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Divine
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First Impressions
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Is it over yet?
Naruto involuntarily shivered as he stood up from the remains of what was once a clean, flawless bathroom. Looking around, he couldn't help but to feel a wave of trepidation wash over his very core, his sixth sense tingling like there was no tomorrow. I hope I don't get blamed for this… Though he hoped otherwise, Naruto just knew that everything would fall on his shoulders – they always did. What surrounded Naruto at the moment did not resemble the once almost regal looking Iwagaki Inn bathroom – it was more like a total war zone back from the Great Shinobi War, perfectly reenacted to the smallest details. And Naruto stood alone in the midst of this chaos, as the seeming perpetrator of this entire event.
In another words, Naruto's entire lifesavings probably wouldn't be enough to cover half the expenses.
Shit, Naruto angrily kicked innocent looking rubble, watching it crumple into almost finely ground dust. Naruto really, really wanted to just stand on top of a mountain somewhere and scream up at the heavens. Out of all the places in the world, why did the lightning have strike here! It's like the whole world is against me! Knowing his luck, Naruto figured that there was no way out of this situation – all evidence pointed guilty fingers at Naruto, though he was innocent. He was the one who was at the scene of crime, and that means it would all be his fault, and Jiraiya would be merrily laughing at him all the way. Dang it, maybe I should have learned a thing or two about brooding from Sasuke when I had the chance…
Naruto froze at the dismaying thought, throwing the particular idea out the window as soon as it had popped up in his head.
Naruto shook his head fervently as he scowled, not liking the outrageous thought that had jumped into his head without permission. No way in hell I'm going to sulk like that stiff-stick-up-his-asshole. He wasn't ready to sink to that level yet. He sighed, plaguing memories of his past comrade bombarding his guilty mind. He shook his head to clear out of the discerning line of thought, and glanced up at the roof, or… where roof used to be, in attempt to distract himself. Fortunately, the night was gloriously lit with shining luminance of the heavenly stars, surrealism at its zenith. It's a beautiful night… what was that phrase that open-pervert always say? 'Great wonders of the world should be seen with great beauty by your side'? I swear that guy's got a one-track mind. Always talking about girls this, girls that… girls… wait. Naruto's brain came skidding to a halt, realization dawning.
Girl?
Groaning in reluctance, Naruto remembered the strange girl who had splashed an offending amount of water on him, her gleaming eyes twinkling in amusement. Gah, is she alright? With a sudden sense of dread, he slid next to the wall which separated the living room from the bathroom. He didn't want to walk in on a scene he did not want to see – a possibly mangled and crisply-fried body of a young girl. I didn't see her escape, and she didn't seem agile enough to get out of the blast radius either. Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly at the thought, not amused at the situational complications that may rise if the girl had indeed died. On top of getting blamed for the building, I bet I'm going to be blamed for her death as well… That would just plainly suck, Naruto decided. And… Naruto grudgingly remembered the way she had so passionately embraced him, whatever her reason. It wasn't every day Naruto was on the receiving end of such affection, and despite the short time the goddess had spent with the blond, he was already fond of her. He prayed that should the girl be alright, he'd treat a month's worth of ramen to whatever deity that decided to answer his prayers.
Elsewhere in a timeless throne, Kami laughed.
Now reaching almost at the edge of the wall, Naruto braced himself for the undoubtedly waiting sight of devastation on the other side of the wall. More importantly, that onna better be ok. He crossed his fingers, and slowly peeked out with one eye.
He face faulted immediately afterwards.
There, at the middle of the devastated living room, was the trembling (and completely unharmed) form of the Goddess of Future - who was in the middle of sobbing her heart. Her muffled cries of misery echoed on the shamble of remaining walls, as Naruto could do nothing but watch in befuddled incredulousness. "What did I do to deserve this Kami-sama?" She choked out miserably, as her tears seeped out between her fingers.
Naruto watched with growing sense of fear, each drop of her tears plucking a chord of panic in his mind. What the hell am I suppose to do? Panic was steadily growing in his mind, as he had absolutely no idea as what to do in this type of situation. He wasn't good at handling girls to start with – let alone handling a crying one! What was he suppose to do? Hug her? Pat her? Slap her out of it? Why me? Why always me?
Try talking, why don't ya. The rational part of his psyche drawled lazily, yet reprimanding at the same time. Of course, talking. Why hadn't I thought of that before? Naruto mentally rolled his eyes at himself, then swiftly moved next to the sobbing goddess, who was now somewhat subdued. Jiraiya's Love Lesson Number 1: Crying girl was to be dealt with extreme caution. Who'd thought that old pervert's tips would come in handy?
"Hey… what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Naruto tentatively asked, as he crouched down to eye-to-eye level with Skuld. She shook her head no, but continued to cry sorrowfully nonetheless. You suck at lying, Naruto concluded. With a sigh, he reached out to part her hands away from her face, but Skuld shied away from his touch, crying harshly, "Leave me alone!" She turned away from him completely, but she wasn't crying anymore. She was seething.
It's his fault! The accusation automatically popped into her mind, ready to shift blames to the nearest person within an arm's reach – namely, the blond boy who was crouching over her in concern. It's HIS fault that I'm stuck here, and it's HIS fault that I was sent here in the first place! A part of her knew that she was being irrational, but Skuld couldn't care less about that right now. She was under probation, and she was pissed.
Pissed at him.
Still, she had enough sense not to take it out on Naruto – after all, she knew that it wasn't truly his fault at all, deep down. I wonder how he's gonna take it, Skuld wondered how the boy would react to the news of her being bound to him until the probation was lifted. What is Kami-sama thinking? It was outrageous, to say the least. But then again, who was Skuld to question anything about what the almighty Kami-sama do or not do? She sighed, as her anger lost its steam somewhat. I have a feeling that he's not going to take it very well... But she had to tell him nevertheless, that was for sure.
Or, I can always say half-true statements and weasel my way out…but that wouldn't be really fair. Skuld mentally ticked the imaginary metronome in her head, counting the seconds. What to do, what to do…
Meanwhile, Naruto calmly gazed upon the dark figure of the goddess outlined by the moonlight, as she suddenly sighed. I wonder what's up with her. He considered prying again, but then she seemed to want to be left alone for now. Whatever the lady wishes, he thought shrugging mentally. He slowly stood up, stretching his tired and cramped legs – and was painfully reminded once more that his entire body was sore. God damn that pervert… that slave-driver from hell! Naruto winced as a particularly painful sore spot was stretched, and he couldn't help but to gingerly massage the muscle with all tenderness.
There was a heavy silence in the air, neither saying anything for the time being. Two people, sitting in rubbles of destruction, contemplating under the moonlight – it was comical, to say the least. Naruto was trying to gauge the goddess' mood, and said goddess was trying to figure out a way to break the news of her situation on the unfortunate blond. Then at the same time, they opened their mouth in unison only to be interrupted by a pounding fist on the half-standing door frame.
"Hey! What's going on in there? Is everything alright? Open up this instance!" The voice obviously did not realize that the room wasn't really there anymore, other than heaps of rubbles. And yet, if Naruto and Skuld were both discovered at the scene of the crime… This isn't good, he noted as he threw nervous glances at the door, wanting to avoid disaster if he could help it. "We're going to break the door down, so hang in there," the loud voice which Naruto came to recognize as the Inn keeper shouted from behind the door, determination thick in his voice. The old man was apparently willing to break down his own door to gain entrance. Well, crap.
Meanwhile, Skuld was having similar line of thoughts. I've seen enough to know that this situation will cause misunderstanding; humans back in Keiichi's time didn't take too well to decimated hotels, so why should they take this in strides? Skuld recalled the time when Urd had completely wiped out the room of an unfortunate hotel for bad service – needless to say, the owner wasn't pleased. She grimaced when she remembered how everyone had to scrub the dishes and the floors to pay off the entire damage. That's never going to happen again - EVER! Grasping her head in frustration, Skuld almost opted to chanting words of recovery, but decided against it at last minute seeing that the mortals were just outside the door. They obviously saw the Omnipotent Message, and thus came here to investigate and to perform damage control. If I fix everything, they'll become suspicious… Not to mention that she'll never finish in time! They'll be in here before the process is complete.
Skuld stifled an urge to groan.
Ugh, I don't want to think anymore darn it! Skuld was no where naïve as Belldandy was; she very well knew that retribution of this kind of damage would cost much money, more money than she'd be able to imagine. She'd be forced to resort to chanting the words of recovery, if everything came down to scrubbing dishes for rest of her life. But then again, if I did that then the mortals will know of our existence. The matter of keeping the Heavenly Secrets from the Mortal Realm was considered one of the highest priorities as a goddess, and the only exceptions to this rule was the Chosen Ones fated to receive a wish-granting service from the Heaven. If people found out, then I'd be forced to erase their memories… But that was something Skuld despised with a passion – tampering with memories went against her morals big time.
Ah well, she would deal with things as things went along, she supposed.
However, she had a bigger concern. The building… This entire section had been decimated... No doubt people will find out that this brat was staying in here and hold him responsible, she thought guiltily, wincing at the thought of troubles the blond would face. She spared an apologetic glance at the blond human who was in turn staring at the door with something akin to fear. Her apologetic glance went unnoticed, but Skuld decided that later would be a better time for an apology anyway. If we manage through this alright, that is… Meanwhile, the men outside began their preparations to break the door down.
"Everyone, ready?" Muffled voices outside chanted, "one, two, THREE!" BANG!
Both habitants in what's left of the hotel room jumped at the noise, more startled than neither was willing to admit. They glanced at the door, and then sighed simultaneously at the sturdy door which stood firm. BANG! The noise came again, and this time there was a visible dent in the metal door. The door wasn't going to last very long, and they both realized that they were running out of time. At this point, Naruto curtailed all other thoughts except one, deciding that that there was only one solution. Run like hell.
Naruto hauled the sitting goddess by her arm, then promptly ran to where there used to be a balcony – now, there was only empty space where wall used to stand. Only thing that greeted them at the edge of the room was the bustling street of Iwagaki down below, now filled with spectators who came over to see the divine damage upon the unfortunate Iwagaki Inn. "Time to go," Naruto murmured quietly. Skuld was about to voice her opinion on the matter, but he gave her no such chance.
He jumped, and Skuld was dragged along with him.
Ignoring the surprised cries of the spectators below, Naruto reached the roof of the next building with ease. Skuld was not so unfortunate, as the roof tiles left her bottoms a painful first impression. She blurted out a gasp, and Naruto only chuckled at her misfortune. Skuld seethed, but said nothing for now.
Now noticing the glaring attention both were receiving from the crowd down below, Naruto was reminded that they weren't out of trouble yet. He swiftly dragged the miserable goddess into the shadow of a chimney standing erect in the modern roof, effectively concealing both of them in the darkness of the night. He pushed her flat against the shady wall of the chimney, covering her with an arm across her figure, successfully nullifying any protest the goddess tried to make. We should be out of their line of site now, Naruto rationalized as he calculated the angle of visibility from his position. Well, I can't say that the old hermit is a bad teacher for beating this crap into my head, Naruto grudgingly admitted, even though he had protested very loudly when Jiraiya first introduced the art of geometrics to him. The entire session had turned into a chase across the town by the sundown, ending with painful lumps on Naruto's head with newly acquired geometric knowledge beat into his head. I'll thank him when I get the chance.
From the shadows, Naruto peered out at the Iwagaki Inn, relief finding him when he was greeted with the sight of bewildered bunch of Inn mates and the Inn Keeper. The men had swarmed the now empty room only a moment too late, looking bewildered at the damage done by the god-sent lightning yet wondering where the occupant of the room had gone to. That was close, he realized, chill running down his spine at the thought of what might have happened if they had jumped a moment too late. Naruto allowed himself to relax for the moment, thinking that he was out of the figurative fire.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
Chomp.
"YEOUCH!" Naruto immediately jumped out into the open roof, screaming as if he had stuck his hand in a jar full of hungry snakes. He felt his eyes widen as he stared incredulously at the offending bite mark on his hand. She BIT me! His mind numbed at the thought. What the hell! He mouthed silently with indignant stomp, completely ignorant of the widening eyes of the Inn Keeper. 'What was that for!' No one bit Uzumaki Naruto –that was how things were.
Easily matching his withering glare, the goddess gave him the 'BLEHH- eye' which was nicely complimented with a raspberry, whispering, 'that's what you get for laughing at me, brat.' The said brat fumed like a volcano, amusing the goddess to no end. To the blond teen's great surprise however, she smiled apologetically and promptly grasped his hand to plant a tender kiss on his throbbing hand. 'I'm sorry,' she silently mouthed. Naruto rapidly blinked, hair on the back of his head standing up like a frightened porcupine. W-what the hell ---
Well, frightened porcupine maybe putting things in a bit of a light fashion... Try more along the lines of mental self-destruction. Eyes becoming large as saucers, Naruto marveled at the way the slightly stinging pain from the offending bite mark dissipated as if it was never there... but more importantly, his mind reeled from the contact made between her soft lips and his hand. His vision swimming, he only made out one coherent word from jumbled mental disaster that was his lonely psyche.
Whoa…
It was as if Naruto was struck spellbound, unable to break free despite the obvious anger directed towards him from the enraged Inn Keeper, as Naruto was currently out in the open moonlight for all to see. He'd be lucky if the inn occupants refrained from throwing rocks at his still figure, but such concerns were currently the farthest things from his brain at the moment. Skuld seemed quite amused and slightly embarrassed at the completely baffled expression residing on Naruto's whiskered face. His eyes illuminated by the moon, which transformed their colors into an almost lavender shade filled with reproachful surprise, as if seeing her in the light for the first time. The young goddess giggled lightly, feeling quite smug at her accomplishment. That should be payment enough, Skuld nodded inwardly, proudly proclaiming in her mind that it was not everyday that a mortal received a kiss from the youngest of the Norse Goddess – and that it was a great honor when a mortal did receive one. Or so she claimed.
Heh, you're about a hundred million years too young to be a beautiful and fabulous goddess like me, Skuld! The annoying vision of Urd suddenly popped into her head, her voluptuous features exaggeratedly highlighted and over accentuated in Skuld's mind – in other words, it was an implanted image designed solely for crushing Skuld's moment of feminine pride. When did she plant that? Urd…
Skuld pointedly ignored the said image.
On the other hand, Naruto remained completely oblivious to the thoughts of the goddess and was currently trying his best to suppress a blush threatening to appear on his face. Regain composure, regain composure, he chanted in his mind, focusing solely on the mantra his perverted sensei had beaten into his head not so long ago. The mantra was supposed to allow Naruto to become calmer and less hyperactive, giving him the power to think with a clear mind. Still, he couldn't really stop a faint hue of red leaking out of his whiskered cheeks. Naruto quickly turned away to hide the blasted blush as well as to save what was left of his dignity – he had been gawking at her like a fish! How embarrassing…
But as all spellbound moments go, the end came faster than either of them had expected. "Kill 'em!" Naruto and Skuld visibly flinched at the shout, slowly turning around in perfect synch to see an entire battalion of men composed of townspeople, armed with pitchforks and torches all alike. The hostility emanating from the crowd effectively awoke Naruto from whatever spell he had been under, his mind plunging back into the cold reality. I'm in deep crap, he realized as he observed the men's faces (Inn Keeper's in particular) twisted into angry snarls most appropriate on demons of the Eastern arts, with complete set of horns and tusks. Naruto winced at the accusing auras of the gathered men, and he knew that he was a dead man for sure. Again, there was only one way to solve his troubles. I am not going to stick around to watch the fireworks, he told himself firmly.
If running away meant his head safe on his shoulders, Naruto would gladly take it.
Without another moment of hesitation, Naruto smoothly hauled Skuld by her slim waist and quickly gathered chakra on his feet to make a big jump. Big jump, as in 'Whoa, how'd he jump over that mountain' jump. I just hope I jump far enough, he prayed.
"Hey, what the -! Let me down you brat! Put me down this instance!" The goddess obviously found the idea of being carried more than pleasant, but the blond teen ignored her indignant cries in favor of the shouting men who were now quickly storming out of the Iwagaki Inn, running as fast as their civilian legs could carry them. They were swearing like loose sailors on vodka, fire of death burning darkly in their eyes.
Looking back at the crowd, Naruto couldn't help but to pray a silent apology at the damage done, even though he knew it was not his fault. That inn's gonna take some time to fix, he thought sullenly. But his guilty conscious was quickly snuffed as his logical side of the brain presented a very possible scenario in which he was captured, accompanied by a pitiful picture of tattered Naruto scrubbing dishes for the rest of his life at the back of the kitchen to pay off the enormous damage.
Naruto could not suppress his shudder. Not going to happen.
They do say that discretion is better part of valor, don't they?
With Skuld still pounding his back in protest, Naruto jumped as far as he can and disappeared into the night.
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When Jiraiya arrived at the Inn, he couldn't stop his jaw from falling.
Damn that boy, what did he do this time, Jiraiya grumbled as he winced at the offending welcoming sight – the ruins of what once had been a glorious Iwagaki Inn. The thunder bolts had done a through job, he noted absently. An entire section of the whole complex was completely decimated beyond recognition, as if there had been a small war in the area. And on top of that…
There was not even a hair left of Naruto.
No footprints, no struggle, nothing. Jiraiya had been particularly concerned about this – while he knew for a fact that his apprentice would not go down without a fight, Jiraiya held no illusions about the boy's level of strength - Naruto was nothing more than a boy fresh out of elementary school when compared to the seasoned missing-nins of Akatsuki organization. Still, that wouldn't explain why not a trace of him was left. He doubted that the Akatsuki agents could take Naruto without making a ruckus; after all, the boy was receiving personal one-on-one training from the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya himself! Jiraiya the Frog Hermit, Master of the late Yondaime and currently in process of making a legend out of one of the most feared Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto! Well, the last part might have been a bit over the top, but hey – it was bound to become reality soon enough. The boy is way too stubborn to be captured, Jiraiya thought with confidence, and yet he couldn't stop a small but definite 'but…' from forming in his mind.
After all, anything was possible.
And to add some more spice into the mystery, all of Naruto's belongings were still sitting in his room – they were all burnt to crisp mind you, but they were still untouched and undisturbed. If Naruto had been indeed attacked, then he would have grabbed the scroll like I had told him to, Jiraiya reasoned. He had told his apprentice the instruction for emergency many times before - that if he was ever caught in a battle he cannot win, all he had to do was grab the scroll and smear blood across it; it was a human summoning contract, designed to summon Jiraiya on the spot while bypassing all laws of space and time. This was one of the reasons why Jiraiya felt that it was safe enough to let the blond boy wander alone himself, since the scroll was almost as good as having Jiraiya right next to the boy. Still, there was a possibility that the boy may not have had the time to get to the scroll, as slim as that may be – and there was the little problem about what the boy considered a battle he cannot win. Jiraiya's great manes danced as his head shook; He is so much trouble, that boy.
Jiraiya thoughtfully walked over to what was left of Naruto's property, and leaned down to inspect them more thoroughly. Very interesting, this lightning…he mused as he reached out his hand to a bag, which promptly fell into dust immediately at the contact. His eyes slightly widened at this, as he had not witnessed such extent of damage for many years. Complete electrocution…
The last had been at the war with the Hidden Cloud, where instead of burnt scrolls there were burnt Konoha ninjas.
Hm, how interesting. Jiraiya slowly rubbed his fingers, feeling the texture of the dry ash between them. This is one thoroughly executed jutsu – there's not even a single drop of water left in these dusts. True to his words, everything collapsed into fine dust of carbon the moment it was disturbed – that kind of damage was impossible unless the jutsu completely eradicated the water vapors in the subject. Such effects cannot be achieved with amateur chakra control, not unlike Naruto. Even without that little piece of insight, Jiraiya had already ruled out Naruto since he had never taught the boy such devastating lightning jutsu… at least, not yet. He's not ready for this kind of jutsu, Jiraiya shook his head. So if not Naruto, then who? Itachi? Nah, he does not favor Raiton jutsus. The mist swordsman? Mist Nin hates thunder.
Jiraiya scratched his head at that point; he couldn't think of any other possible culprits from the remaining Akatsuki members, mainly because he had no idea who they were. He had some suspicions, but they were only suspicions with no proof.
I know there are at least one stone nin and a sand nin in their midst…but that's all I know. But even if those two were part of Akatsuki, neither would have favored such jutsu because stone and sand weren't particularly fond of Lightning Element to begin with – Jiraiya knew this as a veteran ninja who survived the Great Shinobi War.
Besides, he hadn't heard from Akatsuki for over a year. I can probably rule out him being kidnapped, since hardly anyone knows that we're even here, forget kidnapping him. Yes, it was probably safe to assume that the boy had fled instead, against whatever threat that had appeared here thus. The question is, who could pose such grave threat enough that even Naruto would flee, without even touching the scroll I gave him? Then a small part of his mind questioned, maybe he couldn't get to the scroll… Jiraiya rubbed his temple at that. This whole thing wasn't making any sense at all!
Jiraiya considered pondering over the mystery, but he shrugged nonchalantly soon after. There was the other matter that occupied his concern, such as the million yen question…!
Not how, but where is the cursed boy!
Jiraiya kicked a stray stone out of frustration, as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. At times like these, Jiraiya cursed himself for teaching the flamboyant boy the art of Stealth. He would be so much easier to find if I hadn't... Who would have known that such a loud boy can be silent as the death when he wanted to be? It was simply astounding, that boy – his stealth was almost to the point even Jiraiya would have sworn that the boy had disappeared into the thin air. Hold on… into the thin air?
His brows furrowed, as if he had realized something.
The next second, Jiraiya shrugged. He always did like to jump around. The best way to conceal one's tracks was to not give any chance for any tracks to appear in the first place, Jiraiya had always told the boy. To jump as far as one can towards the general direction of one's destination, soaring through the air to cover maximum distance before one made contact with the ground – that was the method of the Frogs. It was standard procedure during retreats, especially if the pursued had already gained some grounds from the pursuers.
Perhaps this is not so different – I could probably follow him, he thought as his awareness expanded into the night, trying to lock onto his apprentice's chakra signature. But then I'd have to get a lock on his chakra signature first! Jiraiya grumbled, unsatisfied with the result of his search. Hm, surely someone must have seen him flee. If you want to know something, then go to the source of the problem - in this case, the victim of this unfortunate disaster.
Maybe the inn keeper knows of his whereabouts.
His red jacket swirling majestically in the night wind, the old hermit set out to find the Iwagaki Inn Keeper.
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Where are we going?
The question nagged at a ruffled Skuld from the back of her mind, as she was taken by the waist to who-knows-where. Naruto had not stopped since he had set off from the roof, and he didn't seem like he was going to stop running for a while. The teen had jumped into the neighboring forest without hesitation, moving across the tree tops at blurring speeds. Skuld was mildly surprised that the humans in this era were capable of such things. They were so much physically advanced than the last human generation she'd seen, and Skuld supposed this was a welcomed change. The only thing she was about to object in this situation was the fact that Naruto was hauling her over his shoulders like a sac of potatoes, his arm unrelenting regardless of how much Skuld squirmed to become free. Despite the fact that the goddess wasn't particularly uncomfortable on his shoulders, she preferred to be on her feet. So to vent her discomfort, Skuld smacked the blond boy constantly as the boy completely ignored the goddess and continued his escapade.
Unsurprisingly, that pissed her off even more.
Skuld sighed for the umpteenth time, almost at the point of giving up and enjoying the strange ride while it lasted. She had to admit, the wind did feel quite pleasant against her cheeks, as the cool night air tingling at her senses. She briefly wondered if she had bruised the boy with her constant violence, but her thought turned 360 degrees just as briefly afterwards. Hmph, he deserved every single hit. Her actions were clearly justified in her mind – it was he who lugged her around without her permission! On top of that, he was treating her like a luggage – and that was simply a no-no. She was no luggage! She was a goddess for crying out loud. He could have been more gentlemanly, she grumbled. Skuld scoffed lightly, folding her arms across her chest as she spared a glance at her captor.
Eyes focused and staring straight ahead, Naruto was completely absorbed into what he was doing, which consisted of moving swiftly among the branches and being careful not to leave any vestige of his presence among the tree tops. As he did so, Skuld couldn't help but to notice that his deep blue eyes now shone platinum in the pallid moon light, as did his blond hair. Averting her gaze towards the forest, Skuld noted that the entire forest held a surreal atmosphere, gorgeous and mysterious at the same time. And in the midst of this almost sacred forest, were Naruto and Skuld, sprinting away towards the moon. If the situation had bit a bit more lax, this would have been almost romantic, she mused. Skuld blinked, suddenly aware of where her thoughts were heading. She shook her head fervently, ridding herself of the thoughts plaguing her. Oh great, am I blushing? This is great, just great… She sighed heavily, silently watching her steamy breath disperse in the night air. Oh well, he won't be a bore at least, Skuld said to herself. After all, he had proven himself to be more than entertaining. But he's annoying… she thought a bit dismayed.
Meanwhile, the boy in question was oblivious to her thoughts as he was focused on more important things – like figuring where the hell he was going! Well, I guess it was pretty stupid of me to just start running, Naruto grudgingly admitted to himself as he focused on gathering chakra to his feet, willing himself to jump far across the great distances across the tree tops.
Naruto had not been exactly thinking when he had grabbed his new acquaintance and jumped out of the scene – all he had in his mind was 'get lost before getting caught or you'll be blamed for everything!' In short he panicked, and was now lost in the middle of a forest. I'll stop by the first clearing I see, he decided, absently jumping over another branch that tried to trip him.
"Hey, uhh… Naruto?" Naruto almost tripped at her voice, as he had literally forgotten that he even had a girl on his shoulders. "Yeah, what is it?" Naruto smoothly replied, as he concentrated his chakra towards his pupils to gain greater range of sight. It was a simple yet useful skill, which made the user extremely far-sighted for a while, allowing the user to see objects lying far away, not unlike binoculars. The only downside of this technique was that when performing, the user was rendered extremely far-sighted, only able to see blurs for 40 feet range around the user, restricting this technique to be used only for reconnaissance missions. Well, that's not the only downside…
This was the skill most favored by the Frog Sannin. Disgusting.
"Well, about that lightning…" Skuld began, hesitantly, but she trailed off soon after with a hint of uncertainty filling in the silence for her. Naruto grimaced - he just knew that the whole episode with thunder had everything to do with the girl on his shoulders. Just great, he thought dismayed."Don't tell me you caused it?" Naruto's slightly accusatory tone had Skuld stammering defensively, before she slowly explained herself. "It wasn't me at all! …Well, kind of. I didn't do it, but you could say that it happened because of me." At the almost comically contradictory answer, the only reply Skuld got was a quizzical scrunch of his nose and a raise of an eyebrow. Naruto couldn't help grimace as a wave of headache hit him full force; this girl was sure confusing – she says she didn't do the whole lightning show, and yet it happened because of her?
What's the difference? There was no difference in his mind.
Skuld fought down a sigh – this wasn't going anywhere. She opened her mouth to enlighten the blond, but was neatly cut off as Naruto pointed at a peaceful looking clearing not too far ahead, conveniently placed by a fairly large lake. "There, that's where we'll stop," Naruto's voice was laced with fatigue, but he had managed to speak. Skuld made a small noise of agreement before she averted her gaze once again to the skies. This time, she could not stop a tired sigh from escaping her lungs, venting a small amount of her tired emotions in the crisp breath.
This is going to be a one long probation.
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Jiraiya found himself cursing as he jumped across the buildings, his long white mane flowing wildly as he moved against the night wind.
I must have missed him by a few minutes, his frustrated mind grumbled. Jiraiya had indeed found the Inn Keeper returning from what had been a rather passionate chase, accompanied by some of the Iwagaki police and mostly Iwagaki inn mates. They had gone on a wild goose chase, with their jaws going slack as they witnessed the boy and his accomplice jump their way through the night like crazy little kids on a 'pimped-up' pogo stick. Jiraiya heard the man swore that the boy had wings. That's Naruto alright, he had decided right there and then.
When questioned, the Inn Keeper vented out his frustrations on the poor hermit and ranted on top of his lungs for approximately 15 minutes about how it was the end of the world and how the boy will get his due someday. Needless to say, Jiraiya had been quite annoyed – but he was satisfied nonetheless that he had gotten information on the whereabouts of his precious apprentice. So he's headed to the forest, is he? Good boy… so I did teach something into that thick skull of his. If this was any other moment, Jiraiya would have jumped up and down in joy that his idiot apprentice had finally learned something useful – but Jiraiya restrained himself just for a figurative pat in the back. He suddenly had the urge to go and buy himself a memorial gift for his monumental achievement. Nahh, I'll save it 'till later.
Now he stood at the edge of the forest, his coal black eyes regarding the forest. Some townsfolk said this place was enchanted… Jiraiya mused as he rubbed his chin habitually, his critical mind trying to see if he could remember any folklore regarding this forest. Something about a hundred-year old snake preying on the unfortunate vagabonds… Most likely this is just superstitious wives' tale, and the aura of the forest seems normal enough as well. Ruffling his hair in annoyance, Jiraiya couldn't help but to grumble about how there seemed to be snakes everywhere he went.
It must be karma, Jiraiya nodded.
Jiraiya gathered chakra into his legs, getting ready to jump across the tree-tops. If he knew his apprentice as well as he thought, then the boy would have taken off by the tree tops – after all, leaves weren't prone to breaking as branches were. Here goes nothing, Jiraiya breathed.
And off he went.
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The moon was high in the sky now, post-rainy sky clear as ever. The small field was still wet despite the fact that rain had stopped a while ago. The lake reflected the ethereal shine of the heavens, glistening with unblemished purity. Faint yet distinguishable mist surrounded the grassy field in a veil of mystery, shining stars illuminating the night sky just above the arriving couple's heads. Anyone with enough sense of beauty would have marveled at the captivating atmosphere, which was alluring and inviting to all who dared to lay sight upon the mysterious plane of mystery. All in all, the entire field was a page straight out of the book of perfection, right down to the minute details.
Naruto and Skuld couldn't have cared less.
The pair had been in no mood to enjoy anything, let alone try to capture the value of the special place they had stumbled upon. With his entire body sore, Naruto was not a happy camper – and neither was Skuld, who did not approve of being carried around like a luggage. But for the time being, both had swallowed their miseries and pain though they were far from the old Forgive and Forget routine.
Naruto almost cursed when he landed on the muddy ground, as his taxed legs almost gave out under the combined weight of his companion and himself. That's gonna hurt in the morning, he painfully noted. Deciding he did not need any more extra weight, Naruto carefully let the goddess slid down from his shoulders and onto the moisturized grass. He was certainly not expecting a swift kick to his shin - a hard kick, might I add. Naruto would have sworn his brain out if only he hadn't fell face first on the grass, rendering him mute for the moment.
Skuld smirked slightly at the sight, now feeling marginally better. Humph.
Naruto finally got up from his pitiful fall, his entire face covered in mud and none too happy. "Geez, what the hell was that for? I'm in enough pain already!" He snapped at her, his pain tolerance finally cracking under the cumulative torture he had gathered throughout the entire day. Getting my ass owned in training is one thing, but I can't let this onna bitch rough me around! His male ego roared in outrage, all too eager to put this strange girl in her place. He was already pushed to his limits – ever since the girl had dared to splash him in the face! Unbelievable. On top of that, she had smacked him on the head the entire way here! Unacceptable!
Yes, this strange woman needed to be taught a painful lesson.
When the goddess snorted at his apparent anger, it was all Naruto could take. You're asking for it, he thought with bestial anger rushing in his veins. Teeth gritted in blind anger, Naruto's body itched to drive this woman into the ground, to make her understand that nobody messed with an Uzumaki. She's gone too far this time, he told himself as his eyes flashed with determination, ready to take down this infuriating foe. I'm Uzumaki Naruto! You just don't kick an Uzumaki! At least that much was true. Even in training, when Jiraiya raised the bar to the next level, Naruto responded with equal viciousness and wrath. Although the Sannin always kicked his ass around like he was a toy, the important part was that Uzumaki Naruto never gets kicked around without a fight!
In a blur, he tackled the goddess to the muddy ground, and all hell broke loose.
Skuld had not expected such violent response from the teen in the least. She'd thought he'd only fume for a minute or two, but instead this little blond urchin had dared to tackle her to the ground! He dares to challenge me? She was startled to her core that a human would challenge her, a goddess, to a physical contest, and yet she fought back with vigor without a single question. It was just natural – they rolled around in the wet grass, not caring slightest that their clothes were getting muddy or that they were now soaked from the nearby puddles.
What mattered was victory.
They both fought for complete dominance, trying to gain the upper hand. Though Naruto was a few inches shorter, Skuld found herself having a very difficult time gaining an advantage. He's strong, Skuld realized. She knew that she wasn't strongest of the heavenly goddesses, but she knew she wasn't the weakest either – in pure arm strength, of course. She'd gotten plenty of exercise from moving gigantic equipments all by herself, unintentionally gaining some impressive muscles in the process.
So why wasn't she winning?
Skuld felt herself slowly losing, as her grip weakened by the second. N-no! She desperately held on, set on winning this little tussle. Despite her efforts, the next thing she knew was the midnight sky with her arms pinned down by the blond teen, whose face grinned brightly in triumphant victory.
"I win," he proudly stated, expecting and waiting for that sour expression he witnessed in all of his past defeated foes; the expression that screamed out "you are the strongest." But once again, what he got wasn't what he had expected at all. Skuld wasn't like his past defeated foes, not at all.
Skuld, despite her loss in this little game of power play, smirked wickedly as if she knew something he didn't. He doesn't realize what kind of compromising situation he's put himself in, doesn't he. She couldn't help but to feel a slight blush creep up her neck even as she smirked, fully understanding their current predicament. Seeing the teen's victorious grin fade into a confused half smirk, Skuld decided to enlighten the boy.
With an amused sigh, Skuld whispered hoarsely in a tone that sent frigid chills down the teen's back. "Naruto, please be gentle."
The blunt old phrase over-used in cheesy lemon stories seemed to have no effect on the blond at all – he just blinked quizzically, as his eyes seemed to say 'what are you talking about?' Skuld couldn't help but to laugh softly at his inquisitive stare – he was just so innocent. Maybe being stuck with him won't be so bad after all. Her smirk grew deeper in mirth, as if to goad the teen into an invisible trap. C'mon, figure it out Naruto. I'm waiting… Then there she saw it – the sudden change in his expression, as if he'd been caught red handed robbing the cookie jar.
It was priceless.
Naruto's eyes widened as he understood what the young goddess had been smirking about. T-this… His arms pinning her arms, rendering them immobile; his knees pinning down her torso, also killing her mobility; it was the perfect portrait of complete dominance over another. Dominance, as in "about to do it" kind of dominance… Naruto's mind whirled at the mere thought, dizziness hitting his head like a relentless hailstorm as blood rushed to his head. But that wasn't the worst of it – the worst was that his face was only an inch away from her own, their noses almost touching. She's beautiful, he couldn't help but to realize, the kind of beautiful that makes me want to… (K-I-S-S) Naruto blushed heavily, the gravity of the situation finally sinking into his head.
Oh shit!
"Wahh! I'm sorry!" He shouted, as he hastily tried to rid himself of the embarrassing situation which would most likely get him killed in the few next few moments. I don't want to die! His desperate thoughts wailed pitifully, as he tried to stand up with all his might. Note: emphasis on tried – he did not succeed. In fact, he found his head lowering closer and closer to the goddess' own, their noses now touching. Naruto shivered as he noticed her beautiful orange-brown eyes glistening against the moonlight, and then suddenly found himself being sucked into the depthless orbs. Wha-what's going on here! He wondered if this was all just a strange dream, a dream in which he'd wake up as if nothing had happened – but despite all his desperate wishes, he found his lips only mere millimeters away from her rose red lips. Th-this can't be happening!
Then all of a sudden, Naruto felt a rush of wind, and then found his eyes gazing up at the stars.
"Huh?" Naruto managed croak out pathetically, his eyes once again swimming in the sea of confusion. The first thing he noticed was that his arms were pinned to the sides, and the next thing he noticed was he wasn't the one on the top anymore. T-that conniving little… Naruto couldn't help but to internally swear.The sparkling eyes of amusement gazed down upon him almost fondly, contrasting victorious grin forming on Skuld's face as if to reveal her mixed feelings. Her long, silky hair fell from her head as she leaned down on him, her smooth hair teasing at his cheeks. In a funny reversal of role, Naruto now stared up helplessly at the victorious eyes, beautiful and mesmerizing yet taunting all the same. "Slight correction – I win."
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It hadn't been long since the Gama-sennin had picked up the faint trace of his baka apprentice's chakra signature, off to the near center of the forest. Jiraiya had grinned in satisfaction, his eyes narrowing as he imagined having a little 'talk' about what the boy had done to the devastated inn. He'd better have a damn good excuse if he wants to see the light of the day, he grumbled.
Jiraiya certainly did not want to pay for all the damage, after all. He'd rather bake and eat his own Icha Icha Paradise before he'd pay the inn keeper for all the damages. After all, it wasn't his fault the part of the inn was in shambles. Everything's that idiot apprentice's fault, he couldn't help but to accuse, I bet he can't pay off everything as usual. I'd like to see him scrubbing floors for the rest of his life! Jiraiya did his little evil cackles in his head, a strange perversion of Orochimaru's own laughter. But then again, Jiraiya had to kill the part of his little conscience when it accused Jiraiya of stealing the boy's money in the first place.
In any case, Jiraiya had to find the boy before he could accuse anyone of anything.
I'm getting close, he sensed the boy not even a mile away from his position, and then he found that the boy wasn't moving from his position. Why is he stationary? Didn't I tell him to be on the move at all times! Jiraiya didn't know whether to be angry or be thankful that the boy decided to take a rest there, since he made things quite easy for the sennin if the boy decided to stay still. That idiot…
Then before he knew it, Jiraiya was standing on the edge of a beautiful field, each blade of grass glinting bewitchingly against the lavender moonlight. Jiraiya felt his eyes widening as he took in the breathless sight, his appreciation for beauty surfacing from beneath all that was perverted from within his mind. T-this place… its incredible! I should buy some squid-on-a-stick for that idiot later just for finding such a scene. He laughed perversely, ideas for his next Icha Icha Paradise already rolling into his brain like an avalanche. Kyahahah! Ken can do this and that to lead Himiko here, and then they can do this and ohhh do THIS when they get here- wait, what the hell is that? He saw a lump of something among the tall grasses, and then squinted his eyes in effort to see what was blemishing the perfect scenery.
Then he saw them.
Jiraiya did a double-take from his perverted mode, his eyes not believing what he was seeing. Just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, he focused his chakra into his eyes to achieve crystal-clear vision. Even then, he blinked rapidly in record time to rid himself of false images. Naruto…? And is that a girl on top of him? Jiraiya couldn't believe his eyes – his self-proclaimed not-a-pervert-like-you apprentice was actually doing it! And so out in the open nonetheless! And he found such a beautiful place to do it too… I guess I didn't give him the credit he deserves, that sly fox. The old hermit chuckled at that. All this time the boy had claimed that he only liked his Sakura-chan back home, whenever Jiraiya entered the Red-Light district. And every single time, Jiraiya had scrunched up his face in distaste and then forcibly dragged the boy into one of the brothels, only to have them both kicked out for bad behavior. But things are different this time, eh boy?
Still… He's been holding that torch for that pinky for as far as I can remember… What the hell happened while I was gone? Jiraiya obviously underestimated what could actually happen in a span of a day. For a good measure, he rubbed at his eyes almost violently, and then tried once more. Maybe I really am going senile, and maybe I'm just seeing things. Maybe this place is really enchanted after all.
They were still there, with the girl on top of Naruto. Or maybe I am seeing what I'm seeing.
Seeing that the scandalous scene hadn't gone anywhere when he had looked, Jiraiya couldn't help but to darkly chuckle in a very-Orochimaru-like manner when the underlying implications sank into his perverted mind. Ku-kukuku… Naruto-chan, you've been a naughty boy behind my back have you? Now is the time to get back at you for all the times you've busted my hide from the hot springs! Jiraiya gritted his teeth at the painful memory, the punches and kicks still fresh in his mind. I still have bruises from them women… but now the tables have turned. Ohhh think of all the possibilities! If Naruto had the ability to read the Sannin's mind, he would have wished he were never born.
Jiraiya couldn't stop smirking as he vainly tried to subdue his urge to throw a megalomaniacal fit, and had to resort to punching himself senselessly in the gut numerous times enough to make him spit out blood.
Jiraiya couldn't let this once-in-a-life-time chance get away from him because of his childish glee, and he was going to make sure that every single ounce of this little fiasco was put to good use.
Oh yes, things are quite different this time around, baka apprentice.
Then suddenly, an energy spike of evil presense not even half a mile away from his current position captured his attention. What could that be...? That felt... evil. Whatever that may had been, the energy subsided just as suddenly as it had appeared - and yet now there was a lingering trace of malevolence in the forest that wasn't present before. This... can't be good. The only thing close to describing what Jiraiya had just felt could have been summed up into two simple words.
True evil.
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Naruto thought he had heard something at the edge of the clearing, yet he promptly ignored it as the passing wind. He had more pressing concerns to deal with.
Like this strange onna who pinned him down as if she owned him.
"Get off me," he commanded. As expected, she did not obey; instead she shook her head defiantly, and leaned down even closer to his face. "Why should I," she spoke back in return, her voice low and hoarse yet still somehow maintaining her almost melodious voice. Their eyes were only a mere inch away, and their lips were even closer – and Naruto was painfully aware of this fact. She's trying to seduce me, I know it! His rational side knew this very well, yet the rest of his mind wasn't taking this so well. One pitiful fact of life was this: Naruto had never been good with girls, let alone had he ever been this close to a girl. It was sad, yet true; Naruto was quite aware of that, and he reasoned that that's probably why he couldn't stop blushing right now.
"B-Because… I said so, that's why." Naruto finished lamely, his brain failing him in moments which he considered "the most crucial". He kicked himself mentally, cursing his brain for being so stupid now of all the times. The goddess smirked at his ire, but all Naruto could see were the small twitch of her cheeks; that's how close they were, close enough to see only their eyes. She leaned down a little closer, and their noses finally touched. She simply said, "No."
Her warm breath teased his senses, and he felt himself feeling lightheaded. Her breath smells like… water. Refreshing mountain waterfalls, he thought amidst the sleepy haze that intruded upon his mind.Naruto had no idea why he'd recall that memory of that time when he and his perverted sensei had gone up to the Mount Myouboku, the mountain of the Great Frogs. They had trained there for a few months, focusing on the waterfall especially. Yeah… she smells just like that place – cool and refreshing…
Then all of a sudden, she pulled back and gazed down on him once more. Naruto breathed out heavily in relief, yet he found himself missing the close proximity they had shared only moments ago. Man, that frog hermit is really rubbing off on me huh. When did I become such a pervert?
Skuld suddenly laughed out loud, and then rolled down next to him – she was still laughing when she lay down side by side on the grass. She wiped at her eyes, and then spoke to one confused Uzumaki. "You aren't such a pervert Naruto." Then it dawned upon Naruto that she had read his thoughts once again.
"Stop doing that. That's invasion of privacy!" He heatedly exclaimed, yet his tone had lost the edge he held against her back at the Iwagaki Inn; now there was only… fondness. "Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help but to hear a thought so boldly projected, you know?" She giggled, yet still had the decency to blush embarrassedly. "I really am sorry."
Naruto sighed, his mind confused and tired from the wacky day he had. "It's alright… just don't do that again, ok?" Another giggle visited his ear.
"Okay, but I'll do so on one condition."
He frowned at that. A condition? "What?" He turned his head to face her, but she was staring at the stars instead. "It's beautiful, isn't it? The heavenly constellations never cease to amaze me… Kami-sama is really great to be able to create such wonders." She turned her head towards his, who wasn't watching the stars at all. "Wouldn't you say so?"
Naruto decided to let by her obvious change in topic, and decided to humor her. "I still don't believe that you are a goddess or that you came from heaven, just so you know." Naruto unconsciously rubbed at his belly, his fingers running over the Yondaime's Seal which held the monstrous being at bay. He just couldn't accept that if there was a god, why would he curse him with such a burden? "Gods or goddesses just don't seem… real to me." If she was offended, Skuld did not show it – rather, she reached down and gently grasped his hand. Naruto looked up in surprise, and was met with eyes filled with emotions unfamiliar to him. Did she read my thoughts again?
"The Kyuubi is an independent being, Naruto. It was created by neither Heaven nor Hell, and it isn't bound by space, time, or even fate. Do you understand that?" Skuld's explanation didn't seem to make sense to him, yet Naruto really wasn't in the mood to talk about the bane of his existence so he tiredly nodded. "So you're saying that it wasn't you Heaven people's fault, is that it?" Skuld winced at his accusing tone, but couldn't deny it. "Naruto…"
He turned away from her, and stared off into space. "I've already came to my terms with the furball, and he came to terms with me. We both hate each other, but we have to lead a… what's that word again?" Skuld smiled lightly at his lack of vocabulary, but Naruto couldn't see it. "Symbiotic is the word you're looking for, Naruto." He just scoffed at her smug tone, yet continued nonetheless. "Yeah, whatever. The furball and I have to lead that kind of life because if we don't, we'll die. So we've came to terms with each other, though I still wish the fox would just die. Arg, what am I saying?" Naruto pulled at his hair, frustrated that he couldn't articulate what he really wanted to say.
"Why am I even sharing this with you? I've never even shared this with the Obaa-Chan or the pervert! Are you putting me under some kind of spell?" Naruto chanced a glance suspiciously at the exotic woman, and saw her shake her head fervently. "I would never do something like that," she spoke firmly. And that was all it took Naruto to believe her.
"Anyway… what I'm saying is that I don't believe in fate, destiny, or any kind of crap like that." Naruto held up a hand at the stars, his hand clenched into a fist and his eyes shining brilliantly. "My life is my own, even though the furball is inside me."
Skuld felt admiration rise from deep within her, and then realized that the blond held a rare spirit inside of him – a fiery spirit that will not yield even in the dire of situations. A praiseworthy soul, she couldn't help but note. She smiled, and then looked up at the stars as well. "I never said we control your fate."
Naruto turned quizzical eyes at her. "What?" Skuld smiled in response, and closed her eyes. "Everyone has choices they make – and each choices dictate consequences they must face later on in their life. I'll tell you that some things in life are fated to be, but ultimately people's lives are their own. There is no 'set' course, so to say." Naruto seemed to alight at that, and mirrored her smile. "Yeah…"
The couple laid there, both star gazing and relaxed. The night was now well into the early mornings, and the moon had almost already completed its daily trip across the horizon. They still had quite a while until sunrise, and despite the fact both had a tiring day neither felt tired enough to fall asleep. Naruto chalked that up to his infinite stamina, while Skuld just shrugged and thought no more of it. Then something clicked in her mind.
"Oh yeah, Naruto… I still have a wish to grant." Skuld began, and sat up from her comfortable grass bed. Naruto lazily opened an eye, regarding her with something akin to annoyance. "A wish to grant?" Skuld sighed as he echoed her words. "Yes, specifically your wish. Believe it or not, I am here for a reason you know." Skuld then was reminded of her probation, and grimaced. Ah, so that's what I forgot. "Oh yeah, and there's one more tiny thing I forgot to mention."
"And that would be...?" Naruto drawled on, his half lidded eyes slowly closing.
"Uh, I'll be staying with you from now on, whether or not you make a wish or not Naruto." There, I said it. She had bluntly dumped it on him, and all that was left to do was to sit back and watch the show.
"Excuse me?" Naruto disbelievingly replied, sitting up on his grass bed as well. "Did you say what I think you said?" Skuld rubbed at her temples, already regretting her decision to throw out the news in the open. "You heard me," she tiredly replied. "I'm stuck with you."
Naruto's cry of surprise was drowned out as a loud crash resounded throughout the forest, breaking the spell of tranquility. "What was that?" Naruto stood up in alarm, his eyes flashing in the moonlight. Skuld remained sitting, but she was far away from doing nothing – she was reaching out with her senses, questioning the spirits or nature on what was going down.
She gasped in surprise as a helpful tree wisp whispered its answer to the goddess. Skuld cried out, "It's a demon!" Naruto turned to look at her as if to say 'seriously?', but another loud crash from not fifty-feet away from them successfully captured their attention.
The fading smoke revealed the Frog Sennin in all of his glory, standing on top of his combat-frog who was crouched with a katana held in his hand.
"Ero-Sennin? What are you doing here!" Naruto cried out in disbelief, but Jiraiya didn't even turn to look at him. "Shut up baka, or else you'll attract its attention." Jiraiya's serious tone made Naruto jump; that kind of tone was reserved for Orochimaru and Itachi alike. His sensei wasn't done yet though. "Take the girl and run, now. Run back to Iwagaki and warn the villagers to flee immediately, got it?"
"What are you talking about sensei? Run from what?" Naruto's question was met with a harsh bark from Jiraiya, who was running his hands through complex set of seals. "Don't question me, you idiot! Just go! Every second counts!"
Naruto knew better than to pursue his question when Jiraiya was like this, so he yelled out an affirmative and grabbed the goddess who remained silent in the entire exchange. "We gotta go, lady." Naruto did not wait for an answer, and he pulled her into his arms and gathered his remaining chakra into his legs. But just as he was about to run, he was met with the most grotesque sight he had ever met.
"I Sssee you…"
A hissing voice spoke from the other side of the clearing, a gargantuan shadow foretelling of its presence. When it had finally emerged from the shadows, Naruto could not look away from the creature. Its hideous body was covered in yellow snake-like scales and extended all the way towards its tail, yet the entire form was surprisingly humanoid. It had no legs to be seen – but instead it stood upright on its dangerous looking tail, which possessed wicked looking blades along the center of the tail. The creature also possessed a broad shoulder with two vicious looking arms attached to it just like a man, but one distinguishing feature was the large single geometric tattoo running down both of its arms, covering its entire axial skeleton in arcane symbols. But the most horrifying of all was its head.
The head of the creature was mostly covered in a plain white mask with four curled eye holes as well as a thin line for a mouth; over all, the mask was unemotional and unfeeling. Yet, everyone present could clearly feel the malice behind the mask, as well as the four sickly green orbs behind each of the eye holes.
Mark of the demon lay innocently on the mask's forehead, but Skuld was the only one who knew of its significance.
The demon spoke, its hissing voice carried by unpleasant winds. "I require the girlll… the girlll onllly… I will ssspare you allll… if you yield to my requessst…" The demon whipped its tail across a tree for a good measure, neatly splitting it in half. "What sssay you…?"
Before Naruto could break out of his stupor, Skuld bravely marched right to the front line of the battle. She ignored the sputtering Jiraiya, who was asking her if she was mentally challenged. "Demon from the 6th level of Hell, why have you come here for me? You do realize that if you take me then you'll be breeching the Ceasefire Agreement of Heaven and Hell, don't you?" Though she was speaking to avoid a confrontation, Skuld drew a Battle Seal on the ground with her magic, spreading out from Skuld as the center.
"I am not here under personal motivesss… I came here under the will of Hild-sama's orders. Her ordersss are law." The demon started to slither its way across the field, its eyes glowing unholy green. "You will come with me, girlll. You may become technical all you want in front of her presence."
Skuld decided now was good as time as any to activate her Battle Seal, so she gathered her hands in front of her and chanted magical Words of Power. "I ask thee who controls the thunder, Incinerate my foe!" As soon as her chant came to an end, energy of unimaginable magnitude gathered above the sky – then came crashing down upon the unfortunate demon that was still making its way towards the goddess.
Jiraiya and Naruto couldn't help but to watch in awe as the seemingly unstoppable force crashed into the demon, causing the entire plane to shake with sheer amount of energy used in the spell. 'H-how'd she do that? I knew it! She WAS responsible for that lightning!' Naruto gaped in awe, but all he could think now was how everything that had happened in the inn was all HER fault, not his. Meanwhile, Jiraiya and the frog had to jump back quite a distance to get out of the blast radius, and Jiraiya was surprised out of his mind to say the least. 'What incredible power…'
"I knew it! It was your fault after all!" Naruto exclaimed loudly as he walked over to the huffing form of goddess, who was on her knees after using such an attack. Drawing that Battle Seal with magic took a lot out of me, and the spell took out even more of my power. Skuld shuddered to think what would happen to her if the demon had actually died, but she also didn't want to think about what would become of her if the demon had actually lived through her spell. Either way, it's not going to be pretty.
"I told you, I didn't do that Naruto." Skuld replied, answering an insistent Naruto who repeated his statement over and over like a broken tape recorder. Despite her claims, Naruto seemed to be set on his conclusion. "But you just did that whole lightning show thing! That was amazing, by the way. What kind of jutsu was that? I've never seen something so powerful…" Skuld sighed at his enthusiastic babble, but froze when she heard soft chuckles emanating from the smoky ruin where the demon stood once.
"Hild-sama did say that you may put up a resssistance… I must thank her for imbuing my being with a Anti-Magic Program." The snake-like demon slithered out of the crater completely unharmed, and this time it held out a clawed hand towards her. "You will not essscape… give yourself up and spare the livesss of these humansss…" Its hand started to draw a seal in the midair, violet light tracing the complex geometric path of its hand. "…or will you resssist and doom yourself and the insectsss to eternal doom? The choice is yoursss…" The demon's hand then completed the seal with an audible click, and then the Seal of Destruction was complete.
Skuld saw this, and knew there was no escape for any of them. She was currently on probation, which literally meant that she was completely cut off from the Yggdrasil save for vital energy supply – which meant that she was alone in this entire affair. She also knew that if she came willingly to the demon, then the demon will uphold its word and will indeed spare the humans – she knew this because this demon had proclaimed itself as a messenger of Hild, and they knew how to keep their word. It seems I have no choice in the matter…
Her face lowered in shame, and she spoke in a defeated voice, "You will give me your word that you'll spare them if I come willingly?"
The demon nodded solemnly, and then beckoned her with his other hand which was free of maintaining the Seal of Destruction. "Come." And Skuld stepped forward, fully intending to comply with the demon's wishes. She chanced a glance back at the old man behind her, and flashed a sad smile at the human she had only known for little over a minute. The Frog Hermit's face was grim, yet confusion was still dominating his presence – he obviously had no idea what he had almost gotten himself into. It is to be expected of mortals, Skuld justified.
Then she turned towards her blond companion, only to find that he wasn't where he was supposed to be.
"She's not going anywhere, fish-scales." Naruto stood protectively in front of the goddess, taking on a fighting stance. Skuld's eyes widened at his brave front (or was it stupidity? She decided it was the latter), and then wanted to choke the urchin head to death. "You idiot! What are you doing?" His reply was a simple, "I'm saving you onna," with a quick nod towards her. Skuld wanted to rip her hair out right there and then.
"Are you a complete moron? You can't win! This is one of the highest ranking demons from the 6th level of Hell! You can't possibly even scratch it." Skuld told the boy, and then turned to the demon. "Ignore him; I will be going with you willingly. Spare the boy." She made move to get to the demon, but another Naruto appeared from behind her and restrained her. Naruto hadn't performed any seals, but by now he was comfortable with the technique enough to create a single kage bunshin without any seals. It takes a damn lot outta my chakra reserves though… and I'm already running low. I might need the fox in this one. A subtle nudge at his subconscious was met with an annoyed grumble, which usually meant that the fox was ready to brawl. Naruto grinned in response, adrenaline already rushing within his veins.
Heh, this is getting interesting.
"Let me go, you moron! You don't know what you're doing!" Skuld struggled to be free, but the clone was without mercy and without lenience. Naruto looked back at her, then shook his head firmly. "I told you, you're not going anywhere. This fish-scale bastard is going to learn a painful lesson on how to treat a lady!" Naruto boisterously exclaimed, as he performed his favorite seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Forty Naruto clones responded to the outburst by manifesting themselves onto the plane of existence, every single one of them wearing a shit-eating grin reserved only for fierce battles. "You're going down, fish-scales."
Surprisingly, the demon hadn't moved an inch from its spot. Instead, it was chuckling softly. "Kukuku… I like you human… you have gutsss, I'll give you that. But gutsss alone will not sssave you from certain doom, I'm afraid. And for reference sssake, I am a sssnake by nature." It hissed once more for good measure, and then powered up his Seal of Destruction which in response glowed brighter by the moment in eerie violet light. "I am called by the name of Gaidoku Enshokuhebi, one of the nine snakes of the underworld. You'll do well to remember that in afterlife, insssect.
"Now be gone."
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Aaaaand CUT! Whew, that was crazy. It's a week before SATs and here I am writing this chapter. Good game, hahah.
Yes, this chapter is WAYY over due, but forgive me. School is an evil thing.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter because I certainly enjoyed writing it. Heh, I had a different scene in mind near the end but the story somehow wrote itself differently than I had originally intended… ah well, I'm satisfied either way.
By the way, Gaidoku Enshouhebi means Harmful Orange Snake.
And... onna means a girl in kind of a degrading way. Not enough to be a swear word, but yeah.
Next Chapter: Naruto faces the Gaidoku Enshokuhebi, a formidable opponent literally from hell! Will Jiraiya just stand back and watch his student battle one of the most powerful opponents ever to be faced by mortal beings? And what will become of Skuld?