Original Publish Date: 22nd-November-2015
A/N: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. For the victims of the cowardly terrorists who attacked Paris, we are all with you in spirit.
Chapter 9 – Remember the Name
This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name
- Remember the Name, Fort Minor
The Next Day: 4465617468
"There's a party tonight" Genma informed me as soon as I answered my door.
"Why?"
"Anko calls it the 'Thank Fuck We're Still Alive' party."
"I wonder what it's about" I deadpanned.
Genma shrugged; his trademark senbon needle twitching as he smiled, "Alcohol?"
I faux-considered this for a moment, then grinned, "All right, I'm in".
I locked up my apartment and activated the security seals as I followed Genma down the stairs, and out into the streets of Konoha. It was a brightly lit evening, and there were a good number of people on the streets. Well, it was a Friday evening, not that it meant much to the Ninja population. It was civilians who enjoyed the concept of weekends; we had no such luxuries. A mission could beckon anytime, whether it was day or night. It was a surprise that the four of us were all in town so soon after our last mission.
Only, it wasn't just the four of us, I realized as I walked in. Hayate had brought Yūgao-senpai (I would have to stop calling her that) while Anko had dragged Kurenai-sensei (again, need remove the suffixes). To see her looking young and vibrant was a shock, because she had been raising a child during a time of war, and it wrought a toll on her. The bigger shock, though, was the fact that I swear she was checking me out; which was weird, but satisfying. I really liked this adult-thing. It was far better than being a teenager, with all the angst and drama that it brought.
Once the appropriate introductions were made Anko immediately poured everyone a generous portion of saké; which was a good idea, in my opinion. First rule of going to a party where you didn't know anyone: get some alcohol in yourself and the person in front of you. The rest of the night would be a breeze. As soon as the saucers had made it in front of everyone Anko immediately raised hers. "A toast: to The Bunny Mission!" Predictably, I twitched, Genma chuckled, Hayate coughed behind his hand while Kurenai and Yūgao looked confused. "Thank fuck we made it out alive!" I would drink to that. Once everyone had taken their sips, Kurenai and Yūgao's ignorance regarding the naming of that particular mission was erased. While I looked annoyed at their giggling, I wasn't really. It served as a fantastic ice-breaker, and there wouldn't be any awkward conversations trying to find some common ground to start talking.
We didn't mention any mission details, of course. We were in a public place, and there were likely spies up and about. It was a part and parcel of living in a Hidden Village; there were always ears waiting to hear information from loose lips.
Once everyone had made fun of me, except Kurenai-san (yes! I did it!) because she was a nice person by nature, she instead proceeded to ask me, in her usual gentle voice, "I heard you won the Jōnin tournament a while ago."
It was Anko's turn to twitch and my turn to smile. "Yes, I did." Then, just to needle Anko further, I asked Kurenai, "How did you hear about it?" She gave me a faintly amused smile, but she played along, "I believe Anko mentioned it once or twice, while eating her body weight in dango."
I grinned, "Just once or twice? After she tried so hard to leave a good impression on me, I didn't even manage to leave one on her? That's disappointing." Kurenai's smile grew a little as she poked a little more fun at her friend, "I may have understated how many times she mentioned it. She also said something not very flattering about your private parts."
"Ah. I've never had anyone so violently obsessed with my genitalia before. Do you think that's why she's so addicted to dango?" At this even Yūgao let out a very unladylike snort, while the other two snickered openly. Even Kurenai smiled, while Anko silently fumed. "I do believe I've ruined dango for you. What a shame; perhaps you will be a ramen connoisseur now?" I eyed the bottle in front of her, "Or maybe even an alcoholic?"
Everyone laughed at that, and Anko's hand twitched as if she wanted to palm a kunai, or maybe strangle me. Instead, she deliberately poured an extra round for herself, "Thanks for offering me your next drink, shitstain." I shrugged, it wasn't a great loss.
This time it was Yūgao who asked me a question, "So Nanashi-san, you're a Tokubetsu Jōnin right?" At my affirmative nod, she continued "If you don't mind my asking, what's your specialty?"
I considered this quite seriously for a moment. We were still in a public place, and I didn't want my strengths and weaknesses broadcast for all and sundry to hear. At the same time, Sarutobi had been right when he told me to lay down some roots in the village, so to speak. That involved extending trust, and this seemed like the right opportunity to do just that. Reaching a decision, I looked back up at Yūgao. Before answering verbally, however, I started molding chakra in a specific pattern without handseals; I was more than familiar with this particular technique. I firmly placed my palms on the table, and the privacy technique I used in the Hokage's office started to spread around the occupants of the table; all the way under their feet but still above the ground. "Fūinjutsu: Mugon no Kekkai (Sealing Arts: Barrier of Silence)."
Everyone at the table looked impressed, and I got a kick out of their reactions as well. "It allows no sound to pass through either way, while still letting fresh air inside." It was also an Uzumaki clan technique, but I wasn't about to share that bit. I was a shinobi, keeping secrets was a force of habit for me.
"You're a seal master?" Yūgao asked, and I proudly nodded. She let out a breath, "We haven't had one of those since the Yondaime died."
"We do have Jiraiya-sama, you know" Genma piped up.
Hayate was the one to ask the next question, "Where would you say you stand in comparison with them?"
I didn't even hesitate to answer that one, "I'm better than both of them."
Kurenai had raised her eyebrows, "So you're not the type to be modest either."
I furrowed my brow as I turned to her, "I was being modest." Nobody said a word at that, and I took a deliberate sip from my saucer. "If I was bragging, I would say that I'm better than both of them put together." I shrugged. "And it would be true."
It was probably the nonchalant confidence I was displaying, but nobody at the table looked like they disbelieved me. Anko, surprisingly, had yet to say a word; she looked like she was deep in thought. After a few moments she spoke slowly, "That's how you used the Suiryūdan trick against me in the tournament, isn't it."
I nodded, impressed at her quick deduction. "Spot on." I hesitated for a moment, and then quickly added another barrier technique inside the existing one which obscured our table from the outside. It gave us the appearance of being inside a container made of frosted glass. I could see a lot of heads turning in our direction out of interest, but I could not make out faces anymore. Satisfied, I turned back to my party and raised my sleeves all the way up to my shoulders. All of them leaned forward in undisguised interest as they examined the 'tattoos' on both my arms. The ones on my right arm were yellow in colour, while the ones on my left were blue. "Take a guess as to what these do."
Genma took a shot, "Well, they're definitely seals. I remember you forming a Raiton (Lightning) technique with your right arm, and yellow is the colour associated with lightning, so… they're chakra conversion seals?"
"Not exactly" I frowned. This would require a more thorough explanation than I had initially thought. But how would I put it in a way that they would understand… "All right, can anyone give me an example of an everyday use of Fūinjutsu?"
"Storage seals" Hayate answered promptly.
I shook my head, "I meant with regards to chakra."
"You mean like exploding tags?" Yūgao answered unsurely, and I shook my head again. I was about to answer when I was beaten to it.
"Hand-seals!" exclaimed Kurenai, before blushing at the sudden attention her outburst had given her.
I smiled, "Got it in one, Kurenai-san." Log that still felt weird to say. "The hint is in the name, hand-seals. In a nutshell, seals are the medium that provides both form and essence to chakra. They might be performed by your hands, but they have a written form as well. These" I gestured to my arms "are the written forms for all possible combinations of handseals; along with being chakra conversion seals" I said with a nod to Genma. I raised my right arm, "These convert and control Raiton chakra," I dropped it and raised my left arm, "while these take care of Suiton."
"What about Fūton?" Anko asked.
I grinned, and pointed my palm in the direction of the bottle in front of Anko. "That," the bottle flew towards me and I caught it, "is the good old fashioned mastery of my primary element." I triumphantly poured my next drink from the bottle, before passing it on to Yūgao. But instead of pouring a drink for herself, she fiddled with the bottle instead.
"So they allow you to cast techniques instantaneously?" she asked.
I nodded, "I realized that I could only cast seal-less techniques with my primary element; maybe one or two seals at the most. I would never be good enough to cast them with any other element; no ninja can. So I attempted to circumvent that problem. These are the result of almost three years of dedicated research to finding a solution to overcome that limitation."
Yūgao nodded, her eyes tracing the seals running from my shoulder blades to my forearms. "Can you hook me up with those as well?"
"Ah…" that was another complicated topic. There were a lot of factors why it wouldn't be possible. I would have to explain them carefully, so she didn't think I was skimping out on her. "The first thing you have to realize is that these aren't just seals that I drew on my body. I mean, they are, but not drawn with brush and ink. They are made up of a sacrifice." I could see Anko narrow her eyes and Kurenai recoil in horror; even Genma had raised an eyebrow in shock. Yūgao's ANBU training made sure that she didn't react, and neither did Hayate. I explained quickly, before they got the wrong impression, "I sacrificed some of my own life force in order to draw them on my body."
They took a moment to react to the statement, but I could feel the tension drain from the table. Not entirely, but it wasn't as oppressive as it had been a minute ago. Yūgao, however, clinically asked me, "What exactly do you mean when you say you sacrificed your own life force?"
I frowned as I contemplated how to explain it. It wasn't an easy concept to grasp, but once you understood it, it made perfect sense. A light bulb went off in my brain, "You know what a jinchūriki is right?" Everyone nodded and I continued, "The term 'Jinchūriki' literally translates into 'Power of Human Sacrifice'. In other words, they are human prisons with a seal powerful enough to hold back a Bijū. But what exactly makes up such a seal that can hold back a force of nature? The answer is: the life force of a person. Hence, Power of Human Sacrifice."
Comprehension dawned on their faces. Once I saw that I didn't need to explain any further, I went ahead with the explanation of my arm seal matrices, "So for these, and another seal, I sacrificed a large chunk of my life force. I estimate anywhere from between a quarter to a third of my life." I shrugged, "I could have used someone else's life force, but, well," I shot a look at Anko, "we've already had someone experimenting with other people's lives." Her eyes narrowed at being reminded of her traitorous master, and I took a sip from my saucer. I continued, "In any case, the Iryo-nin (medical ninja) who helped me come up with and performed the ritual is dead-" My voice cracked at the last word, and I suddenly drained my saucer while tilting my head back, closing my eyes so that they didn't see the sudden tears that came up at the mention of Sakura-chan. Even though she was alive now, she wasn't the woman who had grown up beside me.
Once I had retained my composure, I reopened my eyes. I was sure they had all exchanged significant glances during that time, but I wasn't familiar enough with them to understand what they might have meant. I continued, "Even if you satisfied the conditions I mentioned, the ritual is incredibly dangerous and torturously painful. The seals have to be bound with your chakra circulatory system, which is done at a cellular level. I'm incredibly lucky I even survived the first procedure; but then at the time, I had a…let's call it a 'unique condition' that allowed me to heal nearly instantaneously. Without that I'm not sure I could survive another procedure."
Anko, however, was staring at me with narrowed eyes, "That's why Tsunade was so pissed at you having those seals. Are you going to claim that this iryo-nin is better than Tsunade now?"
I shrugged, "It's a moot point, since she isn't around anymore." Of course Sakura-chan was a better medic; Tsunade herself had admitted as much.
Anko rolled her eyes, but before she could scoff Yūgao continued, "So how did you find out the written forms of the handseals?"
I nodded; glad to deflect attention from what would surely be a controversial topic. "A lot of research, and a lot more experimentation too. I had to know everything there was to know about the topic of handseals before I went about sacrificing part of my life to that knowledge. As a result, I can confidently say that nobody on the continent knows more than I do about handseals and the ninja techniques they form."
Even Yūgao, who had appeared to believe me so far, raised a skeptical eyebrow at that. At her nonverbal challenge, I grinned; momentary melancholy completely forgotten. "All right, let's play a game." Everyone looked interested as I continued, "I want all of you to form a random handseal, and call out a different number from one to five. That way, I will know which seal forms the first in the sequence and which forms the last. Once you have done so, I will tell you the technique they create."
Anko immediately took to the challenge. "One!" she called out, forming a Snake handseal.
"Two" Yūgao called, forming Ram.
"Three" Kurenai formed Monkey.
"Four" Hayate formed Tiger.
I turned to Genma, but he shrugged. "Four are enough for your first shot; let's see you do your thing."
I nodded, and closed my eyes. It ended with Tiger, therefore, it was likely a Katon technique. However, the combination of Snake, Ram and Monkey didn't lend itself to a specific shape for a fire technique. If it had formed a Fūton technique it would cause a large blanket of wind… Ah. "It will form a flammable gas, to be spit out from your lungs" I said, opening my eyes.
Anko rolled her eyes, "How do we even know if what you're saying works?"
I shrugged, "Note it down, and we'll test it at the end of the night to see if what I'm saying is right." Anko put her hand in her trenchcoat and brought out a scroll and a brush, seemingly from right in front of her… I snapped my gaze to the open scroll now in front of her, hoping nobody had seen me ogling her décolletage. Genma took a sip and met my eyes and gave a very smug expression; I hadn't been as discreet as I hoped. Dick. What kind of guy looks at other guys checking out females anyway?
"All right, next one."
"One" Genma started this time, forming Dog.
"Two" Hayate formed Snake this time.
"Three" Anko formed Monkey.
"Four" Yūgao formed Ox.
Kurenai looked surprised for a second, before significantly forming Tiger.
I nodded and closed my eyes again. Again, likely a Katon technique; but the combination of Snake and Monkey would work against the preceding Dog if it was a Katon. All right, so Katon was out. Some Suiton techniques ended with Tiger; so I visualized what it would look like… a formless blob of water. Right, Suiton was out as well. I would have started to think about the other elements; and maybe even sub-elements (bloodlines) but I suddenly remembered Kurenai's surprise. That mean that she had recognized the seals, which meant it was likely a Genjutsu. Instead of imagining Yang chakra, I thought about using this technique with Yin chakra. And the result was… "I'm not very well versed with Genjutsu, so I don't know what the final form will look like; but it seems to be some sort of binding Genjutsu."
Kurenai raised her eyebrows and looked impressed. "Yes it does, those are the handseals for a technique I developed called Magen: Jubaku Satsu (Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death)."
I grinned smugly, while everyone, even Anko looked at me with a new level of respect in their eyes. Until now I might have been blowing hot air, but this proved that I was the real deal. I had known that, of course, but it was a matter or convincing them about my abilities.
"How do you do that?" Yūgao couldn't contain her curiosity. I tilted my head and considered the question for a second.
"Well, first of all, I have a talent for Fūinjutsu. But like the case is with any talent, I needed to put a lot of hard work behind it to make it useful. I told you earlier that I needed to create a seal matrix that was capable of forming any technique for a particular element. In order to do so, I needed to be able to understand how chakra reacts with seals for that particular element. Each element has a particular set of combinations for handseals that react a certain way; however, some combinations are also common across all the elements, sub-elements included. I spent a lot of time memorizing the most common combinations, and slowly it started forming pieces of a larger picture. It's quite fascinating if you understand it, but the gist of it is: if you tell me a certain combination, like we were doing just now, I don't even have to think about how the individual seals combine with each other; I just see the final technique at the end of it. You can liken it to a taijutsu battle with a familiar opponent: your opponent's brain thinks of a move, then the signal travels down his nervous system and jolts the muscles which move the bones in his hands or legs; but you don't think about all that during a battle, you just block his move because you know what he's going to do."
There was an awed silence at the end of it. I had to say, I never thought that I would be this good with any sort of academic pursuit during my own Academy days. Having people impressed at my knowledge was so thoroughly satisfying it was cathartic.
"Can you make a technique for me?" Genma asked hopefully.
I deliberated for a moment as I looked at him. "You're primarily Earth-natured right?" At his answering nod I closed my eyes again and thought about it. Since he had been a dick these past few days and during the 'Bunny Mission' I was thoroughly inclined to prank him. "Bird-Hare-Snake" I told him.
"What does it do?" he asked.
I grinned mischievously "You'll see."
"What about me?" Anko asked with wide innocent looking eyes, drawing her shoulders together to emphasize her breasts.
I rolled my eyes and gestured to the scroll where she had written the first technique we tested, "For the Fire natured princess."
She scoffed, "I ain't no princess, shitstain."
"Then stop trying to act like one."
She rolled her eyes, "Cheapskate."
I rolled mine in return "I'd rather not give you more weapons to attack me with when you eventually ambush me."
She grinned savagely, "So you're not a complete idiot."
"And you're the queen of letting things go." I shot back sarcastically. If I had known that winning that stupid tournament would lead her to more or less stalk me until I granted her a rematch, I would have thought twice about it.
.
.
Okay, maybe not. I hated losing.
"All right, shall we go and test out the techniques?"
"But I'm not done drinking!" Anko pouted.
I rolled my eyes at her for maybe the fourth time that night. She just brought it out in me, somehow. "Do you really want to try experimental techniques while you're drunk?"
Her pout deepened, but she didn't argue any further. As we all made to get up, I dismissed the dual barriers with a casual wave off my hand. As soon as I did the noise of the bar washed over us, before suddenly being silenced. Everyone had noticed the barrier dissipating and was staring at us in undisguised interest. I was attracting more than my fair share of attention, since I was the most likely candidate for the barrier. Apparently every time I walked into this bar I was to be scrutinized; last time because I had entered with the Hokage, and this time with the barrier. I sighed in resignation, it couldn't be helped.
We settled our bill and walked over to the nearest training ground since they were all likely to be empty at this time of the night. As soon as we reached I turned to Genma, and everyone followed suit. He shrugged, and started forming the handseals I had shown him: Bird-Hare-Snake. I had mentioned it was a Doton jutsu, so he slammed his hands into the ground after performing the handseals and channeled the chakra into the ground. As soon as he had, an earthen pole rose out of the ground a short distance away, followed by a roughly spherical boulder. And then it stopped.
Everyone stared at the technique, clearly wondering what it was meant to do, since it was just standing there. Everyone except me that is, I was smiling so widely my cheeks hurt. They started squinting and tilting their heads to understand what it was. Unsurprisingly, Anko was the first one to grasp my juvenile humor; letting out a snort, she said "It's a fist with the middle finger extended."
Kurenai rolled her eyes while Yūgao didn't react, and this time I saw Hayate quickly glance at Yūgao before taking his cue from her (that said a lot about who wore the pants in that relationship). Genma however glared at me, and I cheekily smiled back at him. He turned his glare back to the technique, before his gaze turned thoughtful. He pushed the needle around his mouth a couple of times before a smile slowly spread across his face. He repeated the handseals and again slammed his hands into the ground, this time calling out, "Doton (Earth Release): Fuck You no Jutsu!" This time, a perfectly formed outward-facing hand with the middle finger extended came out of the ground, causing me and Genma to snicker in amusement. Yūgao and Hayate were expressionless, while Kurenai closed her eyes in exasperation. Anko, however, looked impatient.
"My turn!" She started forming the four random handseals they had thought up back at the table and took a deep breath, condensing the chakra before expelling it through her mouth. As I had predicted, a gas expelled from her oral cavity and started spreading in front of her. After a couple of seconds, she stopped the flow of gas, and considered it for a moment. Once she was sure that nobody would be caught in the explosion, she clapped her hands into the Tiger seal, and spat a small fireball into the gas.
BOOM!
The gas exploded with the force of a small bomb, a small shockwave ruffling everyone's hair and causing our clothing to fly back. The orange light from the flames danced across Anko's face, giving her maniacal smile a darker edge. "Katon: Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Mist Blaze Dance Technique)" she whispered, naming the technique. It was only during such moments of complete chaos that she seemed to be at peace, as if she had found her place in the world. It was a mystifying contradiction.
I finally tore my gaze away from her face, feeling oddly reticent as I did so.
The Next Morning: 4465617468
Yin chakra was easy to manipulate: far too easy. It was so easy I had a hard time keeping its shape. I was used to brute-forcing my chakra into the shape needed; Yin chakra was far too pliable for my taste. Its form was like wet tissue paper for me, the moment I tried to force it into a shape it bent out form. I had been experimenting for over an hour, and my results had not gotten any better whatsoever. There was a fundamental error I was making; I was sure of that. Kind of like I had earlier, when I hadn't even realized that I now had a substantial well of Yin chakra.
I looked up at the position of the sun and frowned; it was barely 10 in the morning. There was no way that Sarutobi was going to be free to help me with my problem. I was on my own. My frown deepened as I considered possible solutions. While I had a library's worth of theoretical knowledge about the way Yin chakra interacted, I didn't have any idea how to mold it. Even if I did go to the Hokage, he would likely send me to another shinobi to ask them for training; he didn't have the time to train me. All right, then who could I find that could train me in the intricacies of Yin chakra? The answer came to me in a sudden burst of clarity.
Yūhi Kurenai.
I grinned as I made my way towards the village. I recalled her saying last night that she was going to be in the village for the next few days, having just come back from a long-term mission. She was still a Chūnin, so I could technically order her to help me, but that was just not going to fly, especially with our (one-sided) history. And wasn't that a creepy way to put it; it sounded like I had been stalking her or something. Ugh. I needed to find less weird ways to refer to my time-travel.
I ended up going to the Hokage tower anyway. The Mission Office always kept track of where shinobi were, so that they could be reached quickly if an urgent mission came up. Upon making my inquiries, I bemusedly ended up going back in the same direction as I had come from. She had booked a training ground 3 fields away from where I had been training earlier. I noisily made my way into the training ground; it was a polite way of informing the training ninja that they had a visitor. A way of knocking on the door, so to speak.
I stopped in the middle of a clearing and waited, humming tonelessly. A few minutes passed before I felt a tug on my genjutsu-prevention seal. Identifying the direction of the chakra surge, I turned to where Kurenai had launched a genjutsu at me and I locked eyes with her and waved cheekily. Her eyebrows raised in shock, or surprise, or maybe a combination of the two. I was too far to tell. "Ohayo, Kurenai-san!" I called loudly, waving energetically.
She jumped down from the tree she had been taking cover in, landing gracefully. She made her way towards me, and returned my greeting as soon as she was close. She didn't like raising her voice, but she didn't shy away from it either if the occasion called for it. She was a gentle soul with a kind voice; eyes the colour of blood didn't suit her nature. "Good morning to you too, Nanashi-san. How can I help you this morning?"
I tried to stop my hand from sheepishly rubbing the back of my head, but it was futile. "Ah… this is kind of embarrassing. I'll just be blunt. Can you train me in using Genjutsu and Yin chakra?"
Her eyebrows jumped again, this time in clear surprise. I continued, "I can teach you about Fūinjutsu in return if you want, or something else entirely. I have a lot of esoteric pieces of knowledge about random techniques, some of which are quite useful." I had to make an effort to stop babbling at that point, not wanting to appear desperate.
Before we could continue our discussion any further I felt a presence in the woods around us. I immediately fell into a stance, tensing and pulling out a kunai instantaneously. I quickly started to narrow down the source of the presence, mentally committing the nearby environment to memory as I considered the right-
"Come out, Anko" Kurenai called out.
I blinked in surprise, before falling out of my fighting stance and relaxing. Mitarashi Anko just strolled out of the foliage as if she was taking a pleasant walk through the park. "Nameless wonder" she nodded, greeting me.
"Snake bitch" I returned the greeting.
She grinned, baring her teeth. "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"
I tilted my head in Kurenai's direction, "I came to ask her to train me."
Her demeanor changed immediately as she pouted and moved closer to Kurenai, "You mean you've been using me to get close to my best friend!? I'm hurt!" She draped herself very suggestively around her friend, rubbing her face with Kurenai's and spoke in a deep, sensually husky voice, "You don't have to choose, you know. I'm sure we can…share."
A scandalized expression crossed Kurenai's face; but Anko had already moved away to avoid retaliation. As a rosy blush crossed Kurenai's face I forced myself to roll my eyes, ignoring the blood racing through my own body and the naughty images flowing through my lewd mind. I looked at her and did my best to keep my tone flat, "I'm sure she has better taste than…" I let my eyes run down her body, "that."
Anko's grin widened as her hands started to cup her breasts again; but by now Kurenai had found her voice. "Anko!" she cried out in righteous indignation, and Anko's palms were instead raised in surrender. The glare Kurenai sent her sufficiently cowed her enough to make her smile disappear, but the blush was still present on Kurenai's face. She took a deep breath and tried to control herself, while I futilely chanted in my head, 'must not think about Kurenai and Anko, must not think about Kurenai and Anko, must not think…'
"What exactly do you need my assistance with?" Kurenai finally asked; her blush mostly under control.
I tilted my head, "Well, remember last night I told you I had a 'unique condition'? It was basically a source of pure Yang chakra. Until I landed up in the village, I had that source sealed inside me since I was a kid, which meant that I had next to no usable Yin chakra. Now that the source has gone, I have a well of Yin chakra that I have no clue how to use. I'm a blank slate." I smiled knowingly, "You plan to be a Jōnin-sensei right?"
Once more she looked surprised, "How did you know that?"
I grinned, "Like Anko said, I'm not a complete idiot."
"No, you're an incomplete idiot" Anko added helpfully.
I glowered at her, but kept my focus on Kurenai this time, "Think of it as practice before you train a bunch of kids."
I could see her considering my offer seriously; that was a good sign. "And what would you teach me about Fūinjutsu?"
I smiled, I sensed the deal was close, "We'll start off with the basics, I'll see how much knowledge you already have and then expand from there. There are various disciplines in Fūinjutsu, I will instruct you in the ones that interest you; some of them can even be used in combat or as supplementary techniques, barriers, traps, proximity seals, those sorts of things. I can even tell you how to remove or break seals put by other people." Anko made a movement of some sort, but my attention was solely on Kurenai.
I saw the exact moment when she decided to take my offer; my face was already breaking out in a smile as she said, "Very well, Nanashi-san. I accept your offer of mutual assistance." I bowed my head in gratitude, sealing the deal; she followed suit.
"What about me?" Anko was back to pouting, but now she was rubbing her neck for some reason.
I rolled my eyes, "You heard us, this is an offer of mutual assistance. What are you bringing to the table…" my mouth kept moving but my voice trailed off. My mind froze as I spied what was between Anko's fingers on her neck. She was saying something, but by brain only had place to see one thing.
A cursed seal.
On Anko's neck.
How the fuck had I forgotten!?
He was listening to our every word, following our every movement.
Orochimaru.
It was only when I saw the subtle movements of Kurenai and Anko tensing, preparing for a fight that I realized I was emitting killing intent, and a rather potent dose of it as well. I immediately cut it off, and ordered Anko, "You need to come with me to the Hokage's office." She was still looking at me warily, as was Kurenai, but I had no time for games. "Right now!" I said harshly. I was being more forceful than strictly necessary, but this wasn't the time for delicate hand-holding. Anko looked uncertainly at Kurenai, so I switched my gaze to her for a second as well, "Come on!"
I turned around and started walking back to the village proper. After a few seconds I heard two sets of footsteps following me, and I picked up my speed. As soon as we came near buildings I immediately jumped to a roof and started running towards the center of the village. Once we reached near the tower the three of us disembarked and walked into the Tower. One or two people saw me coming and immediately moved out of the way; I guess I was projecting my anger quite visibly. Once we made our way up to the office the secretary looked at me warily; I guess even she picked up on my mood.
"I'm sorry, he's in an important meeting" she tried to forestall me.
I of course, wasn't having it. I quickly took a pen and a blank sheet of paper from her desk and started scribbling a quick note to the old man. "Tell him" I said through gritted teeth, "that Nanashi said it is a matter of extreme urgency." I locked eyes with her as I finished my note. "It is not possible to overstate the importance of my information. Please interrupt his meeting and tell him right now."
As a retired kunoichi she was used to dealing with pushy bureaucrats and impatient ninja, but even she knew an urgent matter when she saw one. I folded the paper and handed it to her, and she immediately went to the door and knocked loudly before entering. I heard her murmuring her apologies for interrupting as she handed him the note. After a few seconds of silence, I heard the Hokage say quite clearly "An urgent matter has come up. I must apologize, but we will have to continue this another time."
After a few seconds of grumbling the chairs in the office started scraping against the floor as their occupants began the process of extricating themselves from the office. One or two gave us a curious glance as they left, but the majority just looked grumpy as they were no doubt disgruntled by having a meeting with the Hokage cut short. Once they had left his secretary came out and beckoned us in. Anko and Kurenai started moving inside, but I stopped the latter. "Please wait outside" I asked Kurenai a lot more calmly. She looked at Anko who shrugged and walked into the office; then she looked at me for a long moment, searching my eyes for something. Once she was satisfied she elegantly took one of the waiting seats near the secretary's desk.
I moved into Sarutobi's office and immediately performed the Sound and Sight barrier techniques I had demonstrated to my colleagues last night. As soon as they went up Anko turned to me, about to demand answers, but I immediately raised a finger in front of my lips in the universal gesture for silence. I walked over to the Hokage's table and picked up another pen and piece of paper, and started writing. Once I was done I passed the paper to Sarutobi first; he read it inscrutably before passing it on to Anko.
I had only written down two sentences 'I can get rid of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven. However, there is a 20% chance that the body will reject the untainted chakra and thus be unable to use it; and a 5% chance of death during the ritual.'
I saw her eyes widen with surprise as she read the first sentence, then narrow as she read through the second. However, the kicker came after she had read the note a second time, once she realized that we were in a sealed office and I had written down the information rather than say it out loud. The moment when she realized that Orochimaru could literally hear everything that was said around her, a fascinating mixture of emotions crossed her face; rage, disgust, fear, betrayal, but most tellingly, guilt. Her hand flew to the seal on her neck, but she caught herself at the last moment and forced her hand down.
I knew that it was a very rare event to see the self-confident Snake Mistress of Konoha look so exceptionally vulnerable. She looked pleadingly at the Sandaime, who had a look of such utter compassion on his face that Anko silently burst into tears. She walked over to the window, not that she could see anything through the barrier I had set up, and spent a few minutes just regaining her composure. I exchanged glances with Sarutobi, but we left her to her devices for the moment. Instead, I walked to the back wall of his office and gazed upon the portraits of the previous and incumbent Hokage. Naturally, I spent the longest time staring at the portrait of my father. 'Would you approve of everything I've done in my life?'
Upon hearing movement, I turned to see Anko discreetly attempting to wipe her eyes, so I quietly made my way back to the desk and stood near it. After a few moments Anko straightened up and turned to me with red rimmed eyes. She walked closer to me until she was in my face, and I had to tilt my head down to see her. Idly I took note of the fact that she was almost half a foot shorter than me and that she smelled of sweat, cinnamon and something sweet; but she was looking right into my eyes and asking me a nonverbal question. I wasn't entirely sure what it was, but I nodded in assent anyway. She dropped her eyes away from my face and let out a breath, before nodding as well. From what I knew of her, I was sure she would agree to the ritual, and she had. Recalling something Tsunade-baa-chan had once told me about comforting someone who was given bad news from a medical perspective, I put my hand on her shoulder blade and gave it a gentle squeeze. She dropped her head so that she was looking straight at the floor, and moved past me and out of the office completely. I barely managed to remember to dissipate the barriers in time; I reformed them as soon as she had left.
The Hokage asked me gravely, "What all do you need for the ritual?"
"Approximately five liters of blood, the same type as Anko-san's. Two Iryo-nins. Another person adept in Fūinjutsu as a backup, although that is optional. From what I could make out, this seal was one of his earliest, so it is not as sophisticated as his later work and therefore easier to remove. Subsequently, however, there is also a greater chance that her chakra system could be damaged irrevocably. I would like to perform this ritual as soon as humanly possible, today if it can be arranged. I had completely forgotten that Anko had a cursed seal. Orochimaru leaves a piece of his own consciousness in each seal, so he is at the very least aware of what all goes on around his host. Whether this piece is capable of communicating with the original is not something I was ever able to confirm."
Sarutobi's eyes hardened. "And if it is capable and stops communication with the original, all we would be doing is tipping our hand. Orochimaru would be aware that we are able to remove his cursed seal. You should have not mentioned it at all, and let Anko-chan walk around unaware! Now she has her hopes up, and telling her that we will cancel her operation will break her heart!"
I growled, "No way old man! This time I'm putting my foot down. You don't know what it was like, not knowing if we could trust anyone who had been bitten and marked with the cursed seal. If they survived the cursing in the first place, they were treated like pariahs and not told anything. And when the ritual was finally developed by us, there were again a substantial number of people who were killed during the unsealing. And they gladly undertook that risk! That damn seal was what tore this village apart, even after the physical village had been destroyed for ages! I will not stand to be in its presence any longer than I absolutely have to!"
Sarutobi glared at me, but for once I held my ground and stared back stubbornly. "Do you really want to go on providing him an endless amount of information? Who knows what else he might pick up? He already has spies inside the village, and you're carefully managing the misinformation you're feeding them. Why do you want to risk him finding out the truth, even accidentally? The advantages outweigh the risk, which is why I strongly recommend that we go ahead with the ritual."
A weary expression crossed his face and he touched the tip of his hat in a gesture that I slowly realized he made every time he had to make a decision between what his heart said and what his position demanded. He considered it for a few more minutes, but he finally sighed and said, "It seems that I cannot prevent myself from taking advantage from any situation, even at the cost of individual happiness." He sighed, "You're right, of course. I will have a word with the head Iryo-nin at the hospital and get you what you asked for. I even have a place in mind for the ritual to be performed." He raised his eyes and smiled at me. "It's the place where you were born, as a matter of fact."
I, too, gave a bittersweet smile. That night had been filled with pain and loss for both of us especially; but it had also been filled with love. I nodded and got up, dispersing the barriers as I did so.
"Uma (Horse)!" the Hokage called out, and an ANBU immediately appeared next to me, kneeling on one knee with a bowed head.
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
"You are to take both the Hokage guard ANBU squad and accompany Mitarashi Anko to the restricted site KX-34. Once there, you are to secure the site and establish a perimeter while I secure our companions and follow after you."
"As you command."
Sarutobi nodded, "Let's go see Anko-chan now."
Sarutobi led the way out of his office, where we saw Anko sitting almost catatonic on the chair next to Kurenai who had an arm on her back and an extremely worried expression on her face. "What's going on?" Kurenai demanded, but the Hokage had eyes only for Anko.
"Anko-chan" he began gently, and Anko slowly looked up from staring at the ground. "Uma-san will take you where you need to go. Follow him, all right?" she nodded slowly, as if she was disconnected from real life and she got up.
As soon as she was out of sight Kurenai spoke up again. "Hokage-sama" Sarutobi's steely gaze immediately snapped to her, and she visibly flinched. She hesitated for a moment before clearly changing what she had been about to say, "Will she be all right?"
The Hokage's eyes turned back to where Anko had disappeared a few seconds ago. "Let's hope so."
While the Hokage had gone to the hospital to arrange for the blood and medics, I had gone to a calligraphy shop to pick up a few brushes. The seal I would be drawing would be extremely delicate, and every brush stroke would need to be extremely precise. My own tools were lost in the ravages of time, and I hadn't gotten around to replacing them, or carrying some of the ready-made seals I usually did. The last mission…fine, the Bunny Mission was a wake-up call; it had shown me that I needed to be at my very best for every single fight. Just because I roughly knew what to expect didn't mean that I was ready for it.
Once I had selected my brushes and a long roll of sealing paper I made my way to the gates, where I waited for about 15 minutes before the Hokage showed up with the two iryo-nins. While I exchanged introductions with them, Sarutobi ordered the gate guards (not Izumo and Kotetsu) to inform the Jōnin Commander Nara Shikaku that he would be out of the village today, and to handle any matters that came up. Once that was done we set off; it was about a two-hour journey, and it was still approximately half past 11 in the morning.
I snuck a few glances to the Hokage while we travelled, hoping to catch a glimpse of his thoughts. Each time I did, all I saw was a gleam in his eyes that made me glad that I wasn't Orochimaru. The two Iryo-nin looked surprised and curious that they were on a mission outside the village; their worlds would be rocked soon enough.
Once we had reached the site the ANBU Uma suddenly materialized in front of us. "The area is secure, Hokage-sama."
The Hokage nodded and looked at me. It was my show from here on out. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "All right, show me the chamber."
The Hokage led the procession, followed by Uma and the Iryo-nin. As I followed them I couldn't see where the other three ANBU were; they were probably forming the perimeter. I saw Anko outside the entrance to the chamber; she was staring off into the distance. That was all right, there was no need to involve her at the moment. With another deep breath I entered the chamber where I had first come into the world.
It was basically a cavern which was lined with flagstones. There were a couple of streetlamps that were lit with a fire that provided light, and there was a large stone operating table in the middle. That was where my mother had lain during labor, while my father had stood over her to prevent the Kyūbi from breaking out. I shook my head to clear it of the nostalgia. I had a very important ritual to prepare for. I could not get lost in memories and the emotions they evoked; I needed a clear head.
I stood next to the Hokage and addressed the rest of the people, "I cannot afford any distractions while I prepare the ritual. I will seal the chamber, please wait outside." I bowed my head, "Thank you for your patience."
They bowed in return, and left me alone in the chamber with the Hokage. I unsealed the scroll that held the blood, and a cold ice-box popped out. I opened it to see a lot of bags with blood in them; it was closer to six liters than five, but I suppose it was better to err on the side of caution. I unsealed the rest of my supplies as well, and placed them all on the table. Once I had, I settled myself on the table in the very center of the room, sitting down in the lotus position. Once I had, I performed the Barriers of Silence and Sight techniques, and added another barrier that would prevent even space-time techniques being used. No sense in risking Obito/Tobi warping in again.
"Please suppress your presence as much as possible." I called to the Hokage as I closed my eyes.
I took a few deep breaths and slowly let myself relax, falling into a meditative trance. One by one, the thoughts floating around my head came to the forefront of mind.
'When I woke up this morning I didn't think I would be performing this ritual.' I should have performed it as soon as I laid eyes on Anko.
'I still need to get a handle on Yin chakra.' That could be taken care of tomorrow, or the day after.
'The Hokage owes me a bowl of ramen for this!' Yeah he did. I was collecting as soon as we reached back to the village.
'Anko owes me a drink as well.' Hell yes. And I still owed her a plate of dango from the last mission.
'I'm basically a living zombie.' … that thought was to be shelved. I am a shinobi of Konoha, and I believed in the Hokage, and he believed in me. That was all I needed to know.
As soon as all these thoughts were acknowledged, I placed them into a box and let myself fall into a trance. Once I was sure I was completely focused I brought up the seals I was going to be drawing in the chamber. I mentally catalogued every seal, every single character, and every single stroke. Once I was absolutely certain that I remembered all the seals I looked at the final result to ensure that they would do what I wanted them to do and not anything weird; compiling them, so to speak. Once I was certain I was in the zone, I finally opened my eyes.
I reached for the ice box and drew a bag of blood and drained it into a wide-mouthed shallow container. Once that was done, I picked up a brush that was commonly called as a number 2 brush. It provided a delicate shape to the script of the characters, while not allowing them to be too thin so that the characters broke apart due to lack of ink (or blood in this case).
I first faced north and walked the approximate distance the seals would cover from the table where Anko would soon be lying. I set the container down and soaked the brush in blood, and started drawing the seals.
I completely lost myself in my task as I drew the seals. There were four cardinal directions and therefore four different offerings to be made. The seals drawn in the directions of East and West were the standard sealing script used by the Elemental Nations; however, the ones drawn in the directions of North and South were different. North used an archaic tongue, a language used in a bygone era from before the formation of the Hidden Villages, even before the Warring States period was in full swing. South, however, used an entirely different language called Sanskrit, which came from beyond the seas south to the Elemental Nations. I had spent a lot of time with the travelling sages from the South, soaking in their wisdom. What drew me to them initially were the orange robes they wore, and their weird headdresses. But once they passed on their message of peace I fell in love with their culture.
Just as I was sure that I ran out of blood, I looked to the container and found it full to the brim. I almost snapped out of my zone in surprise, before I realized that it was probably Sarutobi who had filled it. To be honest I had completely forgotten about him, evidently he was better at suppressing his presence than I had given him credit for. I continued drawing the seals for the North direction until my back hit the operating table; at which point I created a couple of Kage Bunshin that hung from the ceiling in a chain and kept me afloat as I drew the seals where I had been standing a few moments previously.
I couldn't rely on Kage Bunshin for this sort of work because of two reasons: first, I didn't have a second number 2 brush. While I could have created a Kage Bunshin while holding one, I didn't want to take the risk because even if a single brush stroke was out of place, the ritual would blow up in our faces, killing Anko and likely the rest of us as well. Secondly, Kage Bunshin always took a part of your focus away. Even if it was a minuscule amount, they were not completely autonomous. While this was excellent for combat related situations, it was less than ideal for delicate rituals such as this.
I had lost all sense of time as I completed the seals for the East, West and South directions. There was actually an easier way to release the cursed seal called Kaija Hōin (Evil Releasing Method), however this would release the spirit of Orochimaru. Far more significantly, this method was akin to tearing out a cancerous growth with your bare hands: it had an 80% fatality rate. I had plans for the shade of Orochimaru within the seal, and I didn't want to put a comrade through that sort of trauma.
Once I put my finishing touches on the South seal, I took a final look at each of the seals. North looked like an arrow, East looked like a rounded hammer head, West was a formless blob while South looked like a one footed dancing maiden. Once I was certain every seal was in place I formed the Ram seal and closed my eyes, bringing myself out of the meditative trance I had been in. I had been standing on the operating table, and when I opened my eyes I found the Hokage standing next to me as if he had been there all along. I let out a long sigh.
"That looked brutal" Sarutobi told me.
"It was unbelievably intense. And we haven't even started the actual ritual." I wiped my brow of the sweat that had suddenly popped up. All the feelings I had ignored over the last few hours suddenly hit me with a vengeance, and I sat down on the table Indian style. "I'm already wiped. I knew that Kurama helped me with my stamina, but I never knew he was just as important for my mental focus as well."
Sarutobi shook his head, "Only you would refer to the greatest of the Bijū in such a familiar manner."
I smirked, "If he didn't want me using his name, he shouldn't have told it to me in the first place." I sighed, "I miss him."
Sarutobi nodded, "He was with you for your entire life. Losing such a companion is always hard." He looked around the cavern wistfully. "You lost your mother and father the night you were born, and I lost my wife in this very cavern the same night."
I bowed my head in mutual regret. After a few moments, however, I spoke up. "We may have lost those most important to us during the course of our lives, but right now, in this place" I looked up at him "I'm glad I can place my trust in you."
He looked at me and smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.
After a few moments of silent camaraderie, he spoke "Shall we fetch our companions now?"
I considered it for a few seconds, "Let's go outside in any case; I need to take a break and get some fresh air."
We both jumped from the table, landing far away from the seals and walked towards the entrance. I pulled down the barriers and we stepped outside, immediately drawing the attention of everyone on the platform just outside the cave. "We will start the ritual in 15 minutes" the Sandaime ordered in his gravelly voice, causing everyone to tense up, especially Anko. He walked over to her and started speaking, too softly for us to hear.
I had my own assignment with the Iryo-nins; once I was close to them I told them what to expect. "Mitarashi-san will be in a lot of pain, I will draw seals that keep her restrained, but you will need to keep an eye on her during the ritual to make sure she doesn't get free. At the same time, you will need to keep an active diagnostic on her and monitor every minor fluctuation of her chakra system. As soon as you find any such fluctuation, immediately reach it and start healing it. Her entire system has been tainted with a foreign source of chakra for almost a decade, it will fight back. Make sure that the source does not try to reach further into her system. She needs to be awake for this ritual, otherwise there is a possibility that she may lose herself in her darkest memories, so keep her awake at all costs. The longer the ritual goes on, the more chakra you will use, so make sure that you have soldier pills within easy reach. If any other issues come up during the ritual I will inform you of them. Any questions?"
The more senior of the medic nins, one of those grumpy people, raised his voice challengingly. "Yeah, I have a question. While we're doing all of that, what exactly will you be doing?"
As creepy as those perma-happy doctors were, they were a hundred times better than these disgruntled types. There was only one way to deal with this clown. I raised an eyebrow and said dryly "The hard part."
The younger one's mouth dropped open in surprise, while the grumpy one just tensed his jaw, before looking away in a huff. I took that to mean that they didn't have any questions, and walked to the end of the platform. I realized with a surprise that the sun had already set. It had taken me hours to set up the seal, and I hadn't realized the passage of time during it. I stared out into the distance, letting my mind wander and decompressing, letting it empty itself of the details of the seals themselves while slowly recalling all the details of the challenges to come.
A few random thoughts were floating around my head when I felt the slight displacement of air behind me. "It is time" Uma informed me. I took one last look at the darkening sky and the first pinpricks of stars peeking out, before taking a deep breath and turning around.
I took down the barrier and shooed everyone through before immediately setting it up again. The thick smell of blood immediately blasted me in the face and everyone else as well. Both the Iryo-nin looked completely horrified when they saw the menacing looking blood seal drawn all over the floor and part of one wall; even Anko looked a little green. The ANBU member was as inscrutable as the rest of his fraternity, but I felt sure even he was shocked underneath his mask. After a few moments I saw Anko start to identify parts of the seals from the East and West wings. Well, she was Orochimaru's apprentice; nothing less than a thorough grounding in all shinobi disciplines would do for him.
Once everyone had gotten over their shock I instructed the two Iryo-nin's to jump straight on to the operating table, before following them. Anko's head would be lying to the North, therefore I needed to stand next to it where the seal was closest. There was very little place to stand for me, and the same was the case for the Iryo-nins. I directed them to stand in their spots and gave them a dire warning NOT to smudge the seals under any circumstances. The disgruntled one glowered at me, but didn't say anything. Once the three of us were set I looked over to Anko. She had taken off her trenchcoat and skirt, but the mesh bodysuit was still on. "Take the bodysuit off, and then jump on to the table." Instead of doing it, she hesitated, fiddling with the hem of the suit. "You'll still be in your underthings, if you're worried about what's left of your modesty" I tried, hoping to get her to react by shooting one of our usual barbs at her. Instead, she ducked her head further, and dropped her hand as well. A sudden suspicion struck me. "… you are wearing underwear, right?"
And that was how we became the first people in years to see Mitarashi Anko blush in embarrassment.
After a few minutes of coaxing, she finally shucked her bodysuit and immediately draped an arm across her breasts, hiding them from view. She was wearing a pair of panties, it looked to be a thong, but at this distance I couldn't be sure. She finally lifted her head and fixed her gaze on the table, before jumping and landing expertly in the middle of it. "Lie down on your back with your head towards me." I instructed, and she immediately did so, but didn't move her hand away. As she settled down I noticed that yes, she was wearing a thong, a black thong to be precise. Top notch investigative work, right there.
I didn't have time to ogle her further, however. I immediately swirled the number 2 brush in the blood and completed the seals, tying the ends by drawing them on Anko's body: on her calves and biceps. Then I set about drawing the restraining seals on her Achilles tendon, and I drew it on one wrist before hesitating. "Ah…you'll have to put down your other hand as well." I saw her tense, but after a few moments she jerkily removed her arm from her breasts and placed it stiffly at her side. Immediately I set about drawing the restraining seals on her second wrist.
I then started joining all the seals to the cursed mark on her neck by way of a simple line. I was again in the zone, I was thinking of nothing but the seals and the way they intera… oh fine. I'm lying, all right? I was shamelessly sneaking an eyeful as I drew pointless lines across her body. I'm only human. Happy now?
Once I had indulged the pervert within, I dispelled the Kage Bunshin keeping me afloat and went back to the head of the table and stood carefully within my zone. Anko was staring straight at the ceiling; I don't think she had said two words since we came here. I took out a kunai and placed it on the table, and charged a line of the densest Fūton chakra I could make at the end of my index finger, before slicing it down. The head of the kunai fell off, followed quickly by the ring at the end. I picked up the bandaged handle and told Anko, "Put this between your teeth."
She unclenched her jaw and quickly bit down on the handle, already in anticipation of the pain to come. I cleared up the table of the litter, sealing everything up in my own scroll and placing it in my pouch. I looked over to the two Iryo-nins, "Do you remember your instructions?" The younger one was pale as he nodded; even the disgruntled one had abandoned his unhappy mood upon experiencing the atmosphere. I took a deep breath before looking down at Anko, "This is going to hurt." She was already pale and sweating and had a frightened expression; but I blocked it all out. Once again, I went into my place of immense tranquility, and cleared my head of all extraneous thoughts (which mostly consisted of mental snapshots of Anko's breasts).
As soon as I was in the zone I snapped my eyes open, and began to perform the 23 handseals that accompanied this particular ritual. As soon as my hand snapped into the last one, the blood started glowing blue and I spoke, my voice echoing ominously around the chamber "Fūinjutsu: Jōka Waru no Gishiki (Sealing Arts: Ritual of Purifying Evil)."
The only thing that was heard for the next few hours was gut-wrenching screaming.
28 hours later: 4465617468
I stumbled into a bar, still recovering from the horrific chakra drain the day before. The ritual had wiped me out physically and mentally. Thankfully it had been a success, I had managed to capture the shade of Orochimaru and boy did I have plans for him. Anko had survived the procedure, and her chakra wasn't causing an auto-immune attack, which was good news. Basically it meant that her body didn't reject her original chakra thinking it was foreign; especially after Orochimaru's tainted chakra had been circulating throughout it for a decade. There was still a chance that her tenketsu were damaged, but I was confident that it wasn't the case. I had a gut feeling, and those were usually right.
I was barely able to disarm the seals on my apartment and collapsed on my couch, unable to make it to the bedroom. I had next to no recollection of what happened after the ritual, only vague flashes, and nothing from the journey back. When I woke up in the morning, all I did was go to the bathroom and crash into my bed. When I finally woke up it was late in the evening and I was still wiped. I wanted to celebrate though, and I sent a Kage Bunshin to find Genma while I went to the same bar where everyone stared at me for one reason or another. Third time had to be the charm right?
I had already finished up two saucers when Genma finally showed up. "You look like shit" he said jovially, taking a seat and filling his own saucer. "What's the reason for celebration?"
"I successfully completed a grueling ritual!" I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face or leaking into my voice. It was an achievement worthy of lauding, and dammit I was going to bask!
"Someone's in a good mood" he returned my smile and raised his saucer. "Congratulations!"
I grinned and threw my head back and savored the burn as it travelled down my throat. I poured us both another saucer but didn't drink it immediately, instead we started to talk about random everyday stuff.
That was how we passed the next half hour, but it seemed that third time was NOT lucky for me. There was a sudden hush at the door and it rippled throughout the room. Like everyone else our attention was drawn to the disturbance, which turned out to be a woman in a hospital gown. Even as she got closer I didn't recognize her; it was only when she locked eyes with me and leaked a little killing intent that I realized who she was. "Anko?"
Without her usual trenchcoat and mesh body suit and especially with her hair down she looked like a different person entirely. I was however reminded that she was very much the same person when she walked all the way up to me and socked me right across the jaw.
"Ow!" Thwack "Ow!"
The second 'ow' was because her punch had thrown me into the wall; it was a miracle I was still on my feet. I had been taken completely by surprise, and Anko wasn't done. She started to reach for my face, but it was a feint. She feinted again and the third time her aim was true; and she ripped off my facemask. I was shocked, why was she doing this? I saw a couple of shinobi headed over to break up the fight. She cocked her head back and started to throw it forward; I flinched, closing my eyes, she was shorter than me, which meant that her forehead would crash into my nose which would probably break it and-
.
.
.
…that wasn't a head-butt…
.
.
By the time I realized I was being kissed it was already over. With the same hand that held my facemask she grabbed hold of the front of my uniform and started dragging me towards the door.
What the hell was going on!?
Since I was behind her I realized that her hospital gown wasn't tied properly from the back; her bare ass was hanging out for the world to see. This distracted me for a few moments, until I was halfway to the door. I was just about to dig my heels in and demand an explanation, when it happened.
Genma let out a catcall. I blinked. Someone else let out a whistle. Then another person started cheering. It was then that the realization struck me. 'Oh…that's what's going on.'
And then I was out of the door and Anko's ass was still in front of me and suddenly we were flying through the air via a shunshin and I wanted to tell her it was reckless to use chakra so soon after her surgery and maybe to say something entirely different; but once we materialized she turned around and kissed me again and I ended up completely forgetting exactly what I was objecting to.
Author's Note: There's an Animorphs reference hidden in the chapter: whoever finds it gets a sneak peek!
Guys, I have a complaint to make. I came out with an extremely long chapter last time out, and I have to say I was disappointed with the response you guys gave me, reviews wise; especially after the superb response to chapter 7. Over a thousand people read the chapter; is it really that hard to write a review? It was incredibly de-motivating, every morning the first thing I do is check my email for the reviews you guys post; it makes my day reading those. To not get any after a couple of days was an incredible downer. I wasn't in the mood to write at all for over a week. I'm not one of those authors who will hold my readers to ransom, demanding a certain number of reviews before I post a new chapter; but at the same time, if you go through the trouble of favouriting/following the story the least you can do is drop a review for the author who's gone through so much trouble to write a long chapter for your pleasure and entertainment. I've replied to every review I've gotten so far, even the flames, and I think I've been polite and respectful of everyone's opinions. So here's my request to you: if you liked something in this chapter, or anything in any previous chapter, please drop me a review about it. It would make my day, and motivate me to write the next chapter sooner. If you didn't like something, or want to criticize something, DEFINITELY drop me a review. I welcome all forms of criticisms, unless they are bigoted flames.
All right, rant over. The first part of this chapter was inspired by a random thought in my head. I thought, how about I write a joke about ninjas walking into a bar? Instead, I thought about what they actually talk about in a bar, and this was the result. Like it?
Thanks for reading; I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review!
