Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Aliens, never will.
AN: Sorry this one took so long folks, seems like every time I sat down to work on it I would have another story jump into my head or got distracted by the folk around me. I'll try and stick to my schedual closer, though with the holidays that may be a bit more strained. Though I will say I have a road trip coming up here for Thanksgiving, so that will afford me some time to write, if I don't get carsick that is :P
I'm probably going to try and update my Goddess fic next, been iching to try another chapter of that one ^_^ Anyway, here's light, hope it's decent :P
Light's Last Gasp
Chapter 4: Growth
"It's no good! NO GOOD!"
"Bu-"
"NO BUTS!" The resounding crack of knuckles on bone echoed through the forest clearing.
Naruto staggered back cradling his left arm, the indentions of the knuckles already darkening the flesh to a sickening green, but even as he watched it seemed to start to fade.
Anko blew gently on her hand, sending him a mocking grin, "You're far to slow brat, I thought you could lead ANBU on a merry chase, but all I'm seeing from you is a pathetic academy brat. Step up, or I'm going home."
The teen scowled at the purple haired joinin, "Then what do you want me to do! You're just beating the shit out of me! Train me to get faster before you complain!"
That gave Anko pause, he kinda had a point, "Why don't you just do what you do with ANBU!"
"I wasn't fighting them, I was running!"
She growled as she advanced on the boy, "Then USE IT!"
"HOW!"
Her hands flew up in annoyance, "Make me chase you! Try and get me somewhere where I can't move! Trick me into trashing a store and get me in trouble! Were ninja! You don't have to play fair!"
"B-"
"DON'T!"
"Bu-"
"What did I say!"
"No Buts…"
"So you do have a brain in there…" Her smile widened at his scowl. "Now then, I guess we're going to have to work on your body a bit more before I can really start working you over…"
Naruto felt a cold sweat break out all over his body, this wasn't going to end well…
Three hours later found Naruto seriously wishing that the thing in his chest had just killed him. Currently he was in a deep horse stance, something he hadn't done before. It was basic enough, feet shoulder width apart, knees bent as close as you could get to ninety degrees without falling.
That wasn't the problem, it was the myriad of other…items that Anko had tied to his body or propped on or around him that was making him long for the sweet embrace of death. In each hand, gripped by the tops were heavy jars filled with water, his fingers long numb to the pains of the weight as he struggled to keep them up and outstretched from his body.
Why away? Why not just hold them close and try and rest his weary muscles a bit? Well that was simple enough; under each of his armpits she had tied a set of small hooked blades, so that if he brought his arms down or even closer to himself then he would be in for a nasty bit of pain.
At the top of his head, his knees, and the backs of his hands she had set several cups full of hot tea, something she would idly pull from him to drink as she snacked on her dango in a tree, and if he dared let one of her good cups fall and shatter she had promised that he would be meeting the boss of her summons.
Lastly, as an incentive to keep from falling back she had situated a long, slow burning sick pointed up at his ass, should he fall, it would be a flaming version of a technique she had called 'the thousand years of death'.
At first, he had refused all this.
At first, he ran to Ibiki's home to try and find help.
All that earned him was a set of ten pound weights that now hung from his elbows.
He wanted a hug….
"Alright brat, your done! DON'T DROP THEM!" He froze, his middle fingers had already released the jars, "Keeping that stance take two, slow steps forward, and don't spill a drop! If you can do this then we'll work on your taijutsu. If you fail, it's back to strength training!"
"H-How am I supposed to put them down?" He grunted through grit teeth.
"There is a stump a bit to your right. Like I said, it should be two strides. Not shuffles, not steps, strides. I want each stride to be almost the full width of your current stance. Your lower body is the foundation of the tower. Without a good foundation the tower crumbles."
"WHAT FREAKING TOWER!"
She let out an annoyed sigh as she scrubbed a hand trough her hair, "It's a metaphor brat. If your legs and abdomen are not strong enough then it doesn't matter how good your techniques are, how good your taijutsu is, you will fail. As much as I may hate my sensei he was a genius. I'm teaching you what he taught me."
He hadn't missed the venom in her voice, despite all his pain. "If you hate your sensei so much then why are you teaching me what he taught you?"
One step, slow and agonizing, his limbs having a thousand pinpricks running through them as he got hairline scratches from the blades. "Like I said kid, he was a genius. As much as I hate him, and believe me, I do hate him, he taught me what it really means to be a ninja, just like I'm teaching you."
Another stride, and he was before the stump, though it looked like Anko had overestimated the boy's size. He let out a mild whimper at the fact he was still half a stride away. Unseen by the duo, just off the tree line, two sets of red eyes flashed as soft hissing drove the creatures of the forest away sickle like tails flicking now and again, taking the odd branch with them as they moved ever closer to the blond.
With limbs screaming in pain he took his next step and with a roar of pain and frustration placed the first jug down, the sharp prick of a blade reminding him he can't lower his arm just yet. Another half step and the next jug was down, and it was taking all of his strength not to just drop to the ground right there.
"Hold it! Easy, take deep breaths, I know that right about now everything about you is screaming just to drop and sleep for a week. You're not going to do that."
Panting horribly he turned almost evil eyes to his teacher, "And…why…is that?"
A soft smile graced her lips, one that set his cheeks aflame, "Because your stronger than that." His eyes widened as, before his eyes, she was simply gone, then he felt the weight of the cups vanish even as the blades fell away. "You're going to be good one day gaki, trust me on that.
"H-How do you know?"
"Because I never completed that exercise…"
Three sets of eyes widened that day, two of them shocked at the feeling coursing through them even as the third felt himself filled with pride. Praise was something the teen was unused to but he knew well enough that he was going to try his hardest to feel again and again.
"Ok brat. You're done for the day. Get your crap, get cleaned up, and get home. Well be starting the real work tomorrow, and if you're lucky, missions.
If e had the energy, he would have leapt into the air with a whoop of joy, as it was, he was forced to use his chin to try and crawl back to his small pile of weapons, and the ten pound weights. "Y-You promise…Anko-sensei?"
"Teh, I never make promises, if you work hard then we'll do a mission, but it's all up to you."
Turning his head to the side he gave her a face splitting grin, his face marred by filth, "Then no worries sensei, I'm not going to stop until were doing missions that even you have to work at!"
It started as a dull chuckle, then grew until she laughing long and loud into the fading light of the day. "Oh, kid, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into…"
"That's why I have you…"
The whisper could only just be heard. Drawing her eyes to look down at the boy struggling to get back to his feet she couldn't help but see herself there, clawing her way back up after being driven so far down, "W-What?"
He only grinned, "That's why I have you sensei!"
"Gaki…"
"Oh come on…stop calling me that! I have a good name, use it!"
Another peal of laughter, "Kid you're too much!"
He dropped into a pout, "Well they like my name…"
"Heh, who brat, your little girlfriends? Gaki got a fan-club?"
She was a bit shocked to see him rise to his feet and quickly start to gather his weapons, "N-Never mind sensei, I'll see you tomorrow!"
Before she could so much as open her mouth the boy was gone, a little orange blur off in the distance. "Well…must be one hell of a date…"
"I'm home!"
A thousand times he had done it, made the cry he'd heard the others in the village make.
A thousand times he was met with silence, doing it more for habit, a part of him hoping that one day he may get an answer, that Kami may have surprised him with his mother or father showing up suddenly and just being there.
The definition of insanity is repeating a process over and over, yet expecting a different outcome. But I, dear readers, say that if you stop trying, how will things ever change? How can you be certain that, this one time, won't be different?
For Naruto Uzumaki, this thousand and first time, would prove to be return to sanity, after a fashion.
Twin voices cried out, one slightly monotone, one closer to deep, almost sultry, if it weren't for the cries they were unleashing. Two blurs, one purple, one blue streaked from deeper in the house to tackle the blond to the ground. "Naruto!"
With a rasping gasp the young teen looked down at the two heads of long hair that were currently nuzzling his chest, "H-hey girls, did you have a nice day?"
Two sets of red eyes turned up to him, smiles adorning their faces as a sudden cascade of images came through his mind. Rising early and dashing into the forest to find breakfast, returning to find him gone and the scent of another women in their home. Their subsequent hunt and watching him train himself into the dirt before following him back, and coming from the other side of the house.
He returned the favor, showing them the memories from his point of view, earning him pained groans from the two women, apparently even to 'monsters' Anko's training was above and beyond what they had expected.
The purpose for Murasaki and Sarairo constantly knocking him out had been simple enough to understand once they had gotten 'caught up' as it were, on the memories. Apparently, at least to Murasaki, the collective memories of her race were less important than those she was currently picking up, quick to get to the point where she had been birthed from the egg, dealing with Mizuki, many of his own memories that had been gleaned from his blood, memories that were going to prove vital to the village once he was finally able to relay them to the Hokage.
Once he figured out how to broach the subject that is, he could hardly walk into the man's office and just blurt out that he was sharing memories with monsters and oh, by the way, they got memories of a traitor before he died.
He'd be locked up faster than he could eat ramen.
The memory transfer hadn't just been one way either it seemed, as he noticed the duo clinging to walls and leaping through the trees using chakra, apparently pulled from Mizuki's memories, making rudimentary hand signs when he had tried to practice the water clone that morning, all in all, it was a shocking thing to see at first, still, he hadn't been able to help them with their language problems as of yet, forcing him to try and interpret things based on the memory flashes and emotions that were being relayed through to him.
Not the easiest of things, though they had taken to showing him flashes of his beloved ramen when they were hungry, images of those who had been cruel to him when they were mad, and, oddly enough, images of himself when they were happy. One thing was certain to him, he would have to get a book on teaching others to read and speak soon, if he was going to have any luck whatsoever in helping them out properly. Still, the fact that they were friendly, and thus far unthreatening to him had been a major plus, add to that they had been shockingly affectionate and protective of him, flashing images of a bug he hadn't seen much of in the flashes, it was large, like the other queens, but looked a bit more…spindly…and they had a different coloration, a deep, almost blood red whereas the queens would run the gambit, though were quite often blacks and blues.
He still didn't understand the significance of the reds, but every time they flashed that image it seemed that they would become that much more affectionate, trying to drag him to different areas so that they may cuddle. Though it seemed at those times that Murasaki was always that much more…aggressive. Though he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it, there was something…comforting, about having her close like that.
As he managed to pry himself out from under the duo he was suddenly hit with several quick flashes, and the emotions accompanying them. First was another image of the reds, and an image of his couch, next was the image of ramen, and the picture of a rather large tiger that they had taken down from in the forest. With a chuckle he took the two girls over to the couch and sat them down before dodging their grabs with a laugh before he ran for the kitchen.
Only to have his shoulders drop in defeat at what he was seeing, a bloody, eviscerated tiger tossed almost carelessly in the middle of the kitchen floor. It was clear from the marks on the body that the two now trailing him had already fed on it, those most of the musculature was still intact. With an annoyed sigh he let the image of the tiger being out in the yard, doing his best to relay his annoyance at the situation.
The two had the decency to look a bit sheepish, yet at the same time they didn't seem to understand, sending images of the hives they had known from their memories.
He really needed to get a book to teach these girls…something faster than just the image of a single item and telling them the word, it helped for some things, but not how to properly speak.
With a sigh he grabbed the tiger by its massive paws, if he was going to make use of this thing then he needed to get it skinned and prepped properly, hell, if he was lucky he could sell the pelt to someone in the market and make a nice bit of extra money.
He had managed to pull it about half way out the door when the others came to lend their hands, helping to muscle where he could start his carving when it happened.
A tired hand slipped.
It pressed the pad of the great paw just so, letting a long claw come forth, to then bite his arm deeply.
A hiss of pain and at once Murasaki was at his said, pulling his hand close to her as she sniffed at the wound, a flash of memories from the night before and Sarairo was off, making a mad dash though the house to get the pictured bag of medical supplies.
Murasaki, in the meantime, acted on instinct.
With an almost loving gentleness she let an abnormally long tongue lash out, quickly lapping at the wound.
It proved her undoing
At first Naruto had been terrified at what could happen, after all, his blood could melt solid steel.
At first, he had thought she let out a roar of pain and tear him to shreds.
He never expected the glazed look that overcame her, nor the almost full body flush or shuddering moan.
In an instant his mind was overwhelmed by images of the reds once more, slowly she seemed to just fall away, curling into a ball on the grass coated earth. Before he could really clear his mind once more, to try and ask, or at least understand what was going on he was bombarded once more, this time of images of the hive.
And his root cellar.
At that time Sarairo had returned, almost throwing the bandages in his face before taking Murasaki in her arms and carrying her away, making a bee line for the least used room, thus far, in his home.
When he had first found it in his exploration the previous day he had been surprised to find the door was inside the house, having seen other homes around the village with such places, but they always had outside entrances, he was rather certain that he had such a place as well, but considering how little time he had to really look he was content with the inside door.
Apparently, this dark, dank little place was going to become rather pivotal for what Murasaki had planned. Still, he couldn't help but be worried, and was quick to follow the duo, absently wrapping his arm as he went.
When he reached the rather large, open area that dominated the center of the cellar he froze.
There, seeming to struggle to push, was Murasaki.
From her tail were several large lumps, traveling down the length slowly, Sarairo watching almost nervously form her side as they moved further down her lengthy tail.
Naruto's eyes widened, as the long blade of her tail suddenly split open into three, and from there a much smaller looking egg appeared.
He paled.
His body began to shake uncontrollably.
Murasaki smiled, and the last thing he saw before passing out once more was the mental image of the reds again, followed by a picture of himself smiling.
The gentle light of the dawn was something that was largely lost on the elderly man that had been sitting at his desk most of the night.
The culprit was a simple one, yet one that he knew he could never truly slay.
Paperwork.
Work that, in this instance, is largely because of his surrogate grandchild, Naruto.
He let out an annoyed sigh as he rubbed his balding head with an aching hand. It had all started innocently enough. The boy needed a new place to stay. Now it had come down to ensuring that those that had initially threatened his home were found and dealt with, something that had a good deal of parchment crossing his desk over the last few days, especially with numerous requests for missions to look for missing pets.
It was almost as though Tora had been organizing the other animals.
But that was silly…
As he was about to pull the next scroll from the pile a knock came from his door.
"Enter." Slowly, almost hesitantly, one of the chunin from the missions desk entered.
"Hokage-sama, genin teams seven and nine have reported back, mission failed, there is still no sign of Tora, team ten is still out in the field in their attempt."
The aged leader let out a tired sigh as he shook out his writing hand, attempting to banish the dull ache that had built up over the long night. "I see…has Mitarashi-san reported for any missions yet?"
"No Sir."
A nod, "Keep me apprised, if I know her then she may just train a few more days before they opt in.' He let out a chuckle, 'Then again, knowing Naruto, he'll probably badger her into your office soon."
The chunin couldn't help but laugh as well, he had been one of the few that had always liked the boy, usually watching the numerous teams come in to get missions to clean up after one of Naruto's many pranks.
Hey, say what you will about the kid, he brought in money for the village.
As the man was turning to leave the muffled sounds of a scuffle came from the outside the office before the door was kicked open, revealing the panting form of one Anko Mitarashi, "Hokage-sama! It's Naruto…"
For said boy, he was left with no further options in his mind, he had to go to the Hokage. Murasaki had successfully laid all five eggs, and already they were growing, she and Sarairo had refused to leave them, having curled up around them as though they were true eggs, still, when he had awoken he had found himself in the same position.
An odd drain of chakra trickling from all three of them into the eggs, feeding them and letting them grow much larger than they initially were, more in line with the one he had unsealed from the scroll.
When he had finally managed to rouse the two they had seemed ecstatic, already flashing images of a growing hive, something filled with death…yet at the same time new life. He couldn't really fault them, and tried to give them a gentle smile, but still…
He and Sarairo, she acting under orders and he compelled to help in some way, moved to the tiger and brought several large chunks of it back down to the basement, she tore into the meat with a vengeance, you would think she hadn't eaten in a week. When she had her fill he knew what he had to do.
"Murasaki…would you like to go visit a friend of mine?"
She cocked her head at the blond, "Naruto?"
Concentrating he tried to send a proper series of images, the two of them walking, going to the tower and meeting the old man that lived at the top. Well, that's the gist he was able to convey at least. Her look of confusion turned to a radiant smile, and before he could blink he was bombarded with images, the kaleidoscope of thoughts causing his head to throb painfully, but still, he understood, Sarairo was to stay here and guard, yet watch, while they left, though he also noticed several other images that had come and gone so fast that he couldn't make them out.
Before he really recovered Murasaki had already dragged him up the stairs and was half way out the door when he managed to dig his heels in and stop them, sending her a strong image of Anko looking for him. Pulling her back inside he was quick to write a note and slap it on the door before pulling down one of the drapes and tossing it around her shoulders, making sure to pull it over her head as a makeshift cloak.
He was glad that his sensei had, apparently, decided against dragging him out of bed before dawn today, or maybe it was that she had already looked and couldn't find him…still, he had a bad feeling he'd be seeing her sooner rather than later…
As the two began to get closer and closer to the village proper he felt Murasaki pull closer to him, almost clinging as she keep sharp eyes on those around them, a cascade of his own memories entering his mind, a one of the Hyuuga who would keep him from the park whenever Hinata was there playing, one of the Inuzuka who would sick their dogs on him, one of the old orphanage caretakers that would refuse him food, all memories that had been old and people half forgotten were fresh, glaring wounds to his new family.
That gave him pause, family?
Unbidden the image flashed through his mind into the link, the two almost instantly sending back images of his new home, pictures of hives, and the three of them all burled up on his bed. It seemed like they agreed…and it caused his heart to warm.
So consumed in his thoughts he never really noticed the fact that Murasaki had drifted away a bit, at least until he started getting odd images, mostly of fish and other things.
'Shit! The market!'
"Welcome pretty lady! This is Shiro's Market, you won't find better prices for the finest fish in the village! Come! Have a look at this trout! Fresh from river country just this day, I know what you're thinking, how can it be fresh? Well that's easy! My exclusive contractors employ a number of retired ninja, all proficient in snow jutsu, letting them pack and keep the finest products chilled all the way here! Now then, what can I get for yo-"
"No thank you sir! We're not interested right now!"
The rather portly, balding man gave Naruto a dirty look as he quickly dragged Murasaki away, the girl resisting slightly as sharp eyes darted from stall to stall, quickly trying to take in all the sights, nostrils flaring at every new smell. Suddenly he had a feel that he knew what the old man went through when he had to be lead around when he was little.
"Weapons here! Finest blades in the village!"
"Jewels, gold, silver, you've never seen anything more beautiful! Straight from Snow!"
"Fresh vegetables!"
"Hand crafted to-"
Despite her curiosity, as the crowd grew Murasaki drew closer. As they got louder the images seemed to grow fewer, and those that he did get were all laced with images of her kind being destroyed.
Naruto did his best to sent reassuring feeling back, holding her closer and making sure that he kept some of his happier memories coming. Still, he increased his pace towards the tower, quickly passing the academy and dodging past more stalls.
"HEY You! Brat! Get back here!" If anything, Naruto moved faster, almost dragging Murasaki at this point when a hand caught the back of his jacket. "I'm talking to you, you little shit!"
Turning he was quick to put himself between this man and Murasaki, It took Naruto a moment to understand just who this was, it was the general store owner from across his old apartment building. "What do you want? I haven't been to your shop in weeks."
The man sneered, the thick, graying beard smelling sharply of old, sour sake, "That's the problem! You left a hefty tab at my store, and you're going to pay, in full."
That actually caught him by surprise, "Are you serious? You've never let me get anything on credit before! I don't owe you anything!"
The man's sneer grew into a grin laced with malice, "See, my ledger says otherwise, and with that filed in the clerk's office, I'll have a hefty sum coming my way…though…maybe your friend there could give an ad-"
A flurry of movement.
A piercing cry.
And unearthly hiss.
Naruto could only gape at the scene before him, the glittering jewels of red that filled the air, and the faint weight on his jacket of the man's lingering hand.
Too bad the arm was a good two feet away.
"Shit! Murasaki, what'd you do!" He got the image of the man before him striking him with brooms, bottles, anything he had on hand, and the handful of times he was allowed to buy things from the shop, always badly spoiled or damaged. "Come on! We have to go!"
Without sparing the man a second glance Naruto grabbed the larger woman around the midsection and took off at full speed, shunting chakra to his arms and legs to help him move faster, right now, he had to reach the tower, there just wasn't time for anything else.
Though he did learn that she could laugh.
"Anko-chan, your telling me that he was just gone when you went to look for him this morning?"
"And there was this huge dead tiger half way in his back door, looked like the thing had been torn apart and eaten! The weirdest thing was there was a note from him on the front door, said he was coming to see you!"
"And seeing as he isn-"
A flurry of steps from outside the office broke the duo from their train of thought just before the secretary gave an indignant squawk as Sarutobi found his door kicked open, revealing a panting blond with a purple haired woman tucked under one shoulder, though it was strange that he seemed to be carrying her so easily, seeing as she looked to be well over a head taller, besting Anko by several inches.
"Old man, I gotta talk to y-Eh…H-Hello Anko-sensei…fancy seeing you here…"
"Gaki, you have a lot of explaining to do…" The cracking of knuckles filled the air as she advanced on the blond, only to have the purple haired woman step in the way, a menacing scowl on her face, the fierceness alone making her stop in mid step.
"M-Murasaki, it's alright, it's Anko-sensei!"
The girl glanced over her shoulder for the briefest of seconds before backing up to lean against him, "Ok brat, who's the girl? And why did it look like she was going to try and kill me!"
"Let's just say it has something to do with my recent changes, and until the old man and I can talk alone that's all your getting."
Anko's eyes became hard and filled with a fiery rage, "You want to say that again…"
"ENOUGH!" Three figures jumped, "Naruto, she's your sensei, if this is anything about your new…tenet, then she has a right to know. Now what about this woman?"
The two shared a quick glance, though the girl seemed a bit more…oblivious as to the situation, like she only understood that two people in the room were angry, "Fine, but we need to be alone for this…I…I don't want to cause a panic…"
The Hokage seemed to think for a long moment as he eyed both Naruto and the girl. "Fine…" A snap of his fingers and four puffs of smoke filled the corners of the room, "Squad, position yourselves around the office, no one gets in until I say so. Sweep for bugs and intruders at regular intervals." With a quick salute the four vanished, after a moment t let them get into position he snapped through ten quick hand signs before the room was filled with a dull glow. "Alright Naruto, this had better be good…"
The blond took a deep breath and let it with a huff, this was going to be a hard one to explain.
