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POISON DOVE & MAELSTROM FOX

Chapter 6 - Unexpected Reflections Pt.1

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT!

That one word repeated itself over and over again in Semiramis' mind as her unwittingly Master slowly began to return to the waking world. She cursed in her native Sumerian tongue, its sister tongues, modern Arabic, Iranian, Japanese, English, and every other language she knew as the boy stirred beneath her. Distantly, she heard booming laughter, arrogant, wretched laughter that made her blood boil and had her fighting the urge to scream in frustration. That image, that fox, that spirit, it was behind this. Whatever dream Naruto was having had probably been interrupted thanks to that overgrown fur-ball, and at the worst possible time! Dammit, she'd miscalculated, and now she was about to pay the price.

Replaying the fox's words in her head, she mentally growled. She didn't want this boy's body, only her freedom! And that was about to fly out the window as Naruto's dream came to a swift end.

No! I didn't come this far to have things end like this, I refuse! Think! THINK! Quickly, her eyes swerved over to the potion held in her hand. A mind-control potion that needed time to take effect, but if she could convert it.

Behind her Jiraiya stirred, sending the normally cold-blooded queen into a panic.

It's all or nothing!

Via her divine power, she altered the chemicals and substance within the potion turning it from a mind potion into an explosive vial of red liquid. Mentally gnashing her teeth, she threw the glass container while sending out a mental command to her chains. The combined explosion would no doubt wake them, but in the short interval of sleeping and awaking she'd make her escape. Was it risky, yes? Would she make it? Maybe? Could she lie her way out of the mess? Maybe with Naruto, but with Jiraiya she'd have to work to sell it? How hard would that be?

Just before she bolted Semiramis looked to Naruto, who was now very much on the verge of waking up. It took all her willpower to move her body as in that moment he looked…different. One eye was cerulean blue, pure and innocent as the vast oceans and the other…crimson as blood. That eye wasn't his, it couldn't have been as the usual warmth and friendliness she felt when the genin looked at her wasn't there. Something else was giving her the evil eye, something just as vicious as her. Semiramis didn't like it. Seeing Naruto's eyes red as blood just seemed…it seemed wrong to her.

The glass vial hit the ground and erupted into a sea of brightly-colored flames. Beneath the ground, the chains rose up and snapped at each other, creating sparks that further ignited the liquid and gas contained within the vial. What had been a small blaze turned into a roaring flame that echoed throughout the forest.

Semiramis ran and kept running, not daring to look back as she moved through the forest with superhuman speed. Logic flew out the window as it was replaced with something else, something she hadn't felt in years - fear. Damnit. Damnit! DAMNIT! She roared, jumping through branches and roots in her mad dash. There was no clear destination in her mind, only the urge to get as far away from the two males as possible. Strangely, it was Naruto she feared more than Jiraiya despite all signs pointing to the contrary. He was going to be the first one to see her, his judgement would be the first thing she received. Him condemning her…scared wasn't the word, worried was more like it. Why? Would being called out by this rank-less, nameless, child from some backwater village make her heart skip a beat so much?

He'd condemn her? Scream at her?

Would he order her to kill herself?

Finally stopping on a ledge and overlooking a roaring river, Semiramis finally allowed herself to collapse onto her knees, palms flat against her cold stone. She was sweating. She, the Wise Queen of Assyria, was sweating in fear and exhaustion. All from one simple-poisoning gone horribly wrong. How the hell had this happened? "Damn you to hell for this, Zelretch!" Roaring to the darken sky, she cursed the old vampire who sent her to this eastern hell. What had she done in her life to deserve this?!

Okay, well, even she could list five or so things even she regretted and had a right to be vilified for, but that was beside the point.

That power inside of him, what the hell was it? It wasn't a Divine Beast, but it wasn't exactly a Monstrous Beast either. It was…more demonic…a Demonic Beast maybe? Normally there were three classifications of fantastical beasts and animals that roamed her home world, but unknown to many, something of a fourth "sub-category" existed. Demonic Beasts, Infernal Beasts, monstrosities born from the fiery pits of Hell itself and various underworlds. It was said their existence was equal to that of a walking disaster, beings that would scar the land itself and hurt the planet's very soul if given the chance. So why in the hell was a power like that being contained in a half-brained boy who from what she could tell would trust Tiamat herself if she appeared before him, broken and hurt before him. In trying to attain her freedom, she'd forsaken her previously stated quest to unravel the puzzle that was Naruto Uzumaki. Gah, why the hell had she even made such a stupid resolution in the first place?

Finally, she looked back on the forest, noting the column of smoke rising from the campsite where her makeshift firebomb had been used to cover her escape. The answer was staring her in the face yet she refused to see it for what it was. He'd looked to her without fear or unease unlike so many others.

He'd looked at her as a person and shown her open kindness. No one since her first husband had done something like that.

And she'd gone and torched that.

It was for the best, she kept telling herself positioning herself into a sitting position atop the cliff. Things were never going to work out between them anyway, sooner or later something would break or give and he'd come to see her for the poison she was just like the rest.

Naruto was calling for her, she could sense it. After she finished explaining herself, would he order her to kill herself? More than likely. The question was would she take him and his Master down with her as she went. Despite both of them being shinobi of this Hidden Leaf Village, they were far from home and it'd take a while before their bodies were discovered, provided she chose to live behind any evidence. She'd be long-gone, her spirit returned to the Throne of Heroes where she would patiently wait until she was summoned once more. Her crime would go unpunished and unsolved for the rest of time, or fate intervened again.

Semiramis had to admit, the idea held some appeal to her, enough to get her to at least smirk. Maybe that would be the angle she'd go for. One last "screw you" to the Master of the Kaleidoscope for using her in his pathetic games to pass his boredom.

Suddenly, a jolt of pure electricity shot through her. Now Naruto was really calling for her, near begging for her to return to him. "Well, guess there's no more point in hiding. Time to go face the music." Standing up, she dusted the dirt and smears off her clothing. One way or another, her fate would be decided in the next couple of minutes. In a shower of golden particles, she disappeared.

Those same particles re-appeared at the campsite, and what the Servant found was the aftermath of chaos.

"What in Anu's name?" Semiramis cracked, taking in the scene with slightly wide eyes.

"Who's Anu?"

Naruto was back to normal, in body and in spirit. He looked none the worse for wear, all traces of the demonic power that had previously taken him had vanished. Discretely, she glanced to his stomach area where she'd seen the glowing seal and felt the presence behind it. The power had gone dormant, though the warning had been sent and received.

Tearing her eyes away from her Master, she examined the mess that had become of her campsite…and the unknown visitors Jiraiya had apprehended.

There were four of them, and they were all dead. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of poison, causing her to step forward to examine their bodies. Behind her stood Jiraiya, his arms crossed and his gaze equally sharp. Turning over their mouths, she noticed a tooth had been missing from each of them.

"What happened?" Semiramis asked, examining the corpses.

"Well, we were sleeping, I was having a rather nice dream involving-"

"Naruto, explain."

"Well, it's sort…weird." He started, seemingly fiddling his thumbs. Semiramis put on a cold face when speaking to him, behind it she was a growing mass of nerves that could be set off with one word. How much he'd seen was unknown so maintaining her poker face was her best and only bet. "I was having this, um, dream." The way his eyes occasionally glanced back at her before wondering off told her this "dream" was something to be concerned about. She'd press him about it later. "Then I…had a wakeup call, I woke up and there was this weird fire raging right behind Pervy Sage, kind of sad it didn't burn any of his stupid books." His grouse comment caused his master to look at him with narrowed eyes of disbelief mixed with annoyance.

"Hey! Those books are prime works of literature! They're read by thousands, millions even!" Cried the old sage.

"Riiight," Waved off the nonchalant blond, causing Semiramis to facepalm while Jiraiya silently fumed with annoyed scowl before his face returned to seriousness and going back to look the bodies. Even now it seems it was impossible to completely remove humor from the situation. "Anyway, we tried to put the fire out, but then these guys dropped in and tried to kidnap me." Pointing to the bodies, he didn't look at all shaken at the kidnapping attempt, leading Semiramis to wonder just what kind of life the child had led before meeting her. To her surprise, he looked at her with a grin. "I really owe you one for creating the Kitsune-ken, they really came in handy in subduing these guys!"

Hearing those words, Semiramis kneeled down and more closely examined the bodies. All of them had slash marks, cutting through their flak jackets and legs. A strange upsurge of pride rushed through her realizing how quickly and easily these fools had been subdued thanks to her crafted weapons, and that her time spent training Naruto had paid off. That said, a part of her, the Servant part of her, was a little annoyed she hadn't noticed what was happening until Naruto's call for her became too strong to ignore. Silently, a part of her wondered what would have happened if things had been different? What if she'd arrived a moment too late and events had played out differently and with more tragedy causing more headaches. It seemed one way or another, this night was going to be one where sleep would come as a welcome relief to her.

"After Naruto brought them down, I attempted to interrogate them, but they popped cyanide pills leaving us with the corpses before you." Jiraiya explained.

"Are you sure they were after Naruto and not you? Perhaps some noblewoman who you slighted in the past decided it was time for you to pay the price?" She leered.

"Hah-hah, very funny, but this is serious, Semiramis. These men are rogue ninja, guns-for-hire." He declared in a firm voice, killing any hope in the Servant that karma had at least found this old bastard. Another day perhaps. "Obviously they were after Naruto, I'm sure you know why."

Behind her steely façade…Semiramis began to panic. Either he knows…or he's on to me. It took all her self-control to keep her gaze from pivoting to Naruto to see if he was in on things. If she did, the game was up and she was either going back to the Throne of Heroes or spending the next couple of days in the dog-house. Not like anything wasn't already going there given the silent glare Jiraiya was sending her way. She knew he couldn't make a scene with Naruto so close.

"Uh, hey, what's going on between you two?" Spoke up the previously mentioned young teenager. "You guys are looking at each other like you just stole the other's pillow or something? Shouldn't we be on alert or something?"

To answer his question, Semiramis called forth a trio of doves and told them to take flight. As they took flight, she took stock of the increasingly darkening sky. It was going to rain soon. Perfect. "If there were anyone nearby, I promise you I would have sensed them, but better safe than sorry I suppose." Grabbing the lower jaw of one of the bodies, she examined it more clearly. With her honed eyes, she could see the damage that had been done to the body as the acid worked its way through the body, killing the bastard before he could be interrogated. What a pity, Semiramis was looking forward to working out some of her excess aggression. "Naruto, you held back on the poisoning."

"I-I did? Wait, this is my fault, isn't it?"

She should have left him with the guilt that it was indeed his fault, but she couldn't bring herself to. "This was your first time using them in actual combat, just do better next time." She coldly spat. To her side she was aware of Jiraiya raising his eyebrow, no doubt having seen the silent argument she waged with herself. "So, they still had enough strength left to ingest their pills and carry their secrets with them to the grave, no matter."

"I suppose this is the part where you reveal necromancy is amongst your list of Skills?" Inquired Jiraiya, raising an eyebrow.

"Were you two so lucky." Semiramis sneered beneath her breath, snapping her fingers. Beneath the four bodies appeared a magic circle, in a flash of violet-colored light the bodies were gone leaving imprints on the grass as the only indication they were ever there. "I'll examine them to get some answers."

"Can't you do that tomorrow, or wait a little?"

Shooting her Master an annoyed glare, she responded, "I'm sorry, but these fools were after you, so I have to act now since your safety's at risk."

"Ah, Semi-chan, you really do have a heart under that black exterior! Seems Naruto was right after all!" Laughed the Toad Sage, heedless of the venomous glare the Servant shot him. He'd gotten far too used to her death glares meaning she was going to have to come up with a new means of silencing him.

"W-What I'm trying to say is maybe we should all just get some sleep, you too, Semi-chan." Naruto clarified, sensing another fight about to break out between his teacher and Servant. He was beginning to fear this was going to become a long-time thing. Just think of what'll happen when I get back to the village. Semi-chan and Grandma Tsunade…He shuddered at the confrontation that would play out between the two. "It's late so why don't we all just go back to sleep, huh?"

"Didn't I already tell you, I don't need sleep." Barked the black-haired woman. She hated that concern he looked at her with. Like he really cared about her. "Go back to sleep and don't worry your pretty little spikey head about me, I'll make sure no harm comes to you."

"I'm not a baby you know." Naruto shot back, looking annoyed. "I can take care of myself, just look at what I did here."

"Huh-uh, so you managed to find off a few rogues, am I supposed to be impressed?"

"I kicked your skull warriors' asses!"

"I wasn't even trying." She answered, growing somewhat more annoyed.

"I could kick your butt if I wanted to!"

Okay, now that was a line crossed. "Really? Splendid, I suppose it's time I see if you're even strong enough for me to call my Master!"

"HEY!" Both looked to find the physical oldest of the group caressing his temples. The rude awakening had obviously gotten to him and he wanted to go back to sleep while there were still some night hours left. "Semiramis, we'll talk about what happened tomorrow morning, in the meantime, guard the area and alert us if anything comes up." From the start he knew babysitting was going to factor in somewhere, but the old hermit sure as hell wasn't planning on a thousands years old spirit from another world being in on things. Much less him having to babysit her as well. Holding out his hand he felt the first droplets of rain begin to fall. "Great, just great."

"Frightened of a little drizzle?" She cracked.

"Easy for you to say, nearest I can gather you can't catch a cold."

"If something like this is enough to disarm you then I've grossly overestimated you, Toad Sage."

"Ahhh, so you've finally started to take me seriously, have you?"

Naruto chuckled while his Servant silently fumed at falling into the hermit's trap. If anything, it once more showed Jiraiya was craftier than she gave him credit. If not a decent court jester he might have been a suitable advisor, if he could be trusted around a female for more than two minutes.

Huffing, Semiramis sat by as the two men began setting up their tarts so they could finish sleeping. Moving through the rain the next day wouldn't be fun but something in their guts was telling them to keep moving. In the meantime, Semiramis had her own devices to tend to. For all intents and purposes, it appeared luck had saved her, or so she would have thought. Naruto kept giving her passing glances that made her skin crawl and pores begin to sweat.

Was he onto her too?

Was he simply humoring her? Winding her up so when the blow came it would hurt all the more?

So many questions, questions that drove her to return his gaze again and again despite her attempts to remain disinterested. There was never any anger or distrust in his eyes, and that was exactly what scared Semiramis. She had no way of gauging how much he saw or knew from barely ten minutes ago, where he was within a hair's breadth of becoming her unwilling mental slave. If he didn't know, how would he react when he finally learned the truth? What was stopping the…spirit…from inside of him from revealing her dark deed? What was Naruto's relationship with the spirit like? Positive? Negative? Begrudging partners at best? Her survival depended on the answers to these questions, and yet she was as helpless to gain answers as a mouse in a hawk's sight. She hated it. She hated Naruto for making her feel that way, yet a part of her knew this wasn't truly his fault.

What…what in Irkalla's name have I stepped into?

No, that wasn't the right question. Wondering what she'd stepped into wasn't the problem. The question was…how the hell was she going to get out of his mess?

As it turned out, the rain came hard the next day. They woke up to it and walked through it, luckily, Jiraiya had one last umbrella with him. Semiramis had to admit, there was something…soothing about the way the pair looked huddled under one umbrella. They reminded her of her people, her citizens, carrying about their daily lives after paying her the proper respect as she passed by. More than once they offered to let her join in and she declined. Walking with them in spirit form was for the best. Not to mention she needed the physical distance between them.

Her eyes never left Naruto's navel, where that accursed power had lay. In the back of her mind, she toyed with "examining" Naruto when he finally fell asleep either from boredom or exhaustion from further training himself. At the very least if he woke up this time with her hovering over him, she'd have a half-decent defense regarding her actions. That said, she'd still have to deal with Jiraiya, but that wasn't too concerning to her. The old hermit was hiding something from her regarding the power inside of Naruto and she was determined to find out what. Whatever the power was, it possessed sentience; that was the last thing she needed as it meant she had another obstacle to take into account in her quest for freedom. Something in her gut told her whatever that power was, it was going to be her biggest hurdle. Semiramis was torn regarding that, on one hand she liked a challenge, but on the other this little game was beginning to irritate her.

Overhead the drums of thunder sounded causing Naruto to turn his head to the sky. She couldn't help but be amazed from time to time when his face went from carefree and bubbly to deep-seated in thought. What did he see when he heard thunder and saw lightning?

Growing up in a desert region rain was rare, and storms were often taken as a bad omen. For most people anyway. Semiramis remembered most stormy days, usually they made for good cover when it came to eliminating her enemies. Their deaths were seen as acts of the divine, and thanks to her divine blood those assumptions were true in a sense. If not for certain factors at play that habit would have continued.

Naruto's expression when he saw lightning shifted, if only for a brief second. Due to their link, Semiramis felt the sudden shift in his emotions. Not rage or fear, but longing. More than once Jiraiya had to call out to him when he came to a complete stop to marvel at the various flashes of lightning splitting the darkening sky like slashes of steel.

To their far right roared a river, now beginning to overflow a little from the downpour. According to the hermit, the river led to a decently-sized town they could shelter in until the storm passed. While Semiramis fancied the idea of spending some time in actual civilization, she couldn't help but worry with the enclosed space tough talks would take place. Depending on how things went when the storm ended, there was a chance Semiramis' existence in this world would come to an end as well. Oddly enough, she found something darkly beautiful at that possibility. Maybe deep down she was truly something of a fatalist.

"Something on your mind, or are you scared the gods are preparing to strike you down?"

His normally spikey hair beaten down by the rain gave Naruto a greatly more subdued appearance. He looked older almost, more winded. Materializing beside him, she threw up a small barrier to keep the rain off of them as he observed the countless arcing blue lines.

"N-No, if anyone was going to strike me down they'd have down it by now." He waved off, only giving her a passing glance. "It's just…the lightning reminds me of someone, someone I haven't seen in a while."

She recognized that look-longing. Who…who is it you're looking at? Who is it you're thinking of? Thought the Assassin, lightly pressing him on the shoulder as an indication for him to move on. He did so, returning to the embrace of Jiraiya's umbrella. Semiramis looked back at the lightning, noting the azure color of the lightning sharply contrasted the growing blackness of the clouds. Black and blue…When I was inside of his mind in the genjutsu, those were both colors he associated with that boy, Sasuke Uchiha. The reason was beyond her, but the mere mention of the name made the Assyrian wrinkle her nose in irritation. Whoever this Sasuke was he was a big part of Naruto's subconscious, a keystone almost. If she had an inkling of who he was, his relationship with Naruto could prove useful in manipulating him, that or making him somewhat easier to handle. It appears no matter where I go, lightning will always remain a distant enemy, rather at home or in this world.

Komaki City, well, for once she had to give Jiraiya credit, this time, it certainly lived up to the city part. Crossing the bridge that spanned the river and forked its way through town, Semiramis took immediate note of the sprawling buildings that stretched outwards in all directions. In spite of the rain, the streets were decently packed with people from all classes and apparently occupations going about their daily business. Even though Naruto didn't give them a second glance, Semiramis made sure to maintain a close eye on those who passed her Master and instructor. She knew what had started the previous night hadn't ended, not by a longshot. In a way, Semiramis almost hoped their unknown pursuers would make a move if only to further serve as a distraction for her.

"So, any particular reason you brought us to this place? Any interesting nightclubs you plan on going to?" Pointedly accused the younger male, giving his teacher a sideways glance. "Plan on doing some research while we're here?"

"Actually, yes, and before you ask, it's not personal research, it's for the village." Snapped the white-haired sage, rolling his eyes. "I'll have you know, Komaki City is a heavily visited city, people from all across the Five Great Nations come here from time to time for various reasons. Whoever is hunting us probably knew we'd enter the city so be alert."

"If that's the case then wouldn't it have been wiser to avoid this place all together?" Chimed in Semiramis.

Naruto wasn't at all surprised to hear her in his head, Jiraiya was a different story. By instinct, she felt push back which was entirely expected.

"Circumstances." Came his short and somewhat cold answer.

Semiramis wouldn't say it nor would she allow her body to show it, but she was dreading when they finally found a place to stay. When that happened, her time was up.

The clock began to tick as he guided the group towards what she realized was a decent-looking hotel. Once check-in was complete her clock would run out and judgement time would be at hand. Or, that's what was supposed to happen.

At first, Semiramis didn't quite know what to make of the brown-feathered falcon that landed by Jiraiya's side. It completely caught Naruto completely off-guard, Jiraiya simply looked at the bird with narrowed eyes. For all intents and purposes, the bird didn't seem bothered being caught in the rain, choosing only to focus on staring at the Sannin with its piercing eyes. Semiramis realized this was a messenger bird, and the message it had was for the elderly ninja beside her Master. It was a good thing Semiramis was in spirit form as her lips tucked into an upward smirk realizing that perhaps her A-rank Luck might have just saved her, again.

"Something important?" She couldn't resist the jab even if it risked a chance of karmic retribution.

"As soon as I check in, Naruto, go straight to your room and don't leave it. Semiramis, watch him." Amazingly, he kept his voice calm despite the sudden change in plans. Semiramis gave him credit for that. Though Naruto looked properly confused, Jiraiya maintained a mental glare directed in Semiramis' direction. His message to her was clear-the talk about last night was still going to happen, it had merely been postponed.

Great, so I've bought myself some time. Now all I have to do is focus on Naruto. Maybe he didn't notice anything, maybe that giant monster was a second too slow for him to recognize me.

Jiraiya stayed true to his word. Upon handing Naruto, the keycard to get in and out he put his things done and left almost entirely without a word. Just before leaving, he shot Naruto a smile meant to put his spirits at ease. Once the door sealed shut, Semiramis chose to rematerialize herself, mentally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Research?" She began, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Peeping, back home Granny Tsunade either catches him and beats the snot out of him or the girls notice, then beat the crap out of him." He answered.

"You sound like you've seen this before."

"More times than I can count." Naruto responded, shrugging his shoulders. His lackadaisical attitude vanished feeling the piercing gaze of his Servant. "Hey! He's the pervert, not me!"

"You are his student, and he seems to take awfully good care of you." Came her cut response. "You're his student in the arts of ninjutsu, who am I to say you're any better than he is?"

"Well, have you seen me trying to peek on you?" Shot back the blond, showing his characteristic defiance.

"…Do you not find me attractive enough to spy on?" She cracked with a raised eyebrow.

As expected, her words hit home as he flushed. "W-Wh-What?! What?! N-N-N-No, I-I mean yes! I mean no-yes?! Gah, yes, I think you're pretty, but I know trying something stupid like that will get me killed!" Confused while his blushes of embarrassment died down, he nearly falling to his knees and racking his hands over his head in frustration.

Releasing a proud laugh, she took a seat near the dinner table of the hotel room. "Good, then I've thought you will."

"Well, what about me?"

"Uh?"

Standing a few feet from her, his hair slowly beginning to dry off, Naruto looked…he almost looked frightened. His blue eyes stared into her reptilian slits. No longer was there a sunny mood around him her Master. The more he looked at her, the more uncomfortable she became.

"What do you mean? Explain."

"Last night…were you trying to poison me?"

Outside, thunder boomed mirroring the crashing of Semiramis' mind. Everything came to a screeching halt at that accusation.

"Look," he began, looking despondent. "I get you…can't I just order you to go free? At least that way you won't have to keep putting up with me? Would that make you happy?"

Semiramis couldn't believe what she was seeing. Naruto was…he was…he was sad.

And he was being truthfully.

She wanted to shout, scream, call him a liar, and she nearly did so simply out of instinct. What stopped her was the near heart-broken look in his eyes, eyes that she couldn't look away from. Those blue orbs which had shined with amazement upon meeting her and looked to her with gratitude afterwards…were no longer shining. Semiramis felt like a stake had been driven through her chest.

Gods dammit! Why?! Why does this boy do this to me?!

"What…what?"

"It's a little hazy, but I remember you standing over me about to pour something down my throat." He said, looking annoyed. Not angry, but annoyed. She supposed the fact he hadn't erupted into an raging maelstrom of anger was a good thing. "Look, I know I'm not the most-"

"Hold your tongue." She snapped, turning her stunned stare into a glare. "Don't you dare make accusations about me without knowing a thing about me. You know absolutely nothing about me!"

Most people when faced with her ire backed down like mice before a snake. Naruto was no mouse. "Your husband's name was Onnes, right?"

For the second time that day, he stunned her with his choice of words. His question struck deeper and hit harder than any previous blow he'd dealt her in their training sessions. Open-mouthed she gaped at him, eyes unblinking and her body frozen stiff. Even her mind, which had begun to work at lightspeed to come up with an escape from the situation momentarily shut down hearing the name of her first husband, her first love, spoken by this ignorant child. When it regained proper function, if one could call it that, a hundred questions blitzed her mind and threatened to spill from her mouth. It didn't matter how undignified she'd look.

"I…I had a dream, it was weird, I was walking through this place, like a graveyard." Naruto said, tearing his gaze away from her. Clearly, he was just as uncomfortable talking about this as she was hearing it, though his statement answered the questions swirling about in her head. "I…I saw you, kneeling in front of one of the graves. I really couldn't understand much of what you were saying, but I was able to make out a name, Onnes. You…Semiramis, you were crying."

Naked, exposed, those were the words that summed up how Semiramis felt learning a piece of her checkered past had just been unveiled. Of all the…of all the times for us to begin sharing memories…it had to be now?! Childish as it was, she mentally screamed at how unfair it was he got to see her memories first. She was hoping she'd be the first one to peek at his past so she'd have some leverage of him. That plan was apparently shot to Irkalla and back. She sucked in a breath, attempting to regain some form of motor control. It didn't help much.

"You…you didn't kill him, did you?"

"…What makes you think I didn't?"

As much as she wanted it to be, Naruto wasn't fooled by her response. He could tell she was scared, worse - he was looking at her with a look she knew was pity. Seeing it made her want to reach out and slap him, or beat him, or grab him by the throat and demand to know why he had to enter her life without asking. "Semiramis, if you killed him, you wouldn't have been crying your eyes out." Surprising her, he looked her way with steely calmness lacing his eyes. "When someone…close to me died, his grandson was right beside me, I watched him cry his eyes out, wishing like hell I could do something. I kept asking myself why did it happen? Why did someone so good have to die? I saw you…in the same position as him. Someone…something happened to him, didn't it?"

"Ye…ye…yes," She began quietly as she looked away from her Master. Everything came back to her, those days, those long hours, all spent wishing she was able to have her elderly lover back in her arms, back when she still maintained a shred of innocence before it was so violently torn to shreds. "He…was...he died."

"Did you…"

Feeling her nails digging into the oak wood of the table, Semiramis bit her lip. Originally, she was going to lie her way out of this, but that plan had seemingly been thrown out the window. In that moment, she cursed Naruto for being a guy with a heart, a heart that could apparently even still show her sympathy when she showed she didn't deserve it.

"I killed the man who did it. Poisoned him," She admitted while another roar of thunder sounded seemingly shaking the entire room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto move to the opposite end of the table. At least they were going to have a civilized conversation, for a while anyway. "He forced my first husband to kill himself…so he could have me for himself. For that, I poisoned him. What I did, Naruto, was the first recorded act of poisoning in my world's history. That is why my official title, my 'heroic' title, is the World's First Poisoner."

She was expecting him to recoil in horror or fear, beyond the noticeable widening of his eyes, Naruto did neither of those things. What he did do was hold out his left arm, placing a hand over his Command Seals.

"Are you…I don't know, are you projecting what he did onto me?" He began, looking unsure.

"Wh…what? Where…where the hell would you get such a thought? While you may be an idiot at least you're an honest idiot, one who doesn't attempt to kiss up to me with flattery or shameless praise!" Snapped the Servant, looking offended. Why was that? It was an accurate conclusion anyone would have arrived at, and yet she felt like she'd just been insulted. "Naruto, my reasons for doing what I do go beyond that."

"Then tell me! Quite beating around the bush and just come out and say it!"

"I'm trying to!" She shouted back. "After I killed Ninus, I vowed never again would I be powerless like that! A prize to be taken away or put on display! I refuse!" When she slammed her palms against the table, her poisonous powers flared up by reflex, searing hand-shaped imprints into the wood. "The only person who ever treated me as a human being, killed, forced to commit suicide because of customs and ancient law, do you know what that feels like? To lose someone precious and be faced with a life of servitude?!"

"Do I know?! You're damn right I do! I know because I tried to stop him! I tried to save my best friend and I failed!"

From beyond the window flashed a bolt of lightning, illuminating Naruto's now fiery eyes. Once more, he was standing strong instead of backing down, arguably one of the handful of men who could be counted on one hand. The human and Servant remained dead-locked in a heated glaring match. In the battle of wills both were evenly matched.

"He was…he was my best friend…my first friend." Choked out the genin, his nails beginning to dig into the desk. "I…I fought as hard as I could to save him…and I failed. So yeah, I've lost someone! I lost the only person who ever understood what it was like going through life alone with no one there to help you through it!"

Something about that speech struck Semiramis. Still keeping her steely mask, she leered at her Master, "Alone? What are you talking about? You couldn't mean-"

"My parents are gone, they abandoned me." He spat, looking at her with eyes that were slowly filling up with tears. Those words were the third and final strike, completely knocking the wind out of Semiramis' lungs and venom out of her eyes and voice. "Old Man Hokage…he…I don't know, they were never there and no one would talk to me about them so I…what else could have happened. Sasuke he…even though he had a family he lost it all, his brother took it from him and he ended up in the same place as I did. A place I know deep down neither of us want to go back to there."

"You…you…you're an orphan?" Semiramis stammered with widen eyes, looking positively shocked at the revelation. Mouth agape, she tried to formulate a response. "B-But, you're…you're happy, too happy! You're energetic and full of passion and…and…and…you…you too?"

Semiramis didn't realize she'd just given up another piece of herself until Naruto's sharp intake reached her ears. Cursing herself, she readied a full up until she saw Naruto's face - rage and sadness had given away to something she hadn't been expecting. Empathy. Her rapid-fire planning halted as she allowed herself to be lost in the twin blue oceans that were her Master's eyes. Equally so, Naruto found himself mesmerized by the golden-colored eyes of his Servant. No longer were they guarded or accusing, but naked and exposed like an ordinary human-beings.

Semiramis was the first to recover. Leaning back into her chair, she attempted to look away from Naruto. "My…my mother was a goddess, she abandoned me on a riverbank, my dove familiars being my only gift from her."

"What? Your mom abandoned you? But she's a goddess, isn't she? Doesn't make you-"

"Naruto," she politely cut him off. She'd been expecting that reaction and had prepared for it. "One thing you need to know about the gods of my world is that they're incredibly fickle, and many make for horrible parents. As far as I'm concerned…my mother and I went our separate ways after I left her womb." Odds are, your mother decided the same.

"But she…gods…I…never mind." She didn't know what he was more disappointed in - the fact that even gods could be horrible parents or the fact he'd found someone just like him. "Your mom, do you…hate her for what she did?"

"…I swing between hatred and simple disdain." Answered the demigoddess. "For a time, I did hate her with all my being, but eventually I settled on simple disdain, that's enough most days." That was neither a half-truth or lie, it was entirely true. She felt no fear or unease at revealing her feelings regarding her mother. As far as she was concerned she owed her nothing, or at least nothing worthwhile. Sure, there was the divine blood in her veins, but that was it. So much time had passed, Semiramis had a hard time even working up the nerve to thank her mother for that. Casting an aside glance at Naruto, she was somewhat surprised to find he'd gone back into deep thought. Now's my chance! Roared her subconscious. "What I was going to pour into you was a testing potion, something I created in my spare time to see how you'd react?"

"Huh? Wait, you were going to use me as a testing dummy?!" Snapped the whisker-faced teenager. "That's sick!"

"I did just tell you how I got my nickname, right?"

"Eh-um, yeah, well, at least couldn't you have waited until morning?"

"…You don't seem too worried about it." She proposed.

Naruto scratched the back of his head in mock annoyance. "You see, poison and me have a bit of a rocky relationship. It…kinda doesn't work on me, most of the time."

"Yes, I've noticed you're a fast healer, very fast." Semiramis drily said, making sure to avoid glaring at his chest or stomach area.

"If you're gonna use me as a testing dummy for your poisons, I…won't argue with that." He began sheepishly, causing her eyes to go widen. "But, I have to be awake, alright?"

"You're…you're…you're willing to submit yourself to being my…" Her right eye twitching, Semiramis stood up and stomped over to Naruto. Dumbfounded, the boy could only stutter as she roughly grabbed the side of his head and turned him from right to left, as if she were searching for some sort of injury of physical affliction. "Are you that arrogant to believe nothing can harm you?"

"Hey, it's not me being arrogant! I'm just saying you use poison, I'm ninja, I might as well start getting used to it! I have someone back home who deals in poisons, normally I can't follow half the stuff she says, but she tells me plenty of ninja use poison to fight so I might as well start learning how to defend myself against it! That's all!" The jinchūriki stubbornly defended.

Semiramis narrowed her eyes down at him. She was both impressed and annoyed at his ability to resist her glares, men twice as old as him usually went running for the hills when she turned her gaze in their direction. "…Very well then, you think you can take it, I'll use you to test out my poisons. Besides, this may turn out to be to both of our benefits. I'm told they are certain parties after you, no doubt at some point they'll attempt to use poison to capture you. Once I'm done with you, who knows, perhaps even it'll take something divine to bring you down." She finished with a dark chuckle.

Nervously, Naruto followed her until confusion once more set in. "Um, Semi-chan, about my dream…is that…um…was that natural?"

In the back of her mind, a sigh of relief escaped her hearing Naruto refer to her by her old pet name. "Yes, it is. You see, you as my Master, our…connection will allow us to see one another's memories, though exactly what will be seen will vary from time." In this case, the pendulum swung in my favor. "Are…you…scared of me seeing your past?"

His body tensing up was all the answer she needed. "Uhhh, a little. I mean…I'd rather tell you that sort of stuff rather than just have you see it. Likewise, I…I feel like I'm peeking at you with dreams like the one I had last night. That giant furball whispering in my ear doesn't exactly help things either."

"What giant furball?"

"Uh? Oh-nothing! J-J-Just this weird talking cat I see in my dreams sometimes, that's all!"

He was lying to her. "Do I have to crack your head open and examine your brain?"

"No! I'm fine! Seriously, my brain's working just fine! Can't you tell?!" Shouted the nervous genin, now leaping out of his seat.

"Naruto, from what I've seen your brain is anything but fine." Quipped the Assyrian woman, rolling her eyes. "But, until your…mentality directly puts either of us in danger, I'll let it slide." In addition to that, she let his quite side remarks slide. All that said, Semiramis knew she had to get one thing out before this conversation continued and threatened to go off the rails again. "Naruto…I'm…sorry about last night." Never would the boy know, he was probably the first person she'd ever apologized to. "You…I guess…in light of what we've…you're…not as bad as I thought you were."

At first, there wasn't an immediate reaction, only Naruto looking at her with semi-hard eyes. Digging his hands into his pockets, he looked to the side. "It's alright, I'm used to people assuming the worst about me. Kinda of come to expect it by now."

Just like his parental abandonment, that statement shocked Semiramis. Slightly opened mouthed, she examined the somewhat short ninja standing before her. What's there to assume? Sure he's annoying, but…the way he spoke…like…Against her better wisdom, her eyes once again fell downward to his stomach area. The urge to question him about the crimson power inside of him returned stronger than ever and nearly broke free of her attempts to restrain it. Stopping it was her Master heading for the door. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Out."

"Against that old pervert's orders?"

"Yep, there's no way I'm staying cooped up in here for who knows how long. Besides, for all I know he's just off meeting with another cheek or something." Naruto stated with evident annoyance. As much as Semiramis hated to say it, a part of her agreed with him. The other part; however, knew the Toad Sage had left them for something serious. Not that she was going to waste time explaining that to Naruto. "I know, I know, I shouldn't go out but-"

"We'll go together." Semiramis responded, walking up to him.

"What? Seriously? Just like that?"

Crossing her arms, she gave him a smirk, not too generous yet somewhat light on malice. "I am your Servant Assassin; we Assassins are beings of shadow and silence. Should something or someone attempt to harm you, I will be there at the ready."

A stunned face quickly morphed into a wide and childish grin. "Thanks, Semi-chan!"

Though the Servant said nothing as her Master raced down the hallways with vigor, Naruto could feel something he hadn't felt from her before - warmth. Indeed, Semiramis had returned to her spirit form with one key difference from all the other times - she was smiling.

Maybe…maybe this boy isn't so bad after all.

I know this wasn't exactly the scene some of you thought was going to play out, but things aren't over yet. Semiramis was saved by luck this time, and that luck continued to her finding out Naruto isn't quite as bad as she thought he was. Her Luck rank is A, which can say a lot about how she's able to handle things.

The next two chapters are so are going to be something of a mini-arc involving the faction trying to take Naruto. Sprinkled throughout the series was the idea of keeping jinchūriki inside the village at all times and I plan on having some fun with that, after all, a walking human weapon leaves its fortified home presents a prime opportunity, don't you think? Then again, most jinchūriki aren't being guarded by a master-class poisoner with a ruthless streak as long as the Nile River.

Next chapter Naruto and Semiramis are hitting the town and the town will be hitting back!