"What… What did you say…?"
Rikou stood facing slightly to the side, her head turned towards the Hokage. Her green eyes were narrowed in confusion, her raven black hair hanging in front of them messily.
"You won't be alone… There is another with the Kyubi sealed within him, and he has learned to harness its Chakra. Although you cannot control the Raicho's Chakra yet, it seems to be more powerful than even that of the Nine-Tails Demon Fox."
"What exactly is the Raicho?"
"The Raicho is a very powerful demon, the demon who rules over the underworld. It apparently managed to break into our world a few hundred years ago, but was somehow sealed with the Gekkou clan. It was a really terrifying demon, although it didn't have as bad a temper as the Kyubi, and was actually a giant Thunder Bird that took the form of a raven."
"But…" Rikou glanced at the Jounin standing behind her, looking up at her, and swallowed hard. "But…"
"At least do it for your village," said the Hokage, almost pleading with her. The war had not raged as they had expected it to, it came in waves, slowly hacking away at the Leaf's ranks.
Rikou lowered her head, looking at her feet. "But… I don't want to…"
"Then you are forsaking your village!" snapped one of the Jounin behind her angrily.
"It's not like that… I just don't want to."
"The Leaf cannot hold out for much longer… If we don't send out the strongest now, we will be crushed!"
Rikou felt the anger rising inside of her. She lifted her head and turned towards the Hokage, who was simply looking at her silently. She clenched her hands into tight fists and dropped her head again.
"You just don't get it… The surge of power that comes with the Chakra is terrifying… My mind is overwhelmed and my body is taken over by it, and it hurts…"
"You should be willing to take a bit of pain for your country, if you don't fight now, there will be no other time."
Something inside of Rikou snapped and she spun around, glaring at the last one to speak. He seemed to falter at the anger that flashed through her eyes.
"Don't lecture me about pain; I've endured more than anyone in this village, both physical and psychological. A year of torture, watching my team mates die before me, my family and friends as well…Do you know what it's like to hang from a cold stone wall and refuse to answer a question, only to have an eleven-year-old kid's stomach cut open so he can watch himself bleed to death slowly in a dark stone prison?"
The room was completely silent as the Jounin's face softened slightly and he dropped his eyes. Rikou glared at him for a moment longer, taking a step forwards and watching as the room full of Jounin edged back. They're afraid of me, she thought. No, afraid of what's inside of me…
She lowered her eyes, turning back to the Hokage but keeping her head down, her hair completely covering her eyes again.
"With the possibility of death and the escape from this life, I suppose I could fight for you like this… like a tool… But only for you, Hokage-sama, not for these people behind me, not for the village, only for you."
The Hokage eyed her for a moment, before sighing and standing, placing her hands on the counter before her and leaning forwards. "Thank you Rikou. You will find Naruto on the East wall holding off a few of the remaining Sound-nin. Go to him and he will instruct you from there."
Rikou turned in silence, her black trench coat flowing behind her as she stepped forwards towards the exit. The Jounin parted, leaving a clear path as she walked through their ranks. She passed Ken without looking up, and then Kirema and finally her former sensei, Kanzu. She slid the door open in silence, slipping out of the room and slamming it behind her as she felt every Jounin's eyes on her back.
Rikou made her way down the hall, leaving through the front door and looking out at a frozen Konoha. It had snowed slightly, and about two inches covered the town, icicles hanging from rooftops and tree branches.
She sighed, her breath hanging in the cold air, before dashing east, towards a thin column of smoke that rose from one of the crumbled walls. When she arrived, she found that the small battle was over, several bodies scattering the ground and staining the snow red. A group of Leaf-nin stood on the remaining wall, looking down upon the enemy as she landed beside them, trying to remember their names.
She immediately noticed Naruto; he wore a white trench coat with red flames licking up from the bottom and the word 'Hokage' printed in large red letters on his back. There was also a pink-haired girl, Sakura, standing next to him in a medical-nin uniform. She picked out two others which she knew, Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuga Neji.
Looking around at the other three, something clicked in her mind. These are all shinobi who are around the same age as me, all of them were gennins when I was a gennin… That's strange…
"Rikou, you came," said Neji, being the first to notice her, turning slightly to see her better. She said nothing, but stood and joined the others, looking down. Neji's head suddenly snapped back and he pulled out a kunai, throwing it into the trees. The trees beside the point he had aimed for suddenly lurched forwards, forming a solid wall in which the kunai embedded itself harmlessly.
"Who's there?"
When there was no answer, one of the Jounin which Rikou didn't know jumped forwards, bringing a seal to his lips and blowing a large whirlwind of flame into the forest below. To Rikou's surprise, the surrounding snow shot up in icy spikes, nullifying the flames easily.
"What is that?" she whispered, leaning forwards. The spikes of ice melted back into the ground as they looked on in horror.
"Come out."
There was still no answer. The wind picked up slightly and Rikou could have sworn she heard voices whispering along with it. She strained her eyes to try to see through the shadows. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Naruto.
"That Chakra… These are not normal shinobi… Rikou, let's go look closer," he whispered. She paused for a moment, before nodding and pulling out two kunai.
She dropped from the crumbling wall, landing in a crouch beside a body and gazing into the trees. The branches slowly parted, but the shadows remained hiding the enemies. She and Naruto crouched in silence, straining their eyes and squinting into the shadows to no avail.
Two shadows suddenly burst from the trees at an amazing speed, leaving them no time to react before they were slammed backwards. Rikou found herself staring into the dripping jaws of a giant black wolf, its bright yellow eyes on the same level as hers. She jerked her head back, pressing against the wall as the long dripping fangs stopped an inch from her throat, the rancid breath of the animal curling up into her nostrils.
"Oi, watchit brother… It's not the enemy," growled the large wolf who was pinning Naruto to the wall a few feet off. The black wolf's teeth touched on the skin of her neck longingly before it pulled back and forced its jaws shut, dropping away from her.
The black wolf paced away, joining up with the white one and facing them. There was a puff of smoke and Rikou found herself looking at two Cloud-nin. They were exact replicas of each other, down to the last strip of clothing. They had black hair with a streak of blonde running down the middle and the same, wild yellow eyes of the wolves. Naruto was the first to recover, jumping up and pointing at them.
"Who the hell are you!? What are Cloud-nin doing in the Leaf!?"
The two Cloud-nin grinned identical toothy smiles, shifting slightly before speaking again. "The Cloud, Stone and Grass have come to fight alongside Konoha. Don't you want more allies?"
Naruto said nothing as the two Cloud-nin continued grinning. They were quite young, probably only a year older than Rikou at most. She finally regained her senses and stood as well, the rest of their team dropping from the wall and facing the Cloud-nin as they turned to face the trees.
"Oi, you two, get out here… and bring the others!"
There was a moment of silence before two more shapes appeared from the shadows. The first was another boy with black hair and bright red eyes. He wore a Stone forehead protector. The one that followed behind him was a girl, with flaming red hair and deep brown eyes; she wore a Grass forehead protector.
The two shinobi stepped forwards, pausing beside the two wolf boys. A moment later, as Rikou looked past them, she saw many full squads of ninja emerging from the shadows, from the Cloud, Grass and Stone. Rikou's eyes widened at the sight of so many shinobi, all battle clad and ready to fight. One of the identical boys stepped forwards and held out a scroll to Naruto, who was about to take it until a gigantic explosion came from the north, shaking the snow from the trees and almost causing Rikou to lose her balance.
"Neji, take them to the Hokage-sama. Rikou, let's go!"
Rikou glanced at the assembled shinobi before dashing after Naruto, following him up onto the wall and dashing towards a large column of black smoke. There were there quickly, skidding to a halt and staring open-mouthed at the total destruction before them.
The wall had been completely destroyed, rubble still falling away into a small crater. The surrounding trees were leveled, thrown aside and toppled on top of each other. But that was not the worst part. In the middle of the crater stood nine figures, each wearing a black trench coat with a design of red clouds painted across it. The nine faces looked up at her and Naruto as they were joined by other shinobi, Jounin and Chuunin from the Leaf.
"The Akatsuki," hissed Rikou in contempt and fear, eyeing the Missing-nin uneasily. Even Naruto shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the powerful enemy. The world was silent as they eyed each other for a few moments.
"Is that her?" asked Kagi, elbowing Tatsu in the ribs. This earned him a whack over the head. Rikou took a step back as the Akatsuki turned towards her. Her eyes fixed on the middle one, the leader who had always been referred to as 'Him.'
He was medium sized with blue eyes and silver hair that hung down over his shoulders. Instead of an Akatsuki robe, he wore a black cape with red clouds on it, a white outfit visible underneath. He was staring up at her fixedly, as if she were the only one who was there.
"She's more beautiful than I thought… Kagi, Tatsu, go get her."
Kagi and Tatsu suddenly lunged at her, heading straight at her as they jumped the wall. Seven shapes suddenly skidded to a halt around her, two of them giant wolves, as a solid wall of ice shot up in front of her, completely blocking the head-on attack. She looked around her in amazement at the new arrivals.
Right at her side stood Ken, the Gurehane drawn and raised. On the other side stood Kirema in his battle stance, nekotes raised. In front of her stood Naruto, hands held out protectively as his trench coat billowed out behind him.
But it was the other four that surprised her. The two wolves she recognized to be the two brothers from the Cloud, and they stood side by side, growling dangerously, their hackles raised. In front of them stood the girl with the flaming red hair, the girl from the Grass. And foremost, at the front of the group with his arms held out, apparently the one controlling the ice wall, was the black-haired boy from the Stone. His hands twitched slightly as the wall slipped back into the ground, allowing full sight of the nine Akatsuki, Kagi and Tatsu slightly in front and panting as they glared up in confusion.
"Naruto," growled Kisame, lifting his sword.
"Tenshi," hissed another. The wolf on the left twitched.
"And Gyou," said the one next to him, causing the other wolf to shift slightly.
"Kamikaze-chan," said another sarcastically, eyeing the red-haired girl.
"Kijo…" said the only female Akatsuki to the black-haired boy in front.
Kagi looked around in confusion, rubbing the back of his head. "Uhhh…. Rikou?"
"Shut up, Kagi," hissed the leader, stepping forwards. Kagi and Tatsu fell back into line as they faced the new arrivals.
"Naruto, Tenshi, Gyou, Kamikaze, Kijo and even Rikou… All in the same place at the same time. How convenient. Or is it…" he lifted his head to view the ones around Rikou. "Or is it that you're finally trying to stop me?"
Rikou watched at the reaction this got from the other shinobi. The hissed in contempt for the Akatsuki, glaring needles at him as he grinned back.
"In order to do that… You either need to kill me or her. If you try to kill me, you'll end up dead. And if you lay a finger on her I'll rip you apart." From behind him, he whipped out a giant battle axe, four feet long with an oversized blade on the end. He slammed the axe into a thick log, and it embedded itself almost completely through, splintering it hopelessly. Rikou cringed, taking another few steps back.
"Don't run, Rikou. It's useless. The rest of you… Capture the rest of them, but if they fight back to strongly kill them. Do not kill Rikou, and try not to hurt her too much. If anyone gets between me and her, kill them immediately. Go!"
The nine shinobi flew forwards, the leader heading straight for her along with Kagi and Tatsu. Ken grabbed her arm and threw her to the side, bringing up his sword and blocking the giant axe as it headed straight for him. He shouted something to another of the Jounin and they attacked from the side, but were immediately blown away.
Rikou dashed to Kirema's side, facing the approaching Kagi and Tatsu. Chains suddenly shot from the ground, wrapping up Kirema and attempting to suffocate him. But Rikou was in front of him instantly, whipping out her ninja-to and charging Kagi in the same motion.
"Mikazuki no Mai!" Two clones appeared beside her as she vanished, reappearing behind him and jumping into the air as he was distracted by the other two clones. She brought the sword down in a wide arch, ending as it connected with his left shoulder. But it hit something metal, and did not penetrate.
Kagi spun around, the chains releasing Kirema, and faced her, raising a hand and twitching a finger. A key flew from nowhere, into one of the locks on his body and releasing one of the many chains. He charged.
But Rikou was fast; she flipped backwards and jumped into the air, throwing two kunai at him as she retreated slightly. Kirema and Tatsu were fighting with each other, blue flames bursting to life every few seconds as they clashed, Tatsu's claws scraping up against Kirema's nekotes. Rikou turned back to her own fight, thinking quickly. She landed a few feet away and slammed the tip of her sword into the ground a few inches, bringing up her hands.
Ox, dragon, snake, rabbit, dragon, pig, pig, horse, snake, rabbit, dog, rat, monkey, rat, tiger, dragon, bird, ram, tiger, dragon, serpent, serpent, serpent, bird, dragon, serpent, bird, bird, bird…
Her hands flew into a long string of seals as her eyes narrowed in concentration, Kagi watching in interest. Her eyes darted to the side where Ken was somehow managing to hold off their leader with some other Jounin, and she saw the leader also watching her in interest.
As she neared the end of her chain of seals, she needed to say them aloud in order to remember them. "Inu, Ryuu, Tori, Tori, Hebi, Saru, Ino, Tori, Tora, Nezu, Usagi, Uma, Inu, Oushi, Tora, Tori, Tori, Tori!"
She held the last seal, Tori, or the bird, for a few moments, concentrating before raising her head. "Gekkou Hijutsu Ninpou: Kaihou Ankokugai Anoyo Youkai - Kuchi-yose no Jutsu!"
The sky suddenly went black as millions of black feathered wings spread, covering it completely, accompanied by a chorus of croaks and cawing. Rikou smiled as thousands of crow demons rose from the ground, swarming together above her as they began attacking the enemy.
The leader looked at her in amazement and Kagi was looking around curiously, swatting at the occasional demon that dove at his head. The other Akatsuki momentarily disengaged with their opponents, looking up at the dark demons. They then turned to their leader, who nodded, blocking a blow from Ken.
Rikou watched helplessly as every Akatsuki, including the leader, suddenly jumped back, either wiping blood from themselves or biting a finger and plunging it towards the ground. There was a loud cry of "Kuchi-yose no Jutsu!"
Rikou stumbled back as nine demons appeared before her, an Akatsuki on each head as they faced the crow demons. Kagi rode upon the back of some sort of demon, its leathery wings folded over its emaciated back. It looked almost like a lizard or dragon, and had one eye and a long, whip-like tail.
She saw the thunder lizard she had encountered before, a giant dragon that belonged to Tatsu, Itachi riding the back of a weasel, Kisame on some sort of leviathan sitting in a pool of its own creation, and the leader nestled between the ears of a giant red tiger. The other summons she saw were a giant spider, a griffin, a demon wolf and a large red dragonfly that belonged to the female Akatsuki.
It was an incredible sight to see the enemy's summons lined up and easily snapping away the crow demons, but they were ready as well. They began forming their own seals, Rikou catching on and making a few quick seals, biting her thumb and yelling "Kuchi-yose no Jutsu!"
She felt the Dark Chakra pour from her hand as the symbols formed a circle of light around her. A moment later, she found herself on the soft, feathered head of the giant crow demon. Looking around, she noticed others like hers.
Naruto was riding the back of a giant toad, Tenshi and Gyou were each riding on a giant demon wolf of their own, Kamikaze was riding between the shoulder blades of a medium-sized four-headed dragon, Kijo was on the back of a Chimera, and Kirema had his giant blue salamander summon. There were others as well, Sakura on Katsuya and Ken on the back of a phoenix summon.
I never knew Ken had a summon, she thought, looking at the beautiful fiery bird. The flames didn't seem to affect him. She looked around, the demons facing each other, some glaring at others or growling. It was a sight to remember.
Eighteen different demons about to fight on the outskirts of Konoha, dragons, horribly twisted creatures, a tiger, a crow, a fiery bird… This war would become a large part of history.
The demons began to advance on each other. Kisame's leviathan shot towards Kijo's chimera. Itachi's weasel darted towards Naruto and his giant toad summon and a few yards from them, the Akatsuki on the griffin took to the air along with Kamikaze on her four-headed dragon. Tenshi and Gyou on their wolves were clashing with another wolf demon and a giant spider as Sakura and Katsuyu fought with the female Akatsuki and her red dragonfly.
There was an explosion on flame nearby and Rikou spun around to see Ken and his phoenix clawing at the Akatsuki's leader and his tiger summon. He seemed to be able to handle him for the moment. Rikou turned towards Kagi, the only other person not fighting, and began her own battle with him and his twisted dragon-like demon.