a lot of moving I think I won't be able to stand up at all once I'm done with this bottle but what can I do for you?" Lucien asked, Naruto casually looked away
"I need you to grab everyone's attention for a few minutes" Naruto answered, Lucien, raised an eyebrow
"Whoa now...up to no good are we?" Lucien asked and Naruto was about to resort when the old man waved him off
"It's none of my business now come with me, My friend and just watch my handy work," he said before heading down to the first floor where all of the guests were, Naruto had to suppress a grin as he followed behind Lucien
ting* *ting* *ting*
ting* *ting* *ting*
All of the Guests began to quiet down as Lucien was able to get their attention, the Old man stumbled slightly as he approached the center with all eyes on him
"Thank you for giving me your precious attention, I hope everyone here has had such a wonderful evening so far." Lucien took a deep breath as he adjusted himself and smiled
"all you handsome gentlemen and lovely ladies, I want to make a toast...to the man who invited all of us here, Masatane Kanda!" Lucien started.
People from the other halls began to wonder what the commotion was about and headed by to the main floor while Naruto glanced at Yūgao and the Bus driver from a distance
"Now, Masatane is a good friend of mine, only because you have to cozy up to him to do any type of business on the Asian continent these days, and let's all be honest here, that's the only reason we're really here...to keep relations smooth" Lucien continued, the Guests all fell silent at this while Masatane frowned and began to make his way over there with two bodyguards behind him
"Oi! Sensei! This is my distraction, hurry up!" Naruto's voice echoed in Yūgao's mind as she blinked and nearly choked on her wine
Yūgao slowly began to make her way to the edge of the Main floor just as a handful of guards pushed through the crowds trying to make it to Lucien
"Lucien…" Masatane stated in a threatening tone, Lucien didn't even flinch and instead smiled
"Ah! Masatane, you know I'm joking! But...all of this reminds me of a funny story about the time you failed to get an arranged marriage set up with the Lamae bal family's only daughter! 'I was only jesting, blood matron!, please do not take it as an insult!' everyone here heard of that and how fast you backtracked once Lady Bal threatened to kill you right then and there" Lucien mocked, the whole room was completely silent at this while Naruto couldn't help but admire the man's bravery...or stupidity, Masatane was silently seething as one of his bodyguards took out a handgun from his hostler and pointed it at Lucien
The Old man still wasn't phased by this as another bodyguard in a black suit pointed his weapon at him
"Lucien…" Masatane started breaking the silence in the room
"You know, I only jest" Lucien repeated with a smirk but Masatane did not look amused with his business associate
"I brought you here in good faith to check if my holdings in the west were prospering as I hoped but you have embarrassed me…at my own party no less!...I'll make sure not to make this mistake again but I urge you to leave my party at once" Masatane finished, Lucien sighed and despite stumbling around he began to make his way through the crowd and out the front door.
The whole room could still feel the tension even after Lucien had left the building. several minutes went by before Masatane sighed and sat down at his table in the center, he knew he didn't handle this situation as best he could and maybe even added fuel to the flames but that didn't matter anymore
"At least that bumbling drunk isn't here anymore," he muttered, trying to calm himself down, Masatane eventually looked up to see Kahalu grinning at him, next to her was a Young man with black hair that was slicked back.
"Down to the reason, why we even bothered to come here… in our invitation you mentioned something about an actual investment in our organization…" the Young man stated took out a cigarette, Masatane huffed
"You could at least not do that in front of me" He grumbled, the Young man grinned at him causing the Short fat man to flinch under his gaze before nodding
"Yes... I did mention something like that but do you think we could do this after the party is over? I still have to attend to the other guest" Masatane asked as he grinned and he saw a servant girl laid a silver goblet on his table. the Servant girl glanced at Nurari and Naruto's table before scurrying off back to the Kitchen.
The young man's face looked to be emotionless as he stared at the Short pudgy man in front of him despite that he nodded and motioned for Kahlua to follow him back to their table, the Bus driver quickly walked over to Masatane just as he was about to take a sip of his drink
"We'll be turning in early, I hope that's not a problem," The Bus driver said while Masatane looked up at him with a calculating eye before giving him a small grin.
"Are you sure you would not like to stay a bit longer? I was about to prepare my speech for the night" Masatane stated but the Bus driver shook his head
"Tenmei wants me back early to start working on the bus schedule for returning students" The Bus driver lied, Masatane paused before nodding
"I see...Well, have a safe journey but do tell the Headmaster to not send his lackeys next year, I'd prefer to speak to him again in person, it's nothing urgent but it's about a matter of respect for him to be here in person and not his lackeys" Masatane rather rudely replied, ignoring the jab, Nurari tipped his hat to him before motioning for Naruto and Yūgao to head for the front door
Yet another guest managed to interrupt Masatane just as he was about to take a sip of his drink much to the short man's annoyance
"What is it now?"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The Bus driver was still feeling tense though did his absolute best to not show it, this mission went off perfect...too perfect for his liking
"You took another bottle of wine?" Naruto questioned, Yūgao shrugged and took the wine bottle out from its pouch
"Of course I did, it was free, I like free things, though it did take a bit of convincing..." Yūgao trailed off while Naruto just blinked before shaking his head and forgetting about the whole thing.
The three watched as Nurari messed with the keys before finally being able to find the right one and opening the Bus, Naruto could feel that something was off, they just didn't know what it was exactly but it was clear the glowing-eyed man was stalling for time
The blond Shinobi turned to Yūgao who still looked unfazed by it all and decided to was nothing to worry about.
"We're going to drive...slowly" The Bus driver softly said as he started the vehicle and began to slowly drive down, just as they began to make their way out the front gate, a loud scream was heard.
Naruto and Yūgao looked back to see the Guests that were outside of the Mansion to quickly run back inside as the ballroom began to get packed. Nurari hesitated for a brief second before slamming the Gas pedal, Yūgao tripped but gracefully caught herself on the railing, Naruto on the other hand...
thud*
"Ow! Damn it!"
The Bus driver ignored him and paid complete attention to the road in front of him, just as the Bus was nearing the foot of the hill, Nurari slammed on the brakes and was somehow still able to have control of the speeding vehicle, enough to steer it onto the road and away from the Mansion
"Oi! I thought you said you were gonna go slow!" Naruto shouted, rubbing the back of his head, while Yūgao held on to the rail
The Bus driver still didn't reply and only sped up, after several minutes of speeding the Bus driver finally could see the distant tunnel illuminated thanks to the full moon, Nurari began to slow down and both Shinobis were able to finally take a seat at the front
"Sorry about that, I just couldn't shake off this feeling that we were screwed" Nurari chuckled as the Bus was engulfed in darkness, the only thing Naruto and Yūgao could see was a Cigar being lit with a lighter
"Kid, of all the people you could have befriended…why her?" Nurari asked, the world finally came to view again but instead of a human highway, it was the same road to Yokai, a road that Naruto knew all too well
"What's wrong with Kahlua?" Naruto asked, it was an honest question, Kahlua seemed to be a good person, though she was a bit weird...but then again Moka wasn't totally normal either.
Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts when the Bus driver held his hand up
"Just...trust me on this, I hope you won't see her again but if you do, stay away from her" Nurari stated in a completely serious tone, Naruto gave him a confused hesitant nod before Yūgao sighed and opened her wine bottle.
"I can't believe you two were able to pull it off...I was just waiting for something to go wrong" The Bus driver commented as Yūgao shrugged
"I've done missions like this before, this was pretty easy all things considered" Yūgao stated and Nurari gave a small chuckle that turned into a burst of full-blown laughter, Naruto looked slightly concerned, he had never seen the old man like this
"HAHAHA, We just assassinated one of the most important people in the Monster world...and...we actually got away with it!" The Bus driver wheezed out before composing himself again with a snort, Naruto took a step back from the Bus driver as the Purple-haired Anbu next to him spoke
"So why are we back at the Academy?" Yūgao finally asked as Naruto perked up and looked at the Bus driver for an answer
"To pick up your reward...unfortunately, Uzumaki, Your Hokage didn't allow us to have you open up your own bank account in this world and instead you'll be sharing it with Uzuki who will be in control of everything" The Bus driver quickly explained, Yūgao smirked while Naruto simply looked mildly annoyed before realizing one last thing just as he saw the Scarecrow at the bus stop
"Oh right! The new semester is starting soon" Naruto pointed out and the Bus driver nodded
"That's right it is...I do hope you'll enjoy your time in Yokai, it can be a very scary place" Nurari finished as he glanced at Naruto with those glowing eyes of his and that oh so familiar grin
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
End time
Easily, the rockiest Chapter I had by far, sorry for this being so late, so many things popped up all at once it was like the world made sure they didn't want this Chapter finished, I'm even sure this Chapter's good enough but I've wasted so much time on it as is
/Final edit: Writing Kahlua when you have black hole sun playing on repeat. hope this works for a Pre-mission arc