Isaribi sat comfortably in a chair as Hermione, as she had found out her name was, measured out some strange liquid. She turned around and held it out to Isaribi. "Here. Drink this. It will make sure you tell the truth." Hermione told her. Isaribi nodded, not really believing it. It had only been an hour or so since the minor attack on the ship, although it seemed the people on the boat hadn't even realized it had ever happened. Isaribi sniffed the liquid carefully with her enhanced nose. She had yet to change back to her semi human form. She could smell many things coming off of the liquid, most of which she didn't recognize. "Do you really think I would try to poison you after having to convince you to stay?" Hermione asked. Isaribi didn't respond, and just downed the liquid.
"I am ready for your questions." Isaribi told Hermione.
"Alright. First off to make sure it's working properly, what is your name?" Hermione asked. Isaribi prepared to tell her the same thing she told Mel.
"Isaribi." She replied. Isaribi blinked in surprise. What had made her tell the truth. Hermione cocked an eyebrow at this.
"I guess its working. Now, what are you?" Hermione asked.
"I am a monster. A demon. I am the Kaima, a result of experimenting on humans to try and create the perfect aquatic shinobi." Isaribi replied, surprised that she kept answering truthfully. Hermione's eyebrow went up even farther.
"Do you intend to harm either Mel or myself?" Hermione asked.
"Only if you intend to harm me."
"And will you purposefully let harm befall us?"
"Only if you intend to harm me." Isaribi repeated. Hermione sighed.
"Last question. What were those abilities you displayed out there?" Hermione asked.
"Ninjutsu. Chuunin level. Most originated from the Hidden Mist Village. One Taijutsu was used, also from Hidden Mist." Isaribi answered. Hermione nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright. I may have to question you more about those abilities later, but the Veritaserum is most likely wearing off by now. As for your past…I'm sorry to hear that. But don't you think you should move on, and accept things?" Hermione suggested as Isaribi strode towards the door. Isaribi flinched inwardly, but it didn't show on the outside.
Back in the room she was sharing with Mel, she transformed back into her semi human form and started pulling stuff out of her bag. Mel glanced over at some of the stuff she was pulling out. More explosion tags, kunai, shuriken in their holsters, a few sets of clothes, a large egg with brown speckles, a vial of some dark, crimson liquid. "Hey, what's with the egg?" Mel asked Isaribi as she pulled out the roll of bandages she had been looking for.
"It was going to be this morning's meal. I found it in a small alcove in a reef near my home. I brought it with me, incase there was a day where I couldn't find any food." Isaribi told him, wrapping up her arms and legs first. He poked at the egg a couple times.
"Y'know, this might have been what those serpents were after. The egg matches all descriptions of the serpent eggs. A soft, leathery shell, brown speckles, and about the size of a grapefruit. Yep, I'm pretty sure this is their egg, and that those two serpents were mates." Mel muttered, poking the egg a few more times. Isaribi tightened the bandages on her arm.
"Huh. Hey, can you help me here?" Isaribi replied, starting to wrap the bandages around her head and face.
"Sure. What do you need me to do?" Mel asked.
"Hold the bandages." Isaribi commanded. Mel did as he was asked, and Isaribi grabbed a Kunai, tightened the bandages, and cut the left over off. "Thanks." Isaribi muttered.
"No problem." Mel replied. Isaribi started packing everything back up, but Mel stopped her. "Hey, can you tell me what some of these other things are? And maybe explain exactly what you did out there, fighting those serpents?" Mel asked. Isaribi hesitated before nodding.
"Un. This is a kunai, a knife commonly used by ninja. This is a shuriken, a throwing star, that a lot of ninja use in addition to kunai. These are exploding tags, and are very dangerous and difficult to make. They can be a ninja's best friend or worst enemy. This is a container of blood for any sealing or special jutsu that I might have to use." Isaribi explained.
"Wait, jutsu? And blood?" Mel asked. Isaribi cocked her head in confusion.
"You've never heard of jutsu, or using blood in rituals?" Isaribi asked. Mel shook his head. Isaribi was surprised. While many people couldn't do any jutsu, most people at least knew what they were. "Jutsu are special techniques used by ninja. They are divided into three categories, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. Taijutsu hand to hand combat, Ninjutsu are special techniques like my clones that I made, and Genjutsu are illusions. Blood is often used in writing seals, and in some jutsu as a sacrifice. Sometimes it requires more than a little blood for a sacrifice, though." Isaribi told him.
"Wow! Those jutsu things sound almost like wandless magic!" Mel exclaimed.
"You and the woman keep mentioning magic. And that Veritaserum stuff…" Isaribi replied.
"Magic is just what it sounds like. Magic. She's a full fledged witch and I'm a wizard in training. And Veritaserum is a potion that makes someone tell the truth. You ability to understand me, and for Hermione and I to understand you is the result of a basic charm I did. Although, magic isn't as combat oriented as your jutsu are, we can do some things like hexing." Mel explained.
"I see. So that is why you needed me." Isaribi muttered.
"Yep! I'm sure that with a ninja helping us things will be fine!" Mel exclaimed.
"Except I'm not truly a ninja. And if I was a ninja I'd be a missing-nin…" Isaribi replied.
"But you used those ninja things and stuff!" Mel interrupted.
"That's because a missing-nin from the Mist trained me for a short while, and left me with his forehead protector. The next day, he had been caught and killed by hunter-nin. If the Mist were to find out he taught me, I would be classified a missing-nin, and I would have hunter-nin after me for knowing some of their secrets." Isaribi told him.
"Jeez, sounds like they're a paranoid group. Are all ninja that paranoid about their secrets?" Mel asked. Isaribi nodded. "Well, it's a good thing that wizards and witches have memory charms, so that we don't have to kill everyone who sees us use magic…" Mel muttered.
"Is that the reason the people on this boat are acting as if nothing happened this morning?" Isaribi asked. Mel nodded. She fingered the scratched headband thoughtfully.
"Well, moving on from such depressing thoughts we're going to be making landfall soon and since we've found a way to defeat those serpents we have a bunch of free time on our hands. And although the muggles may not have magic, they sure have some interesting forms of entertainment! So let's go find something to do!" Mel exclaimed, grabbing Isaribi's wrist and heading towards the door.
"Huh? Ah, wait!" Isaribi exclaimed, caught off guard. Mel stopped for a moment, and Isaribi grabbed her weapons pouch.
"Do you really need that?" Mel asked. Isaribi nodded.
"I am supposed to guard you. I will not let anything slip past, so long as there was something I could have done about it." Isaribi replied, securing the pouch.
"I personally say you're paranoid. Oh well, let's get going." Mel said, grinning a bit. Isaribi smiled a bit at his antics.
"C'mon Isaribi! You can do better than that!" Mel cheered her as she attempted to play a fighting game in the arcade on the boat.
"Well it's harder than it looks! A real fight is easier than this!" Isaribi complained, unable to keep from smiling as Mel continues to cheer her. Some of the other passengers on the boat looked at her oddly with her bandages, but no one whispered about her behind her back. And Mel's cheer was infectious. She was happy, for once. It was a strange feeling, but a welcome one.
"Aw, you lost. I thought you were gonna beat it, too." Mel muttered. She blinked. While she was caught up in her thoughts, she had indeed lost. Oh well. Isaribi glanced up at the clock on the wall to see that it was just past noon.
"Mel, we should grab some lunch." Isaribi told him. He glanced up at the clock also, and nodded.
"Alright. We can grab something to eat from the cafeteria and we'll take it back to our room. Once we're in there, we'll need to do something about the translation charm. It's beginning to wear off." Mel told her. Isaribi nodded in agreement. After they left, a cloaked figure came out of the shadows wearing a mask with four squiggles on it. He pressed a couple of fingers to his right ear.
"Target found."
Isaribi looked at her food a bit oddly. Mel had her headband in his hands, and was waving his wand. Isaribi tested a small piece of some of the food, nibbling on it a bit. "Don't worry, it's not going to kill you. It's actually pretty good." Mel told her, handing the forehead protector back to her. Some of his words she had trouble understanding since the charm was just about at its limits, but she got the general point. She took the hitai-ite back from him and tied it around neck again.
"I know, but it's so different from what I normally eat…" Isaribi muttered nibbling on another piece. Whatever this meat was, it was good.
"Well you sure seem to like it!" Mel pointed out.
"I never said I didn't." Isaribi countered, finishing off the steak.
"Hey save some for me!" Mel exclaimed as she grabbed another piece.
"Then start eating!" Isaribi replied, smiling at him.
Isaribi hefted her pack over her shoulder as they began to get ready to leave. They'd long since disposed of the egg that she had had, but not after Hermione had taken it into her room for a day. Mel had just finished packing his bag, and they were preparing to leave. "So this 'Order' that you talk about…They are the fighters in your side of this war?" Isaribi asked. Mel nodded.
"Yep. One of them, Ron, will be here to meet us and take us to the headquarters." Mel replied.
"Is it protected?" Isaribi asked.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Mel answered.
"From your explanations of magic, there isn't much for use in things like war. How is it protected?" Isaribi questioned.
"Well, it's Unplottable and the Order has set up shield spells around it and illusionary spells." Mel explained.
"I'm going to be adding some things to it when we get there. I'll need someone who knows how the current defense system works so that I can set up without interfering with what's already in place." Isaribi replied as the walked down the ramp to the dock. As they stepped onto the dock, a red headed man came running down the dock towards them.
"Hermione!" He yelled, waving.
"That's Ron." Mel told Isaribi as the man came to a stop in front of the group, glancing at her for a moment.
"Hey, Hermione. Who's the girl?" Ron asked.
"A bodyguard for Mel." Hermione replied as Ron started to lead them off the docks.
"This kid? A bodyguard? How is she a better bodyguard than you?" Ron asked incredulously.
"I am not a kid." Isaribi growled, leaking out a bit of her killer intent. Ron shuddered involuntarily.
"No, I guess not…" Ron muttered as they came to a car. Isaribi looked at it in wonderment. It was her first time seeing such a thing. Hermione and Ron got in front while Mel got in back. Isaribi hesitated for a moment before climbing in the back with Mel.
Harry was pacing back and forth when Ron cam through the door followed by Hermione, Mel, and some girl covered in bandages. Harry stopped for a moment and glanced over at her. What was she doing here? And who was she?
Isaribi noticed the glare the black haired man with glasses had sent her way, and she responded with a glare of her own. She felt a smug satisfaction when he flinched and turned towards Hermione.
"Hermione, I thought we agreed that you're taking one apprentice was dangerous enough. Why do you have a second?" The man asked.
"She's not an apprentice, Harry. She's a body guard to protect Mel when I can't." Hermione told him. Harry glanced back at her. She bowed to him slightly.
"Nice to meet you, Harry-san." She said. Harry blinked for a moment.
"Nice to meet you too, um…" Harry replied, not knowing her name.
"Isaribi. Isaribi the Kaima." Isaribi told him. He nodded, and turned back to Hermione.
"So you found out how to defeat the serpents?" He asked, desperately. Hermione nodded.
"Isaribi is capable of defeating them with ease, as she showed us on the boat a few days ago." Hermione told him. Harry glanced back at her.
"This is ridiculous. We can't have kids fighting our battles for us!" Harry exclaimed. Isaribi growled at him.
"I'll show you how much of a kid I am!" Isaribi exclaimed venomously. Harry looked back at her.
"You know what? I don't really care how much of a kid you are. I am not placing you in the way of danger. I won't let someone innocent be hurt, if I can help it!" Harry retorted. Isaribi let out a sharp laugh, that didn't sound at all cheerful.
"I'm anything but innocent." Isaribi told him, turning around and stalking out of the house. Mel hesitated a moment before following.
"We'll be back in a moment!" He told them. Hermione sighed in exasperation, Harry was still acting gloomy, and Ron was confused as to what just happened.
"Don't underestimate her Harry. I only know a minor bit about her past, and I've only seen her fight once. But she is very powerful, and capable of handling herself." Hermione told him.
"I have to agree with her, mate. She gave me a glare that sent shivers up my spine. Made me feel like I was looking death in the face…" Ron murmered.
Outside, Isaribi set her pack down and pulled out her container of blood and a brush. She was about to start inking some seals when Mel came out. "Hey." He muttered.
"Hey." She replied glumly as he sat down next to her. She began inking some kanji around the door frame.
"He's really a good guy, he just doesn't want anyone else to get hurt. He wants to take everything on alone so that he's the only one that has to suffer." Mel told Isaribi. She snorted in contempt.
"Load of shit. No one can do everything themselves. And no matter what, others will suffer. It's the way things work…" Isaribi replied, starting to go over the top of the door with her seals. It wasn't too long before she was done with that and was making complex seals in the circle, on the door itself.
"Maybe you can prove your competence to him somehow? Challenge him to a quick duel?" Mel suggested as Isaribi finished her writing, and placed her hand in the center of the circle, emitting a small bit of Chakra into it. It twisted and then shrank down to be about the size of a quarter.
"This should be enough to prove my abilities." Isaribi replied, packing everything back up.
"Eh? What does it do?" Mel asked. Isaribi made a few hand seals and unhealthy looking clone appeared.
"Step back from the door." She told him, walking about six feet from where she was standing. Mel walked so that he was right behind her. The clone touched the door handle and immediately spikes of water formed and pierced through the clone, causing it to disperse into water. Mel whistled in awe.
"How do we get in?" He asked. Isaribi walked up, and bit her thumb and smeared the blood on the seal. It was absorbed and then Isaribi opened it, holding it for Mel. "So will that work for everyone?" Mel questioned. Isaribi shook her head.
"I made the seal able to recognize only the true members of the order which contains Harry, Ron, Hermione and you, and it includes me." Isaribi told him as he entered. Isaribi started to come through the door when Harry came stalking out, throwing a cloak over his shoulders.
"Dammnit! Why do they have to attack now!" He growled to himself, buttoning his cloak on. He looked around, and then disappeared with a pop. Ron and Hermione came out, also in cloaks. Ron looked around for Harry before disappearing in a similar manner. Hermione paused for a moment before turning back to Isaribi.
"Are you going to come also?" She asked Isaribi. Isaribi nodded.
"Just tell me where you want me to appear." Isaribi replied.
"You can apparate? Nevermmind, for now…We're going to appear in a back alley that's off of 49th street in between Fletcher's Bakery and The Convenient One. There will be two trash cans knocked over next to a dumpster at the back, where there is a brick wall. Got that?" Hermione asked. "Good. I didn't tell you any of this, right?" Hermione asked.
"Yes ma'am." Isaribi replied. Hermione nodded before disappearing with a pop. Isaribi turned to Mel. "Can you take this for me?" Isaribi asked. Mel nodded.
"Come back alive, alright?" Mel said. Isaribi smiled at him as she started unraveling her bandages.
"I have been hired to protect. As a ninja, I must complete my mission. This is just a preemptive strike against those who would harm you. If I die here, then I will fail my mission. I cannot allow this, so I will return alive." Isaribi replied smugly, handing him her bandages as she transformed back into an aquatic form. She made a few quick hand seals and disappeared with a splash of water.