10 beaver and sparrow
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Authors Comment; Well it's my tenth chapter anniversary and all seems to be going pretty rough for Tanar. She has some issues with being human
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Last Times: Tanar makes a recovery from the poison (thank goodness). The Hokage has put Tanar to the task of learning the forbidden scrolls techniques (Even tough it has the possibility of killing her). Iruka gets drunk. Kakashi gives her a ninja mask in honor of Line (that was nice of him). She rejects his comfort/friendship (I hate it when she does this) and she decides to help the Hokage.
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For the last three hours she had been focusing Chakra. Two hours before that Iruka had taught her the basic rule book of ninjitsu; the signs were the hardest part, but she was just careless. She had the energy and the power to do the most advanced, but with Iruka's constant nagging, she had to start from square one. It felt like a sharp angular box too. She was only allowed to do this action after doing this one signal. Finally she had gotten so fed up that she had gotten up and left; she had done it while Iruka was ranting with his back to her. She had quietly stood up and walked right out of the door. His voice was loud enough to mask her steps. It had been like this for the past two days. He would teach, she would get frustrated, he would rant, and she would leave; a cycle that she would not repeat again.
She was back in Line's den. The scroll unraveled across her lap. She was memorizing a list of requirements. The forbidden seed scroll was not to her liking. It involved too many people. This was her list so far;
The fire of a fellow human
The blood of her greatest friend
bones of a mother
enemies present
A waxing crescent moon
The Chakra level of a thousand lives.
Her earlier apprehension was eased by a single line of script in the middle of the scroll, "All in the soul of the phoenix". This she translated as the victim or recipient of the scrolls power dictated what the actual translation was. In her mind she could twist the words and requirements to be easier and totally harmless to anyone else; the tricky part was deceiving herself. The fire of a fellow human she could translate literally. Just steal some fire from the village. The blood of her greatest friend was harder, but she took it to be nature as her best friend (since she did not trust humans) so the blood was water. She could get that from a stream nearby. Bones of a mother was the easiest to do. Her family had an old lullaby that said that mother earth was the structured body by stone and rock. The samples of common pebbles would be ground into dust and that part was finished. Enemies present she figured if the scroll thought she had enemies then it would suffice. So she would use her mask Kakashi had given her; he was an enemy and he had given it to her as a present. It would work. If it was damaged in the process what did she care? A waxing crescent moon required ingenuity. The moon tonight was a waxing half-moon, but if she blocked the moon light in the circle of where the scroll was being performed the light of the moon would shape that of a crescent moon. Then for the last requirement, "The Chakra of a thousand lives," she looked around the cave an ant crawled in the dark. The scroll didn't actually say The Chakra of humans or anything big. She followed the ant with her eyes until she saw its colony. She was planning to put food out and while the ants swarmed around the food she would capture them and then kill them.
After all the consequences were thought through and dealt with, she began to prepare. She would perform it tonight on something she would possess, but still remain conscious of her own body to complete the scroll; it was slightly complicated. She would possess a small animal and the animal would then be the holder of her mind. So her thoughts still would allow her to perform the scroll. When she finally performed the scroll's techniques the animal's body would be the one to suffer, not her. It was perfect. Especially now that she knew most of what her gift could do. Her Chakra had developed enough in the past two days of individual training she now had a list of the attacks she could do and then the consequences (regardless to how short the list is).
Possess an animal's body with a conscious level no lower then a birds (no amphibians).
Con- no insects or frogs, slugs, she instantly loses this ability on the animals species if she directly kills the animal (example she kills a domestic dog she cannot posses dogs of any lineage, breed, or age) and this leaves her body open to all attacks depending on how hard she has to try and posses it.
Gain the one sense at any given time from any animal ex; eyes of the eagle
Con- she has to have possessed this animal before hand to retain this ability
Could sense and manipulate a person's feral emotion. Ex; to flee in a sense of danger so that she could drown a person in fear of her
Con- Because humans have higher levels of mentality they are less prone to have and obey these instincts like survival
Can communicate with an animal through a feral language similar to human
Con-only after an extended period of time of constant observation and attention to that particular animal may she communicate with it ex; Line, and the sparrow
Can give consciousness level to that of a humans to an animal
Con-Only after an extended period of time and the animal goes through human experiences ex; a predator changing his food diet to vegetables only
She had tested each one constantly over the past couple days and each had worked perfectly. The animal she possessed would probably be killed so she would have to choose wisely. The animal would be turned into a young cub, gosling, chick, or puppy if all went well. If it didn't then the animal would suffer not her.
She began gathering the necessary items, but she did it secretly. She avoided the school as much as she could. Running into Kakashi or Iruka would only delay her. Besides she hadn't talked to Kakashi in those two days at all. She wasn't going to start now. She would have to go on the mission with him soon anyway. She ran into the small boy Naruto again. He was truly a nuisance. He wanted to show her his new ninjitsu or something of the kind. She wasn't paying attention. Everyone else was ignoring him, why should she do anything different than them?
The sunset, any other time she would have gone to the roofs and watched the sun bleed away into the dark, but the moon, as she had predicted, was a waxing half moon. She carefully began to move branches of the trees and then in a clear circle was the light of the waxing crescent moon. It cast it's moonbeams in a clearing and Tanar then circumscribed the area into the circle of the moon itself on the forest floor. She was almost back to exactly the way she was before, not thinking only doing. The little branch she had stolen from a bakery in town she made into a bigger smoking fire. She recalled briefly of dying her hair that night with Kakashi sitting beside her. It was whipped away by the task at hand. She trapped the colony of ants in the cave and killed them all. She even took the lives of six more ant colonies for good measure. With the dead ants she also ground them together with some stone gravel, and then she added water from a stream. She poured in the ash of the fire and made the smelly mixture into a paste. She sprinkled it around the circle, but leaving the light of the moon's clear and untouched.
Using her gift she sought out her victim. With ease she focused on a perfect target, an aging vulture was not but a mile away. She disliked vultures anyway. The vulture she possessed flew right to her. Her mind was powerful and his feeble in its age, she had no trouble holding him and then rubbing the earthy past on him as well. Lastly she went into the cave and brought out the mask. She placed it in one corner of the crescent of the moonlight. No regret crossed her face as she gazed at it. Anger at Kakashi was steaming inside of her. She spit on the mask, disgusted, "I hope you're honored Kakashi." The other corner held the bound vulture.
She stood in the center of the circle and she began to summon her own energy to perform the technique. While still possessing the bird her own body began to mumble the incantation. It was perfect. Raw energy began to come out of the ground. It came out of the vulture in a yellow color into the air. It mixed with the green Chakra of the earth. A brown Chakra emerged form Tanar's body; one more, the enemy that was present. She peeked out of her closed eyes. The mask seemed to be void of all power, "No I need this to work! Kakashi is here! He is represented by the mask." She closed her eyes and focused. A Blue Chakra began to leak from behind a tree and it flowed and curled around the mask, before it also merged with the other three energy sources. Tanar knew the mask was finally having energy, but it would forever escape her knowledge that Kakashi was actually there behind the tree.
He had been following ever since a small blonde haired boy had pointed her out. He had not seen her for those days and Iruka had finally confessed that the lessons were not going well. His own emotions were those of Fish seeing a bird. He wanted to know the life style of this person. He desired to know Tanar better, he wanted to know the joy of flight of being free, and he loved her fierce spirit; but how could a fish learn or even be close to a bird that was so far away.
The circle of branches that lined the shape of the moon caught fire. Tanar was speaking more rapidly now. She was trying to control the fire and initiate the scroll. The four energies began to dance together in mid air in a tight circle. They began to spin faster and tighter together. "The technique of the FORBIDDEN SEED!" She shouted. She moved her arms in a jerking arch and her fingers pointed at the vulture. The Chakra above her head moved quickly and shot itself at the bird. The vulture at this sudden intrusion cried out and it nearly broke Tanar's possession of the bird. The vulture was incased in a mixture of blue, brown, yellow, and green Chakra. The vulture spread its wings rigid and the Chakra slowly seeped into the feathered body. The vulture was by no means more beautiful. But it was more powerful, more youthful. It cried out again and this time it broke Tanar's possession. She was rushed back into her body as the vulture flew off and broke the spell. She looked up as the bird surged up to the sky. It was young again. It rejoiced in its own ability to wheel in the sky again. The vulture disappeared into the night with one last screech.
Tanar stood there a long time. Kakashi did not even breathe. What had Tanar done? He had never seen it. He wished he had used his Eye to copy it. It was magnificent. It was amazing. It was unorthodox. It was powerful.
Tanar went rigid. She ran off with inhuman speed. Kakashi was nearly in tears of joy. She was back. His little tigress was back. The last two days she had been away from him and the result was in front of him. She had been practicing this technique. The techniques of the forbidden seed whatever that was had given something of her life back. He followed as best he could. Tanar headed straight for the school. She bounced and leaped up each levels of the school. Kakashi couldn't keep up. He stopped at the base of the academy. He saw her leap into a window. Look around once. Her eyes rested on where Kakashi had hidden himself. She blinked, took down her mask, and gracefully slid into the dark room.
Tanar let herself calm down. The sprint had not tired her, but her excitement was over powering. The Hokage was an old man and probably asleep. He didn't need a windblown girl shaking him awake. She stepped into a vaguely familiar room. She sighed. She had underestimated the Hokage he was up. He was crouched over a crystal ball. He looked up and smiled. Tanar broke the silence "Did you see my triumph?" The silence that followed led to the smile of the Hokage turned into a frown. He replied carefully "Does the mountain think it rules the sky and earth because it is the tallest and biggest rock?" She smirked at him so he didn't know what she just did. She took out the copy of the forbidden seed scroll.
"We must do it tonight." she said. "What!" gasped the old man. She squared her shoulders "I am ready." The Hokage rubbed his temples. She waited impatiently; there would be no moonlight if the night was over. She began to tap her foot. "Show me," he said simply. She grabbed his hand and tugged hard. He didn't budge. "We need some more people," he motioned. She let go slightly stunned. Why did they need more people? She had done it by herself. She was alone in the woods. She had sensed some animals in the forest. She had sensed some female birds' squirrels and one male big animal, but it was a deer more than likely.
The Hokage quickly summoned some birds and attached some scrolls to them with instructions to meet in his room. She wondered how those tiny birds could wake a full grown human, but the Hokage seemed confident. The birds flew off and the Hokage sat back down heavily. His clothes seemed to hang off of him. He looked frail and old. He looked tired. Tanar wondered silently just how old this Hokage was. She felt pity for him. She almost reached out to comfort this old man. Her hand was snapped back when the Hokage turned his piercing eyes to her. "Now Assassin, how did you do this?"
She explained as best she could. It was harder than first anticipated. She explained with all the senses she had. The colors, the feelings, and the energy she gave away in performing the scroll. Tanar heard soft footsteps and stopped her narration. She had gotten to the vulture breaking her concentration and possession. She glanced over her shoulder. Her head snapped back to the Hokage. He was fixing his trained eyes on the people behind her. She sighed and stood up facing those behind her, a satisfied smirk on her face. "Kakashi, Gai, and Iruka" she greeted them each with a nod from her head. Her gaze stopped at the sight of a thin, but strong, dark purpled hair girl. The girl was standing next to Kakashi, assertive and possessive. She dipped her head. The girl returned with green eyes. She had a slight flash back of her client and his own scummy, green eyes. The green eyed girl met her own blue, steel gaze. There was no wonder in that gaze only disdain. The purple haired girl thrust her hand out "I am Nuna." Tanar hesitantly shook hands with the stranger. The girl's hands had no calluses, or scars. They were a young healthy peach. The girl may have been a ninja, but she didn't look it.
Tanar was distracted. Why had the Hokage picked these four people? What did each one of them have to do with her? The Hokage coughed politely. Tanar jerked her hand away. She had startled them with her sudden movement. She rounded fiercely on the Hokage and pointed a threatening finger at the people behind her. "Why are they here?" She nearly yelled in frustration. She didn't need Gai here to see her. She didn't need Iruka to help her because she was weak. She especially didn't need that ninja Kakashi distracting her with his confusing actions toward her. The Hokage looked taken aback. This had been the only time the Blue Wood Assassin had lost her temper. But with a cool head he replied "The interpretation is done with consensus of the initiator and the human target. So I need you to understand my choice of vessels." Her mouth hung open. She swung her hand around aimlessly. She was swept away by an ocean of exhaustion. Her fingers connected with the chair she had been sitting in. She sat down heavily. Sweat began to pour down her face. She couldn't do this. The forbidden seed scroll was taking an effect. She was thinking about the poison that had coursed through her veins. She clutched her forehead with one hand. Her body and mind began to realize what the price was for changing Mother Nature's path.
Kakashi looked away in distaste. This was what the Hokage had wanted all along. He was to be part of a ritual. A ritual he knew nothing about and didn't know the cost. Now he did. Tanar had performed the scroll's techniques. The Hokage spoke urgently "I didn't see this before, this is the cost of the scroll's user. Quickly everyone we need to perform the technique now before she dies." Iruka nearly jumped "She's dying?" Tanar silenced them all with quiet words. "Yes I am, but quickly Lord Hokage tells me what each of the four people represents." Kakashi was stunned. He caught a glance at Tanar's exhausted face. It looked so exposed so vulnerable, but strong. The eyes of blue that he had often seen before burned with a flame of determination. He remembered what the two of them had been through. He remembered loving the time he had spent with her. He remembered loving the traveling they had done, the power they had harnessed, the danger they had been through. He felt a flame begin to burn inside him as well. He took a step forward. Kakashi wanted Tanar to live and to continue their adventure. Nuna gripped his arm. He looked back. He saw love in her eyes for him. (He had saved her from her own death) He did not share the same love. He liked her. But now Tanar's life was more important. He shook her hold away and kneeled by Tanar's chair. He looked up at her face on his knees.
The Hokage pointed his finger at Tanar. The Hokage spoke with no hesitancy "Most of the actions you took I agree with but some I believe are more humanly intertwined" She nodded her head not caring. He continued "For instance the blood of your greatest friend. This is Iruka's role, he will make the marking circle with his blood. The only others I have a problem with are the fire of a fellow human and enemies present. You see those two are directly related. The enemy must be a person who the victim stole the fire from. This entails that the victim may not even know of the enemy's hatred, so Nuna will play the enemy who is present-" Gai interrupted, "Then who is to be the fire of the fellow human?" The Hokage gave a long look at Gai. Gai mumbled, "I am sorry Lord Hokage, continue." The Hokage nodded his head. "The fire is that of the most passionate relationship that a human strives for, and as we all know love is the strongest. So I ask that Kakashi or Gai be that fellow human" Tanar went stiff as a board. He was asking her to choose between Kakashi and Gai. The man was ludicrous.
Nuna stamped her foot. "I object!" Everyone's attention was focused on her. "Kakashi should not and is not a lover of the Blue Wood Assassin's, I am."
Gai nearly whined, "But I thought that you loved me?" Kakashi was on his feet. He stared into Nuna's eyes "When was I ever a lover to you?" She lowered her gaze onto the floor and scuffed her boot, "I was going to ask you to be soon."
Tanar stood up. She wobbled a little. Nuna looked at her in contempt. "Do you wish to challenge me for Kakashi?" Tanar smiled wearily, "Kakashi is right here next to me and you are telling me you love him?" Nuna nodded her head her eyes fierce. Tanar waited but nodded once to Kakashi "Then where were you Nuna when Kakashi got his nose broken because of me.. Where were you girl when Kakashi was in pain because I beat him with a stick…? Where were you, ninja, when I bandaged Kakashi's bleeding wounds…? Where were you, manipulator, when I healed him…? Where were you, lover, when he and I nearly killed one another because I talked in anger and made him lose his temper?"
Nuna stared blankly at Tanar. She slowly moved her head to Kakashi and met his gaze. Kakashi put his arm around Tanar, but Tanar pushed his hand away. Nuna saw and knew at that moment Tanar had stolen Kakashi from her. Nuna had not been there when Kakashi had been hurt. She had been with Gai. She hated Tanar. She loathed the Assassin with a slow burning rage. The Assassin had stolen her Kakashi away from her. Kakashi was lost to her. Tanar interrupted "What is Gai for?" Gai stepped forward "I am here to protect you from Nuna," Tanar laughed slowly. Tanar stopped; she slowly brushed her hand against her chest. She felt her heart flutter in a weak attempt. She was acutely aware of Kakashi and how comfortable it would be to just lean and rest with his body supporting hers. But under the circumstances she would do nothing to show that she loved him. She didn't. She knew she shouldn't. He was an ignorant and aloof man who ran away when there was trouble. "Why can't Gai be the fire of the fellow human?" Tanar asked.
A shocked silence filled the room. She felt rather than when she saw Kakashi stiffen. "Gai is loyal, and kind, and although I haven't been with him very long he was there when Kakashi was not. Or what about Iruka he outmatches both of them at least to me." The Hokage walked around to her. He gently removed Kakashi away from her. "I can see Assassin that you wish to die here and now without explaining your emotions, but you must accept my judgment. Kakashi loves you and though you may not return it he is the fire of the fellow human, understand?" The Hokage turned to Kakashi. Kakashi nodded the words and felt like she was skinning him alive. Had none of their journey meant anything to her? "I understand Lord Hokage" Kakashi said then turned toward Tanar "I never back out of my word that is how I live as a ninja." Tanar looked away. He was ignorant again. If he didn't want to understand her then he could stay ignorant.
Tanar squared her shoulders she commanded "Let's do it before I die of the boredom of having a pity session" She was tired of running away form this task. She was going to go down fighting. They began to make their way, all of them, to the circle of power. Iruka walked by her in the back. She muttered to Iruka along the way "I am sorry I brought you into this Iruka, you are by far my first and greatest human friend. And I guess my last." Iruka nodded in gratitude "My blood is what determines whether or not I am your last friend. You will live Tanar."
Tanar gave Iruka a smile, the last he would ever see from her.