I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Ido
Ryuu sat bolt upright, gasping for breath and looking around. Hinata and the others were kneeling around him and Fu, except Kiba, who was kneeling over Tayuya, kunai raised to drive into her chest. Ryuu appeared beside him, catching his arms, kunai hovering over her chest. Fu sat up as Ryuu and Kiba had a glaring contest. Finally, Kiba stood, stepping back and growling angrily.
"You better fucking explain right fucking now," Kiba snarled. "Why is this Sound Village bitch alive?"
"Because I saved her life," Ryuu said, everyone staring at her, Kiba snarling angrily. "She was wounded, I saved her life, and I brought her here. I treated her wounds, I healed her, and then I asked Tsunade to give her a chance as a Konoha Shinobi."
"Why the hell would you do that?" Kiba snarled.
"Because she followed Orochimaru out of fear, not loyalty," Ryuu said. "You can't begin to imagine what she's been through. What Orochimaru did to her."
"I can't begin to care!" Kiba snarled. "Her friends nearly killed Neji, Choji, and Akamaru!"
"You're right," Tayuya said, opening her eyes and making no move to stand. "I'm as responsible for what happened to your friends and your dog as the others were. You have every right to kill me. I won't stop you."
"Well alright then," Kiba said, driving the kunai at her chest again.
"Kiba stop!" Hinata shouted.
Before it could reach her, Ryuu's tanto blocked it, stopping it in place instantly.
"Kiba, put it away," Ryuu growled. "I understand your anger and distrust, but Tayuya is my teammate and my friend. Put it away or you'll have to go through me."
"Get out of my way, Ryuu," Kiba snarled. "Or else I will go through you."
Ryuu narrowed his eyes, shoving Kiba's kunai away and pulling Tayuya up, pushing her behind himself. "Last warning Kiba. Back off."
"Kiba just stop it!" Hinata pleaded.
"Now's not the time you two," Shino said. "Enough."
"Don't worry," Ryuu said. "I'll make this quick."
Kiba slashed at Ryuu and Ryuu deflected the knife, driving his free hand at Kiba. Kiba twisted out of the way of the strike, slashing Ryuu across the face with his free hand's claws. Ryuu staggered away, gritting his teeth. Kiba stepped past him, slashing at Tayuya only for Ryuu to catch his arm. Kiba drove his free hand at her and Ryuu kicked it out to the side before smashing his knee into Kiba's face, flipping him and slamming him to the ground. He slammed his palm into Kiba's chest, placing a paralysis seal on him before standing, glaring down at him.
"You're lucky we're in a hurry," Ryuu snarled. "We'll settle this after we save Yakumo and Kurenai."
He turned, sprinting back toward the villa, the others all following in silence. When they reached the villa, Ryuu sped ahead of the others, Naruto keeping pace with him. They both jumped, blasting through the window. They flipped, landing at a sprint, heading for Yakumo's room. But just as they reached it, the door burst into flames. Ryuu skidded to a stop, growling in annoyance. He looked down at his hands, both of which still had electrical burns and some scratches from having been blown up by the lightning bolt in the Genjutsu.
"Genjutsu so powerful it can actually kill you," Ryuu said.
"What?" Naruto asked, looking at him.
"If we go through that fire, Genjutsu or no, it'll kill us," Ryuu said.
"What do we do?" Naruto asked.
"I have an idea," Ryuu said. "Ready?"
Naruto nodded. Then, Ryuu grabbed his shirt, punching him and knocking him out. He hurled Naruto's limp form through the flames, sending him blasting through the door. He could see Naruto stir inside of the room, and Kurenai behind him, half her body missing. Ryuu sighed, taking a deep breath. Then, he sprinted forward, forming hand seals.
"Ninja Art, Stasis!" Ryuu said, instantly going limp and crashing to the ground, rolling to a stop.
Naruto and Yakumo both stared at him, then, he gasped for breath, sitting up and groaning.
"I'm so glad that worked," Ryuu grumbled, standing and lookin at Kurenai. "You okay?"
"I'm alright," Kurenai said.
"She won't be for long," Yakumo said. "I'm going to kill her before she can kill me."
"She's not going to kill you Yakumo," Ryuu said. "I told you, Kurenai cares about you."
"She sealed my powers!" Yakumo shouted.
"Because they were starting to control you!" Ryuu said. "That's the biggest secret of your Kekkei Genkai!"
"Ryuu!" Kurenai said.
"She deserves to know!" Ryuu said. "She's gone her whole life being afraid because she didn't know! You made the mistake of hiding it from her years ago! That's how this all started! You didn't have faith in Yakumo! Have faith in her now!"
Kurenai stared at him in silence for several seconds before nodding. "The order the Third Hokage gave me wasn't to kill you or your family."
"Then what was it?" Yakumo asked.
"He wanted me to train you to control your abilities," Kurenai said. "When I sealed them away, I doomed you to lose control. And he knew that. The threat he was referring to wasn't you or your family. It was you losing control of you Kekkei Genkai. Your powers are so powerful, that your ancestors used to lose control, and the darkness of their minds became a separate consciousness. One that was bent on destruction. One that was formed of your anger, and your pain, and your hate. When I sealed away your power, I caused you a lot of that. I made the dark side of our mind more powerful than I could have ever imagined. That's why your parents died. The dark side of your mind took control of you."
"You're lying!" Yakumo accused. "You killed my family!"
"No," Ryuu said. "You did, Yakumo. The Ido, the dark side of your consciousness took control of your powers and started a fire with them, one that spread too fast and too strong in broad daylight. It killed your parents, and you repressed the memories."
"You're lying!" Yakumo screamed.
"No," Ryuu said. "You know. You remember."
Yakumo stared at him before looking to a picture of her family lying in a burning hallway. The ink began to run, leaving the painting to reveal a picture of the house burning from the outside, Yakumo standing before it.
"I'm sorry, Yakumo," Ryuu said.
"You're...you're right," Yakumo said, tears forming in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. "I killed my family. I can't control my power. I'm a threat to the village. To my family. I tried to kill Kurenai Sensei!"
"You don't have to be a threat," Ryuu said. "You can still take control."
"You're right," Yakumo said, staring at her paint trowel. "I have to take control."
Then, she drove it at her own throat. Ryuu's eyes widened, but before he could react, a painting of Yakumo off to the side suddenly changed, becoming a brown-skinned demon-looking thing with three eyes, horns jutting out from the sides of its head, and clawed fingers, one hand holding the trowel, having saved Yakumo, and by extension, itself.
"What are you doing?" the painting hissed. "You would kill us over something so trivial? All I've done is protect you. Your parents put all their hopes and dreams on you, a frail little girl. They were putting all that pressure on you. So I removed them. Kurenai Sensei tried to separate us, tried to rob you of your power, so I have to remove her. The Hokage ordered her to do it. So I have to remove the Hokage."
"Don't listen to it Yakumo," Ryuu said. "You don't have to let this thing exist. Controlling your power doesn't mean killing yourself. The power belongs to you, not this thing. Take it back."
Yakumo stared at him before spinning, driving the trowel into the Ido's head. It screamed in agony, shrinking back into the painting, taking the trowel with it. Then, it faded, leaving a picture of Yakumo again. Yakumo sniffed, a painting of Kurenai off to the side, which had been partially painted over, began to shed its excess paint, Kurenai's body reappearing as it did. Then, Yakumo formed a hand sign, the room around them returning to its natural, non-endless-void form. Kurenai stepped forward, hugging Yakumo and Yakumo hugged her back. The door opened after a moment and Fu walked in, staring at them.
"Is it over?" Fu asked.
"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "It's over."
"So, will you train her?" Ryuu asked.
"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "I'll teach her to control her power as best I can."
"Good," Ryuu nodded. "And maybe Rock Lee can help her get stronger."
"She has a medical condition," Kurenai said.
"And the Nara clan has a medical book the size of a table and a foot tall," Ryuu said. "I think they've got it covered."
Kurenai nodded, smiling. "Maybe. What do you think, Yakumo? Do you want to come back to the village with us and see if you can become a shinobi?"
Yakumo's eyes were wide with surprise and hope. She nodded, grinning widely. They all walked outside, finding Kurenai's team waiting, Kiba still paralyzed and lying beside Shino.
"What's going on?" Kurenai asked.
"Kiba disagrees with one of my teammates," Ryuu said. "So I paralyzed him to stop the fight."
Kurenai stared at him before shaking her head and walking over, breaking the seal. Kiba stood and Kurenai stared at him before sighing.
"I expect you three to be ready to train tomorrow morning," Kurenai said, all three's eyes widening before they nodded. "And Yakumo will probably be joining us."
Again they nodded.
"And Kiba," Kurenai said. "Regardless of what she's done, or what you think about her, Tayuya has become a Hidden Leaf Shinobi. You are not to attack her. Understood?"
"Fine," Kiba growled. "Ryuu, we're finishing that fight."
"Whenever you're ready to die Kiba," Ryuu said. "But for now, let's just go home."
Kiba grumbled a response before nodding and they all headed back to the village.
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