Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy called Kishimoto does. Sigh, I can see why authors bitch about posting that, it's a total downer.
The Eighth Swordsman
Chapter 2
Mei woke up to the glare of sunlight through open windows. "Fucking sunlight" she groaned. "Why must you be such a bitch". She looked around to see she lay in a bed with her left ankle in a cast and suspended above the bed in a plain white hospital room. She spotted a red short sleeved coat with black flames along the bottom hanging over a chair beside the bed and the events of last night came back and hit her like a wrecking ball. She remembered everything, the ambush, her desperate flight, her capture and almost being raped before her savior came to the rescue. 'He must have been the one to bring me here' she thought to her self. She shed a tear for her teammates and said a quick prayer for their souls. She didn't know them that well as this was her first mission with them but still, they were good shinobi and better people and deserved to be mourned.
"So, your finally awake I see". Mei looked around to see who had spoken and found an old man in red and white robes and a large triangular red and white hat, closing door behind him as he entered the room. He sat down in the seat beside her bed with a warm grandfatherly smile on his face as he waited for her questions.
"Not to be rude but who the hell are you and where the hell am I" she asked. Hiruzen chuckled at the way her question was phrased before answering.
"Sorry for not introducing myself, my name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage and you are in Konohagakue no Sato, it's hospital to be specific. You were dropped off here late last night by our mutual friend. Now, may I ask to whom am I am speaking". Mei felt like face palming, she had just potentially offended the legendary Hiruzen Sarutobi, the only man who earned the title "The God of Shinobi" since the Rikudou Sennin himself. A man also known as "The Professor" due to his wisdom, knowledge and profound mastery of the Shinobi Arts. A man who had led his village to victory through two of the three Shinobi World Wars, a man taught by the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages and in turn taught the Densetsu No Sannin. Hell, even in his old age he was still rumored to be the strongest of the Five Kage.
"Mei Terumi, Tokubetsu Jonin of Kirigakure No Sato and I would like to apologise for the informal way I spoke earlier Hokage-sama"she said in chagrin tone. Hiruzen merely chuckled.
"It's no problem at all my dear, in fact it's rather refreshing to have someone willing to speak to me plainly. I've grown weary of formalities in my old age. So feel free to call Hiruzen" he said with that same smile on his face.
"O-Okay Hiruzen-san. Do you know where the man who rescued me is? I never got the chance to find out who he was and thank him for saving me" Mei asked in a slightly anxious tone.
"Oh him, he brought you here and left once he was sure you were going to okay. Though it appears that he left his coat behind. That boy is as forgetful as his mother was" he replied though he muttered the last sentence.
"Do you know what his name was, I need to thank him" Mei asked a little desperately, she needed to know who he was and thank him, maybe by taking him out for dinner, he was handsome after all.
"He foresaw this and said his name didn't matter, all that mattered was that you were safe. He also said all the thanks he needed was be able to see and spend some time in the company of a beauty such as yourself no matter how short the time was. Besides he always said he was a sucker for a damsel in distress. He's just similar to his father in that regard". The Professor answered, again muttering the last sentence.
"Please Hiruzen I need to thank him for saving me. I can't stand the thought of not paying him back for his help and having this over my head. Please, please, please tell who he is" Mei practically begged the old man while blushing at the indirect compliment.
Seeing the determination in her eyes, Hiruzen sighed as thought about the best way to deny her request. He was about to let her down when an idea struck him. It brought a mischievous glint to his eye and replaced his patented warm grandfatherly smile with a vulpine smirk that would have made Naruto proud. Mei grew nervous at his smirk but Hiruzen paid it no mind as he plotted his revenge. 'This'll teach the gaki not to replace my precious Icha Icha with that yaoi nightmare' he thought with a smirk while simultaneously drooling at the thought of the works of The Great Jiraiya and shuddering at the thought of yaoi. And anyway today was the day Naruto was going to graduate from the academy so he no longer needed that idiot mask of his. 'I'll give her a chance to find him and if she hasn't by noon I'll bring her to his graduation'.
"Alright Mei-san I just so happen to know where he'll be this afternoon after lunch so if you can't find him by this afternoon come up to Hokage Tower and we'll go together. Does that sound alright?" he asked, his smile reverting back to its warm grandfatherly state but the mischievous glint in his eyes remained.
"Thank you so much Hiruzen-kun" Mei said gratefully.
"Happy to help Mei-chan, happy to help" Hiruzen replied.
A few minutes later a nurse was called in and declared Mei's ankle healed to enough to put weight on and told she would be able to resume he kunoichi duties in a week and warned not to try anything beforehand. It's always amazing how intimidating a cute little nurse can be with a sweet smile, an even sweeter tone and an Oni mask behind her. Mei nodded hastily in agreement returning the nurse to her normal kind demeanor. Mei took note of the smile and voice though, figuring it might be useful to know later on.
In Kiri
A middle-aged man with blue hair styled in the shape of a shark fin, an eye patch over his right eye and two talisman earings with the Kanji for "To Hear" on them was walking down the street with some fellow Hunter nin when he suddenly stopped and shivered.
"Is something wrong Ao-sempai?" One of his companions asked upon noticing Ao shaking.
"I'm not sure Chojuro but I just got a sense of impending doom" he said.
"How so?" the one now known Chojuro asked.
"I don't know but I get the feeling that Mei-san has just learned something that will cause me a lot of grief in the future".
"Oh, okay then"
Back in Kohoha
After being given some clothes to replace her now ruined dress Mei was discharged from the hospital and set out to begin her search. She was currently walking down a street in Konoha carrying the swordsman's coat over her arm, her wearing a pair of blue jeans that hugged her curves and red t-shirt that struggled to contain her sizable bust, much to all the males in the areas delight and all the females displeasure, feeling envious of Mei's stunning figure. Normally Mei would be pleased with positive reaction she was garnering from the male populous but in light of recent events it only made her uneasy and uncomfortable with the attention she was getting. She shook her head to dispel the feeling of vulnerability and continued on her way. She spotted some kunoichi around her age walking into a small dango restaurant and decided that she should ask them about if they knew anything about him figuring someone as strong as her rescuer appeared to be must be a well known shinobi. And so she made her way over to the table they sat at.
"I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you could help me find someone" she asked them.
"Sure thing Red, pull a chair" the one on the left said She had purple hair done in an upside down ponytail, pupiless brown eyes, a nice tan and breasts that were easily a D-cup, giving her an incredible figure which her provocative choice of attire did little to hide. She was wearing a beige trench coat over a fishnet bodysuit, an orange skirt, shin guards, much like the ones Mei usually wore and sandals. Her companion was equally stunning though her fashion sense was much more subdued. She had long, slightly wavy black hair that reached down to her mid-back with exotic red eyes, pale skin and full C-cup breasts. She was wearing a dress that seemed to be made of bandages with a single red sleeve.
"Anko, be nice" the dark haired one said. "Sorry about her, she tends to be a little bit hyperactive when she's getting dango. Anyway I'm Kurenai Yuuhi and my friend here is…"
"The Sexy and Single Anko Mitarashi at your service" Anko said, interrupting Kurenai with a shit eating grin on her face.
"Anko behave or no more dango" Kurenai scolded her with a glare.
"You're mean Nai-chan" Anko said crossing her arms and looking away with a childish pout on her face. Mei just sweat dropped watching the pair, well mostly Anko. "Anyway who are you looking for, Red" Anko asked while happily munching on a stick of dango she taken from a tray that had been put on the table during the introductions.
"Names Mei Terumi not Red" Mei said with a slight pout on her face. "And I'm looking for the man who saved me last night so I can thank him".
"What happened last night that meant you needed saving?" Kurenai asked, now intrigued by the red head's story. Mei then explained what befell her the night before, from the ambush to the deal she made with the Hokage.
"Well, I can see why you want to thank him for what he did but I don't know anyone in any shinobi who match his description, though it does sound familiar. Sorry about that" Kurenai said with a thoughtful and apologetic expression on her face.
"It's no trouble. Thanks for listening to me anyway" Mei replied sounding grateful yet slightly disappointed.
"Anko-chan do you know anyone who matches that description" Kurenai asked her friend who had been unusually quiet during her tale.
"I have a hunch but I need you to answer a question before I know for sure who he is" Anko answered with an uncharacteristically pensive look on her face. "You said that one of the attacks he used was an crescent moon shaped arc of black, rimmed red chakra from his blade while calling out its name".
"Yeah, so?" Mei asked impatiently, not really seeing the point.
"Can you remember what the name of the attack was?" Anko asked in very serious tone of voice. Kurenai gasped as a look of recognition settled on her face.
"You don't think it's him do you?" Kurenai asked her in the same serious tone of voice.
"I'm pretty sure it is. Now, do remember the name of the attack at all" Anko asked again.
"Yeah he yelled "GETSUGA TENSHO" and launched the attack" Mei said still not seeing the point.
"Yep that proves it. You were saved by a local legend here in Konoha" Anko said.
"Who is he?" Mei asked anxiously.
"No one knows" Anko replied. "Most people call him Zangetsu".
"Slaying Moon?" Mei asked.
"Yeah, he was named after his blade" Kurenai said. "Still I can't believe your going to meet him with the Hokage, you'll be the only other person to know who he besides, Jiraiya of the Sannin and Kakashi Hatake to know who is actually is".
"Hey do you want to come with me to Hokage Tower to meet him" Mei asked them.
"Are you serious?" Anko asked her excitedly.
"Yeah, after all I wouldn't know anything about him if you two hadn't helped me" Mei said smiling at her cheerful disposition.
"Thanks Mei-chan, you're the best" Anko said while hugging her.
"Yeah, thank you so much Mei-chan I've wanted to meet him for some time now" Kurenai said with stars in her eyes.
"Yeah, Nai-chan and Yu-chan are his biggest fans. Nai-chan here because of a seal he made for the kunoichi of Konoha that probably would have helped you last night and Yu-chan because of his sword and sword skills that supposed are on par with the Seven Shinobi Swordsman of your village, Kirigakure" Anko said
"Anko-chan, Yugao and I are not, have never been nor will we ever be fangirls" Kurenai said in a tone that promised slow and painful death if that was ever implied again. "Yugao-chan respects and admires him because of his skill in her favorite field, Kenjutsu. I admire him for what he did to effectively end every kunoichi's worst nightmare" she said in a tone that had traces of awe creeping into it.
"What do you mean?" Mei asked, confused.
"He essentially ended every kunoichi's worst nightmare by creating an anti-rape seal that can be used permanently drawn on the body or applied to body temporarily using ready made seal tags that last for up to six months" Kurenai explained in a voice full of respect and admiration with stars in her eyes.
"The more I hear about him, the more amazing he seems" Mei said, in awe of the legend known as Zangetsu.
"Yeah, I know. Hey, can we bring Yu-chan as well Mei-chan?" Anko asked excitedly.
"Sure, I don't see why not" Mei said smiling.
They quickly paid for their meals and left the restaurant for the Anbu HQ where Yugao worked. They caught up with her as she was walking out of the building. Yugao had pale skin, long purple hair, brown eyes and nice C-cup breasts. She was wearing Anbu issue black pants with a green t-shirt and had a katana sheathed over her right shoulder.
"Hey Anko-chan, Kurenai-chan who's your friend" Yugao asked upon seeing the beautiful redhead.
"Mei Terumi" Mei said with a warm smile.
"Yugao Uzuki" Yugao said returning the smile.
"Yu-chan you won't believe what who we're going to see thanks to Mei-chan" Anko said in an excited tone.
"Who Anko-chan" Yugao asked with a patient smile.
"Zangetsu" Anko answered her with a shit eating grin on her face.
"Where?" Yugao said with hearts in her eyes as she started looking frantically in every direction.
"Told you she was his biggest fan" Anko said with smirk while Mei just sweat dropped at the purple haired Anbu's behaviour. Once Yugao had calmed down they had explained situation from the ambush to the Sandaime's deal with Mei. Since it was close to noon they decided to head to Hokage Tower.
AN: Well, that's chapter over and done with. I've decided to change the story to a small harem instead of a single pairing. Now it occurred to me that I never specified the Naruto and Mei's ages so here it is. The Rookie Nine are all 14 years old with the exception of Naruto who is 15 along with Team Gai and Yoruichi. Mei is 17, Kurenai, Yugao and Anko are 25. Now I will be using some of the Zanpakuto's from Bleach instead of the swords from Naruto along with one or two of my own creation as well because lets face it some of those Zanpakutos are pure badassery. Zabuza and Kisame are definitely going to be members of Naruto's Seven Shinobi Swordsmen because Zabuza was always one of my favorite Naruto villains and Kisame is a legend. Plus their swords are awesome as hell. I might put some Bleach characters in the harem and swordsmen as well. Feel free to send me a PM with suggestions for the harem and swordsmen.
Definite members of the Harem are as follows:
Mei
Yoruichi
Fem Kyuubi
Possible members include:
Fem Zangetsu
Rangiku Matsumoto
Orihime
Konan
Samui
However suggestions of Hinata, Ino or Sakura will ignored. I won't pair Hinata him with because she's too timid. It is a pairing I tolerate at best. Ino will be ignored because I never liked her as she seemed to be a shallow bitch most of the time although she has copped on a bit. This is pairing I will tolerate as well. I will not put him with Sakura because she was bitch to Naruto until after the Chunin exams and she still sucked major balls until Shippuden. In Shipudden she's a lot better but that does not make up for the fact that for around 200 episodes she 49% forehead, 49% fail and 2% pink.