Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way and make no claim on its copyright or any characters from the series. Original characters are my own property.
Author's Notes: the wasp returns! Some action here, for the action fans. Don't worry, this story will heat up eventually, it just takes some time for things to be set into motion. Anyway, I hope this chapter works well, because Chul'To's character is challenging, but important.
Thanks to all reviewers!
Other Gifts Continues
With the sun high overhead, signaling the transition from morning to afternoon, Suzumebachi sat among the alpine flowers and read through the steps to the invocation a final time. The scroll was spread out carefully before her, only the critical pages exposed, and she would roll it up and place it away in its case before attempting the next step.
Wind wound its way slowly about the small expanse of flowers, tucked in between short trees on all sides. Most alpine meadows were wide, expansive places, but this one, by some quirk of topography, had formed here enclosed and isolated. Suzumebachi had chosen it for that specific reason. She did not want anyone else around when encountering Chul'To for the second time. The meadow's high place on the mountainside had helped select it as well, for the long journey had provided the wasp ninja with time to think and consider what she must do.
Suzumebachi's memories of Chul'To were filled with fascination, but also fear. The Vesp was a truly powerful creature, and dangerous. Words in the scroll made deadly clear that a botched invocation might trap the insect in this world, doomed to solitude and death, something that would send them into berserk fury. If such a thing were to happen Suzumebachi suspected Chul'To could surely kill her.
Fear, icy though it was, could not overcome curiosity. Suzumebachi knew she had to complete the jutsu, and not simply to obey the Tsuchikage's instructions. The hope she had long wished for was in her hands, and it must be seized, even if the risks were high. In the past risks had not ruled her, and they would not now.
After finishing her final rereading Suzumebachi rolled the scroll up swiftly, placed it in its case, and stood. There was no point in waiting, and it was getting slightly chill, here high above the village autumn had arrived in full force in the time she had been caught in Katai's forge.
Drawing her tanto, Suzmebachi marveled at the azure shining blade for a moment, still unable to believe her hands had made such a thing. Slowly she pressed the razor point to her palm, drawing a drop of blood. She breathed in deep, taking the foreign sounds that together made the word Vesp into her throat, holding them deep there, before the point of release. Slowly and with great care Suzumebachi worked her hands through the awkward series of seals, her fingers contorting in unnatural ways, forced to bend at angles humans hands were not meant to hold. As she did this she focused her chakra, funneling a great deal into her arms, ready to be unleashed. At last she slammed her right hand down into the grass.
"Konchuu Yobidasu no Jutsu! Vesp!" Suzumebachi shouted, letting the word emerge from her throat at last. Symbols spiraled out from beneath her hand, forming a pattern different than the partitioned ring of summoning, a six fold pattern of alien characters, unrecognizable to her memory.
Wind lashed about, swirling in front of Suzumebachi for an endless instant, forcing the eyes closed. Thus all glimpses of the transition across space and time were eliminated.
Suzumebachi's eyes snapped open to reveal a Vesp, the same in all aspects as Chul'To, standing before her. She had handled the name in her mind during the invocation, so it ought well to be the same being, but her eyes would not suffice to tell one Vesp from another simply by sight.
Initially facing away the Vesp turned back toward Suzumebachi with blinding speed, rapid stop-motion, jerking past the perception of the eye, shocking the nerves.
For a long breathless moment the great black eyes on the sides of the great peered at the wasp ninja, an examination to be sure.
"So it is you, hu-man," the cracking voice shattered the serenity of the meadow by its very being. "It seems you have the necessary skills to hold up this part of the agreement." Though the unnatural voice of the Vesp held no markers to differentiate one from another to the human ear, Suzumebachi was certain from the words that this was Chul'To. "So, where is the weapon you promised?"
Reaching down to grab it from where she had dropped it point first to the ground to complete the invocation, Suzumebachi grasped the handle and brought the tanto up to point straight at Chul'To's face.
"Crack!" Mandibles snapped shut with a brutal crashing shock. "Short!" Chul'To remarked. "Such a little thing, but, it is metal, and I can see the markings it has to carry essence. It will do," Chul'To reached back; placing her falchion in a strap on the underside of the thorax, between the leg mounts, and then reached out to grasp the knife. The glossy black hand had four fingers, each with five jointed segments and capped by short, slender, twin claws, extending out from the end as if horns. If was with these claws, and not the true ends of her fingers, that Chul'To examined the blade. The Vesp's glossy, inflexible hand seemed likely to be cut by the bitterly sharp edge on the tanto, but Chul'To suffered not even a scratch to the black chitin. "This is sharp, well-made," Chul'to remarked. "Good for cutting wings."
Watching those eerie fingers in fascination Suzumebachi barely heard Chul'To's words. They were so different, yet formidable in their own right, as was everything about the Vesp.
Chul'To pulled her hand back. "So the weapon will pass to me when you perish, and our bargain is complete," Chul'To told Suzumebachi. "That part is done. Now, I am yours to command, what would you have me do?"
"Huh?" Suzumebachi looked up in surprise. "Command?"
Again the mandibles snapped, sharp cracking rebuke, though not so loud as before. "You have performed the summons correctly, and so I am bound by the bonds to obey your orders," Chul'To drew her falchion again, flipping it through the air in her hand. "Have you nothing to ask of me?"
Still momentarily confused, Suzumebachi tried to buy a bit of time. "How long are you here?"
"Until you dismiss me," Chul'To answered. "Or until the link to this place is broken, perhaps by the time your sun sets. Are you simply going to dismiss me?"
It was a good question; Suzumebachi did not quite know the answer. She had summoned creatures before, but that was always for a specific purpose, such as battle or reconnaissance. She was unsure what to do with the Vesp before her, but did not think simply sending her away was worthwhile. Thinking back, she recalled the Tsuchikage's instructions. "I believe I am to ask you to train me," she told Chul'To.
"Train you?" the Vesp held her falchion forward, pointing straight at Suzumebachi's torso. "Beyond the skill to command my kind, I can only train you to fight. I am battle-master among my sisters, but is such a thing what you wish girl?" It was impossible to read the intent behind Chul'To's words, whether she was angry, resigned, or anything else, and so Suzumebachi could only guess at the Vesp's feelings.
"I believe that is what the Tsuchikage intended," she replied honestly, not knowing anything else to say. It was a curious situation, for she wondered precisely what Chul'To might teach her about fighting. "Can you truly teach a human?"
"Fighting is fighting," Chul'To spoke immediately. "I will teach you. Here are my conditions. Though I serve you, in this I am your queen, and you will do completely as commanded. You will fight only with your body and your tanto, none of these jutsus your kind uses. Last, you will not question my methods. Are we agreed?"
"But how can I improve without using jutsus?" Suzumebachi didn't understand.
"How could you if you did use such tricks?" Chul'To countered. "When I cannot? Have no fear, if you can come to beat me with only your body, no human will ever defeat you."
There was something absolute in that last statement, something truly frightening, but Suzumebachi believed Chul'To's promise. She could see the power in the elongated form with shimmering wings. The potent speed had been observed already, and the curved falchion was held with experience, Chul'To was formidable. "I agree," she told the Vesp.
"Then we shall begin now!" Chul'To jumped back, placing some separation between herself and Suzumebachi. "Draw your blade girl!" she ordered.
It had been grating on her for a time, and now Suzumebachi would not accept it further, no matter that the Vesp might have different standards. "My name is Suzumebachi, you could be courteous and use it!" she retorted.
"I cared not for your name, girl," Chul'To replied. "But that I will not call you, for you do not deserve it. Now, ready yourself!"
Angry, Suzumebahci ripped out her tanto, holding the gleaming blade out in her right hand, falling back into a fighting stance. The weapon felt smooth and balanced in her hand, despite her holding it for the first time as such. It held perfect balance, and promised great strength. She knew already how to fight with the weapon; it was hardly different from fighting with a kunai, something she had long been trained to do.
Chul'To charged.
The Vesp was brutally fast, as Suzumebachi had expected, four legs powering forward in a furious jerking surge, but the attack was direct, simple. The smooth razor edge of ceramic falchion was held cocked back, wide in Chul'To's arm, only to snap in at the moment of impact.
Suzumebachi stood her ground, blocking the blow as it came. The impact was jarring, jolting. Chul'To's arms were thin and spindly, but the Vesp's strength was immense. Suzumebachi's left foot slid back, but she held her ground, blocking the open blow squarely, her own increased strength sufficing to hold back the strike.
The wasp ninja, having measured her opponent's strength, though now to strike back on her own, but she had no chance. Chul'To's left arm swung in, smashing her across the side with the broad face of her ceramic shield. The force of the impact sent Suzumebachi sprawling to the ground, breath driven from her body completely.
Her head rang for a second, and she blinked, only to find the ceramic edge of Chul'To's falchion resting on the back of her neck. "Lesson one girl, everything is a weapon, all parts of the body, all parts of the battlefield."
With some difficulty, her side aching from the force of the shield bash, Suzumebachi stood, and nodded once.
"Then again!" Chul'To snapped, leaping back away once more.
A second time the Vesp warrior charged, and this time, instead of meeting the blade straight Suzumebachi fell back before it, making smooth, quick blocks whenever it reached into her bounds, sliding freely to avoid the swinging shield that beat counter to the sword strokes. She countered once, but Chul'To's shield was there, and the ice-edged tanto only skid an almost imperceptible line across the iron-hard ceramic.
As Suzumebachi's blade slid against the shield Chul'To moved her body behind its protection, bringing the falchion far in, and turning. A weak strike from the curved blade was easily evaded, but Suzumebachi had been out-positioned.
Chul'To's left legs dug in, and her right mid-leg snapped out, the motion so fast Suzumebachi had time only to know what was to happen before it did; she was unable to maneuver in time.
The mid-leg struck Suzumebachi's right leg with certain force, taking away her footing and sending her tumbling to the ground. The wasp ninja caught herself with her left hand, but the cold ceramic edge rested on the back of her neck before she could attempt to roll away. "Lesson two," Chul'To's alien voice could not be said to hold anger, but its inherent unnatural cadence made all points harsh. "If you have a disadvantage, overcome it." Chul'To backed off once more. "Again!"
The third exchange was longer still, Suzumebachi forced herself to watch her whole opponent, moving constantly, dodging, weaving, and sliding, always keeping her tanto's edge out before her. She brought her left arm bent before her, ready to strike out if there should be any opportunity. It became swiftly clear that the Vesp had an inherent advantage. Those unmoving massive eyes could track a great sphere of movement without shifting, while Suzumebachi's eyes raced across her skull, trying to encompass her whole opponent. It was not like fighting a human, whose movements might be sensed and predicted, the Vesp's motions were off, alien, jarring. They shattered preconceptions of motion and possibility, and kept Suzumebachi stumbling away, rarely able to counterattack. Chul'To was stronger than she was, and faster, with a weapon of longer reach, and other advantages besides. With breath coming only in gasps after even a few moments, Suzumebachi began to understand and believe Chul'To's statement about the ability of one who could defeat her.
The cruel edge of the falchion descended an overhand blow. Suzumebachi blocked away, sliding her own blade against the edge for only a moment, letting the Vesp's own strength push her back, then twisting the hand down and around, to whip back up.
Her opponent was no longer there.
The front arms had continued downward with the blow, planting themselves on the flowers. Wings snapped, legs straightened, and Chul'To was in the air. She spun over Suzumebachi, twisting in a tight spin, abdomen pointed to the sky, falchion and shield whirling about to take the human's head. It was not flight, only a mad leaping maneuver made possible by wings.
Desperately Suzumebachi blocked, grasping her right arm with the left, below the wrist, for additional strength and so she could drag her arm freely to intercede the spinning weapons, but it was not enough. Ceramic struck her head on the side, blurring vision and sending her tumbling to the ground, everything ringing as a bell.
Chul'To landed behind her, and a third time the cold edge of the falchion embraced her. "Third lesson, you must seize the advantage of maneuverability, find a way."
When Suzumebachi wobbled for a moment Chul'To reached out and hauled her to her feet by the biting grasp of those sharp hands, but did not hurt Suzumebachi's skin. "These three lessons?" the Vesp questioned. "Do you understand? Make them your way and you will never let another beat you."
Here head slowly ringing still, Suzumebachi nodded. "I understand." She was not entirely certain she understood yet, truly, but she would not admit to it. She took the words in carefully, memorizing them. "I will learn these lessons," she turned to stare Chul'To in her great eyes.
"Good," the Vesp put her blade in its harness. "Now pay attention, we have much work to do girl, to make you learn."
- Why Chul'To won't call Suzumebachi by name: Because Suzumebachi literally means "Wasp" the Vesp would be offering Suzumebachi a level of equality she is not prepared to give a human. She has no other aversion to referring to humans by their names.