Kimimaro, the Skull Demon

"How long until we reach our destination Asuma?" Kurenai Yuhi, the secret lover of Asuma Sarutobi. She has long untamed black hair and crimson eyes. She is wearing red lipstick on and purple eye shadow. She wore a red mesh armour blouse with only the right sleeve visible, with a white fabric shaped like bandages with rose thorn designs on them.

"Just a few hours away. Sorry about taking too long but you know what happened when we hang out with Kakashi." Asuma sighed and took out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one and then looked back at the other two members of his squad. "You two have been quiet? Something up?"

"No, sir. Just thinking about some stuff." Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were two of Asuma's most loyal members and both were part of the squad before Iruka left.

"Hey Captain?" Izumo had Asuma's attention when he called out for him. "This Naruto kid, is it true he's the one who got Iruka to re-join our squad?"

"Well, Naruto was the one to beat Mizuki and seeing the kid in action gave Iruka his fighting spirit back. My dad also met him a few years back, he speaks highly of him. This is my chance to meet him person too, so don't do anything to insult him when we do meet him." Asuma told them. Of course, the real reason was to question Naruto about Mizuki and if he knew anything about the Shadow Stone or Orochimaru, however, Asuma is interested in meeting the person that helped his father out and influenced Iruka's decision to re-join their squad.

Unbeknownst to the group, heading their way was Kimimaro. Asuma could not shake off his bad feeling, so much so that he stopped smoking.

(Fairy Tail Library)

"Okay, Hinata, let's see what magic we can find for you." Levy McGarden, a blue-haired petite girl around the same age as Lucy. "You said that you wanted something to help her in combat, is that right Naruto?"

"Yeah, that's right. Just something for her to defend herself. Maybe the superhuman strength Granny Tsunade uses." Naruto recalled meeting one of the 10 Wizard Saints and a legendary wizard in her own right, Tsunade Senju, who was known for three things, her monstrous strength, her medical skills, and her gambling.

"I think that's a trade secret. She wouldn't want her super strength in the wrong hands after all. And I don't think that magic would be a nice fit for Hinata." Levy could not picture sweet Hinata using such a barbaric type of magic, or rather if she learns that magic through Naruto, she might pick up his bad habits.

"Yeah, you're probably right. We'll have to find her something I can easily teach her…." Naruto placed a singer underneath his chin. "How about Water Magic? It's something I can easily teach her since that's my element?"

"Uhhhh….Excuse me?" Hinata interjected. "But I have chosen Air Magic. Wendy helped me pick it out. I hope you don't mind." Hinata told them, Levy did not mind at all, but Naruto then scratched his head.

"Okay then. I thought if we ever teamed up and I'm in a pinch, you could help me out. Well, you chose it and I promised to teach you how to fight. So, let's get going!" Naruto replied happily, making the three girls laugh nervously. "Come on! I know a good spot!" He left the library.

"Better get going. Naruto doesn't like to be kept waiting, especially when it involves training. I have a job to do after this, so good luck!" Levy smiled a little, though truthfully she was nervous at how Naruto would train them since he could be really rough in battles and training.

(Sometime later, forest outskirts)

"How's this, Wendy?" Hinata managed to channel air into her hands, showing that she learned the magic. Wendy, whose element was the air itself, was the best person to help her learn this magic. Carla and Kurama were at the side and witnessed this. Well, Kurama was sleeping as usual.

"Good job helping her learn air magic Wendy! Now it's my time to teach you two to kick butt!" Naruto punched his right fist into his open left palm.

"P-Please calm down Naruto. Hinata exerted a lot of effort when learning Air Magic, so please let her rest now. However, you can train me first if you like." Wendy was nervous but she did want to get stronger, and she knew Naruto was strong in his own right.

"Okay, first hit this post as hard as you can without using your magic." Naruto pointed to a cut down tree which had a target painted on it. Wendy was now in front of the post and breathed in deeply. She made a fist and pulled her arm back before smashing the post, shocking Hinata, Carla and even Kurama was a little surprised.

'Do all Dragon Slayers have enhanced strength?' Kurama thought about when he met Naruto as a child. 'Naruto can break boulders with just his brute strength alone, I just thought he was a monster. In fact, I could say that about a lot of the members back at the guild.'

'How did Wendy do that!? Did I underestimate her ability all this time? Well, that would certainly explain her nearly squeezing the life out of me a couple of times.' Carla watched as Naruto then began to explain to Wendy that enhanced strength could only get you far.

"You got strength, but do you know how to fight? It's easy to hit a target when it's still but let's see if you can hit a moving one. Come at me!" Naruto gestured at her, shocking them all except Kurama.

"B-But there's no way I can beat you Naruto!" Wendy was hesitant and knew that she was not at Naruto's level, but before she and the others can protest further.

"Relax. I only want you to try and hit me. I won't fight back and I'll only dodge. It's better for you to learn that magic is useless if you don't know how to use it properly. You need to learn how to move, how to punch, kick and dodge too." Naruto motioned for Wendy to come at him with everything she had.

"Okay! I'll try!" Wendy psyched herself up, despite not liking battle, she rushed at Naruto. "Take this!" Wendy missed as Naruto stepped to the side, tripping after missing the blonde.

"Ouch!" Wendy landed face first and Naruto, who would normally laugh at situations like this, just knelt down next to her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Naruto asked her as she slowly lifted head and rubbed her face. He held out a hand to help her back up.

"Y-Yes. Thank you." Wendy took his hand and was helped up. She smiled at him, which he returned. They then realised that they were still holding hands and promptly let go. They blushed a little before Naruto continued to teach Wendy how to fight. Luckily, Hinata and Carla were looking away and did not notice them hold hands. Kurama, however, did see the brief interaction.

'Oh, it'll be fun teasing him. But I didn't think he would be interested in girls, being how he is.' Kurama just went back to sleep as Naruto began to show Wendy how to move and she was improving rapidly.

(Back with Asuma's group, a few hours later)

"We're almost there, 15 minutes and we'll be at the outskirts of town." Asuma stated to the others, with Kurenai looking at Asuma with small smile.

"Yes, so you can stop worrying about any potential threats now." Kurenai told him, making Asuma chuckle.

"Was it that obvious? What tipped you off?" Asuma was answered by Kurenai telling him that it was him not smoking for a while. 'Of course, it had to be my bad habit.' Asuma then felt a presence and moved, pushing Izumo and Kotetsu out of the way, but not completely unscathed.

"AGH!" Both members of Asuma's squad were slashed at their backs and taken out. Kimimaro had arrived and had sharp bone protruding out of the palms of his hands.

(Play Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba: Mugen Train the Movie OST-Akaza Theme)

"You're….." Asuma grabbed his subordinates and jumped back as Kimimaro tried to cross-slash at him. Asuma's flat jacket and shirt was slashed.

"Asuma Sarutobi…It has been a long time." Kimimaro said it in a cold way, enough for the remaining two to tell he had some form of hatred towards Asuma.

"Kimimaro Kaguya. I haven't seen you in a long time. So, why is a member Death Head Caucus here? Especially one as famous you." Asuma gently placed his injured allies on the ground and took out a cigarette, lightning it. 'This kid was one of Zabuza Momoichi's wards and a dangerous one. He's said to be one of Death Head Caucus' top assassins now.' Asuma also had two trench knives out.

"Do not strain yourself. This is simply a task I was assigned. But I would be lying if would not give me satisfaction to see you in pain. After all, you were a part of Kakashi Hatake's squad." Kimimaro would usually ignore and go straight for the kill, but his mission was to avoid killing Asuma for now.

(OST End)

"I see. Kurenai, check their wounds and join me when you're done. This is an opponent we can't underestimate." As soon as Asuma said this, he and Kimimaro rushed at each other. Asuma's trench knives collided with Kimimaro's palm blades, but the younger man kicked him back. 'Those blades are made from his bones. My knives are enhanced by magic, the fact that I couldn't slice them in half means that they are extremely durable.'

(Summer Wars OST-Battle Again)

"Cross Slasher!" Kimimaro moved towards Asuma, who landed on his feet and began to clash with Kimimaro, matching his speed and strikes, until Asuma managed to spot Kurenai making her way towards him. She then stood and made hand gestures. Asuma seeing this, allowed Kimimaro to land a non-lethal hit and send him flying backwards. Kimimaro was then surrounded by several magic circles and vines came out of them, with Kimimaro seemingly grabbed by the vines, only to break through.

"You've already lost." Kurenai's voice echoed as Kimimaro was suddenly bound by tree branches and trapped in a tree. Kurenai then slowly emerged from the tree with a knife in her hand.

"Such pitiful illusions." Kimimaro the unleashed more bones, this time protruding from his back, stabbing Kurenai and the burst of magic Kimimaro released undid the illusion.

"Agh!" Kurenai was stabbed at her right arm and left side of her stomach. Kimimaro then released her and let her drop. Kurenai was bleeding from her wounds, but they were not fatal.

"Bastard!" Asuma's emotions got the better of him and he lunged at Kimimaro. Kimimaro moved back but was scratched on his chest. Asuma then manipulated the smoke from his cigarette, blasting Kimimaro with a stream of smoke. Kimimaro felt that the smoke appeared more dangerous than it seemed and jumped back, however, the smoke managed to reach his left forearm.

'It's burning my arm!' Kimimaro moved further back and saw his now burnt forearm. 'His smoke also has the property of fire. I can't feel my hand.' Kimimaro closed the gap between him and Asuma as the smoke cleared. He used his right blade to aim for Asuma's temple, with Asuma barely blocking with his left trench knife, slicing the captain's left wrist and making Asuma hiss in pain.

"Big mistake!" Asuma aimed for Kimimaro's shoulder with a right hook, only for Kimimaro to headbutt him, bloodying his nose. 'Ugh! This kid is fast, despite my specialty in close combat. I guess I need to end this with Burning Ash after all. And it can't hurt to increase the cutting power of my knives too. It's better if I end this sooner than later, plus my I only have one shot left with this cigarette.' Asuma can only use his Smoke Magic with a medium, usually his cigarettes.

Now Asuma focused and the sharp edges of his knives were channelling energy, extending his blades. Kimimaro noticed as Asuma kicked him away, then swinging his arms against him. Kimimaro used the bones on his palms, only for Asuma to slash through them.

'What!?' Kimimaro was hit dead on by Asuma's attack and sent flying.

"Time to end this! Burning Ash!" Asuma released a large blast of smoke which completely enveloped Kimimaro.

(OST End)

"Phew! That should be enough to take him down." Asuma fell on his bottom and breathed in a sigh of relief. Kurenai then noticed a figure emerging from the smoke.

"Asuma! He's not done yet!" As soon as those words hit Asuma, the captain rolled out of the way as Kimimaro stabbed the ground instead with a sharp bone.

"How are you even standing!?" Asuma noticed that Kimimaro only had a few minor burn marks. Asuma then noticed several bones on the ground when the smoke cloud settled but ignored them for now and continued to attack.

"I appeared to have slightly underestimated you. If you can increase the power of your attacks, then so can I." Kimimaro attack him with his bone blade, with Asuma also attacking him with his enhanced knife, only for the weapons to collide.

'Dammit! I was afraid of this! He can also increase the durability of his bones to match my own attack power. I was too arrogant, the best I can do is to fight until there's an opportunity to retreat. Or for me to cut his head off!' Asuma was trying to avoid the latter option as he needed to question Kimimaro on who sent him and he'd rather avoid taking another life, but Kimimaro was giving him limited options. Asuma had clue that Kimimaro's mission was not to kill him. Asuma then used his free arm to attack Kimimaro, only for Kimimaro to grab his wrist before he could land the blow.

'I have to help Asuma!' Kurenai used hand gestures to create lions to attack Kimimaro, who instantly noticed that they were illusions and ignored them. Kimimaro carried on fighting Asuma. 'Dammit! I got careless and now I'm no help to Asuma. Please be careful Asuma.'

"It's no use!" Kimimaro kicked Asuma backwards and released him from his grasp. Kimimaro could still move as fast as before, the only thing waying him down was his numb hand and even that had no effect in hindering his battle performance. However, unbeknownst to Asuma, there was a reason on why he can't make more weapons. Kimimaro was able to cut through Asuma's attire and leave a cut on Asuma's chest.

'Damn! That stings!' Asuma hissed in pain but continued fighting. Asuma rushed at Kimimaro, who matched each of his strikes with his single bone blade. Asuma was lightly jabbed through the left shoulder and Kimimaro was slashed on his right pectoral. Kimimaro then quickly headbutted Asuma and drew blood from his head. 'Agh! That stung! Wait, he isn't summoning any more bones to attack me…That's it!' Asuma looked at the bones that were left in the aftermath of his Burning Ash spell. 'He must have created skeleton-like armour to protect himself from the smoke. He must have a cool off period before he can create more weapons. That's why he's only using one weapon, he must have made it before creating his armour. Now's the only chance I have to beat him!' Asuma noticed that his cigarette was almost out, so he had one shot unless he lit up another cigarette.

(Play Fairy Tail OST-Battle of Magic Competitions)

"You're going down!" Asuma ran towards Kimimaro, easily avoided his punches. 'Got you." Asuma smirked and released a large puff of smoke, which made Kimimaro jump back. 'Tense you muscles and focus.' Asuma closed his eyes until they opened again, Asuma moving quickly. 'Flying Swallow!' The energy channelled through the blades grew as Asuma rushed Kimimaro and repeatedly threw punches at him. However, this time, Kimimaro was cut by one of the knives as its energy blade extended.

'He used the smoke to distract me and increased the reach of his trench knives. He must have realised that I cannot create more bones after withstanding the previous smoke attack...well, I have a surprise for you.' Kimimaro gave a small smile as Asuma brought his left knife closer, ready to take out Kimimaro once and for all. Suddenly, several curved bones came out and pierced Asuma's left hand and broke his left trench knife. Asuma then tried to hit him with his right, only for Kimimaro to slash his wrist with bone blade, forcing Asuma to drop his other knife.

'NO!' Kurenai suddenly had an adrenaline rush and attack Kimimaro, only for the youth to release Asuma and punch her in the face.

(OST End)

"Y-You bastard! I'm your opponent, leave her alone!" Asuma could barely stand up and reached into his pockets to get his cigarette pack, only to not find it.

"Looking for this." Kimimaro revealed that he took his pack and then crushed them. "And yes, you are my opponent. But your comrade decided to attack me, despite her own injuries. I actually commend you both for your bravery and the way you protect each other." Kimimaro then slowly moved his burnt hand. "My hand has feeling again, your attacks held quite the punch, but I expected more from someone who was part of the squad that killed my Master." Kimimaro's anger was present for a second but he regained control of himself. Kimimaro then knocked out Asuma with a foot to the face.

'It is done, Lord Jellal. I shall bring these people to you and after our partnership ends, I shall gain the information I want and find Kakashi Hatake. Master Zabuza, I shall avenge you.' Kimimaro's eyes briefly changed colour and some marks appeared on his face, briefly giving him darker skin until he changed back to normal, all of his burn marks were gone.

(Back with Naruto's group)

"How was that?" Wendy was breathing heavily but was faring better against Naruto. Naruto stared down at her kneeling form.

"You've got fighting me with your fists down better, but you need to show me if you can use magic for fighting. So, I'm ending it now." Naruto offered her a hand and then told her the next step of their training. "I'm going to teach you how to roar."

End. Sorry for the long delay and I will try to update the next chapter as soon as possible. Please leave a review and let me know how I can improve on the next chapter. I will try to once again fix my pacing issues and make my next chapters more consistent.

Before you ask, there is a true reason why Jellal wanted Asuma alive. I will deviate canon a lot more in this version of the story.

Also, I apologise for not being able to write Kurenai properly. She wasn't given much to do in the manga, so it was hard to gauge her abilities. Hopefully I can write the other female characters better, I think I can. And I do plan on giving Wendy a lot of fight scenes in the future.