Four Letter Words
Disclaimer- 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' was originally written by the Beatles and I do not have any claim to it. (It's quickly becoming my favorite song.)
Story Thus Far- It becomes easier and easier for Naruto to kill as he taps the power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Iruka makes his own plans as he heals, determined to return to work. Kin takes her genin test which could very well take her life. While various lives are played out and finished, an old man with his dolls knows more than he lets on. There's something about stuffed animals and a child's imagination that no one would have expected...
Chapter Seven: Tune
Someday in the far, far future Kin would be asked why she cared about something that would kill without a thought. Questions would be asked on how she could stand to be around someone so inhuman. When this happens the kunoichi tilts her head to the side and bitch-slaps the questioner into submission. She has no reason; she just can't see her life without the demon vessel to make it better.
At the moment though, the genin hopeful was fighting for her life against former classmates. Gritting her teeth, Kin launched a handful of kunai toward her enemy. Two strong blasts of air knocked them easily aside and caused her to kneel on the ground in agony. Her hands pressed against the side of her head as her ears popped repeatedly but pressure continued to build. It was as if she was diving deep into the ocean where the pressure could squeeze the life from your body.
Kin blinked in shock as the pain left behind a sharp ringing that drowned out all other sounds. A spike in killing intent was her only warning that another had entered the fray between her and Dosu. She rolled out of the way, screaming as large rocks and other shrapnel pounded her back and ripped through her shirt to the pale skin. With bleary eyes she managed to make out Zaku removing his hands from the ground. A crazed smile didn't reach his eyes, it was as if he sold his soul long ago.
The two boys spoke for a moment, but the persistent ringing from Dosu's attack only allowed her to make out distant gargles. I..I can't hear them. My ears…. Dosu's attack must have done more damage then I thought.
Hoping the use the brief respite to her advantage Kin clapped her hands together and began channeling chakra. It came slowly; the bleeding wounds in her back stung and divided her attention.
"Shit!" Zaku yelled as he tossed kunai at the girls head while adding momentum with wind from his arms. Kin quickly spread her fingers, eyes closed, and spread her hands apart reveling glimmering threads like spider web connecting opposite fingers. A flick of her wrist sent the fine threads through the air where they attatched to the warning bell lines she laid earlier. She formed her hands into fists.
Like whips the bell cords retracted and snapped at the kunai, misdirecting them and protecting her for the time being. Kin dropped on one knee to the dirt; the action had taken more out of her than she wanted. She was no puppeteer and chakra strings didn't come easily to her.
"Looks like the little girl could do more than we thought. Too bad this is the end." Dosu murmured as he took aim, intending to blow her head clean off of her shoulders.
To Kin it sounded like he was lecturing her as if she were a baby, nothing but goo's and gaa's. She laughed tiredly. Brown grass crinkled under her feet as she shakily stood, a determined gleam in her eyes. She wasn't going to go down that easily. Her previous attack served it's purpose: supplying her with the bells.
"Oh! Are we in time for the end?" Another genin jumped into the clearing. Kin had never liked the boy, after running and fighting all night she was seriously wishing everyone would hurry and show up. Then they could all die at once, or kill her at once. She was just getting tired of the endless fights with no reprieve.
"I have no idea what you assholes are saying. Dosu-baka took out my hearing a while ago." Kin called to by time while she thought of a plan of action. The boys seemed a little taken aback at that, not having known just what their friend's melody arm could do. "That's right. I can't hear a thing. For a sound shinobi you may think it's a death sentence."
Kin leaned back, executing a one handed flip and sending her bell bearing cords out with her other hand. They wrapped around tree trunks creating an extensive net that would be impossible for her opponents to break through easily. With a practiced motion she tapped one silver bell lightly, charging it with a minute amount of chakra. It glowed, and soon all the bells were ringing.
Hopefully this will keep them busy for a while.
Zaku cursed at the genjutsu he now found himself in. Everything, from the birds to the moss covered tree's looked hazy making walking a chore in and of itself. Though not prone to motion sickness, the illusion did a good job of inciting it. "Damn. At least it's not an offensive genjutsu."
Dosu snorted. "No. But's it's going to give her a few seconds to hide again."
The other genin spoke up. "Wait, a few seconds? I can't move in this thing without getting the urge to puke, what do you suggest?"
Dosu raised his arm, moving back the gray military fabric that covered it. "Get down."
Squash the raccoon napped in the bushes. The others would be here soon, but he was a creature of the night and needed to get in what sleep he could. The sound of the village's early morning bustle was like a lullaby to the animal. He was curled up, but didn't have the trash-filled dreams so loved by his kind.
Instead he saw himself with a strip of human cloth wrapped loosely around his neck. As he ran openly down the city streets a mob of other creatures followed, also wearing the cloth. Everywhere an animal touched fire sprouted as they continued to run, with the crowd growing larger and larger as if more were being born from the fire. Squash could not figure out where the humans had gone.
He snarled awake and thrashed, in an attempt to throw off his 'attackers'. The last time the raccoon had woken from something touching him it had been a group of human children attempting to stuff him in a box. It wasn't his fault he had eaten a little too much mold the night before and was sluggish.
"Squash! Stop!" Cried a high squeaky voice.
The raccoon blinked his brown eyes and turned to his gathered audience. There was a young fox kit, several rabbits and squirrels waiting for his instruction. Squash sniffed and yawned. "My bad. Anyway, you, the fox, it's most important no one see's you. In fact, I thought I said no FOXES! Everyone else can get by but if a single human catches ya, you'll be dead before ya can say Kyuubi."
The fox nodded solemnly and crouched closer to the dirt beneath the meeting bush. Her ears quivered at every sound, be it natural or human. "Yes sir." Squash's fur bristled at her comment. He wasn't the officer type, he wasn't even on the raccoon hierarchy ladder!
"Is this everyone?" He asked the small group.
"Wey ore the for-runners. Ofter this, week, yes, we toke leorning to others." A hare claimed as it cleaned an ear.
"Fine then." Squash turned. "Follow."
Small paws made barely perceptible clicking noises as tiny claws touched drain pipes and rooftops. Squash and the squirrels moved from shadow to shadow along the rain gutters while the rabbits shot around the street. They were very organized and the raccoon couldn't help but admire them. The forest creatures were nothing like their city-bred cousins. Where the squirrels of his home had become docile and fat on the leavings of the humans, the ones keeping up with him still possessed wiry muscles and sharp eyes. He could tell they would be fast learners.
The rabbits were no exception. If possible, they were even more aware than the squirrels. Brown and white bodies zipped around the feet of humans and took shelter beneath stands and wagons. They jumped and twisted in mid-air to avoid touching anyone, but kept low enough to remain out of immediate eyesight. Their long ears differed greatly from the ears of the pet rabbits Squash had seen in cages. These swiveled constantly gathering sound and processing it into information the hares could use.
Squash paused a moment to check for the fox kit. She was no where to be seen. As it should be, she shouldn't even be here.
Ten minutes later Squash leapt from a rain gutter to a small tree limb. The tree overlooked a school, and its bark barred scars from several years of abuse. Hundreds of children had used it as a target and it showed in the many cuts and crevices littering the trunk. "Try to act, bored." Squash suggested. "And spread out. There's nothing more suspicious than a bunch of animals of different species gathered in one spot."
Taking the hint, the squirrels searched out a bunch of nuts and assembled at the other end of the yard yet within distance of the drain pipe incase they should need to escape. The rabbits found various bushes to hide in, and Squash was surprised to see the fox kit emerge from beneath the ninja academy gate, slightly more dirty than she was previously. The fox sniffed the air and shot over to the tree, nothing more than an auburn blur. "I had to take a detour, sir."
Squash nodded and pointed at the door to the school. Several human children were walking out accompanied by a pair of adults. "You made it just in time. I believe this is what they call, Taijutsu practice."
"Taijutsu?"
Squash licked a paw and cleaned his fur while watching the students form rows for their instructors to more easily observe them. "It is the name humans give to traditional hunting. Without the fire."
The small fox wrinkled her nose and peered at the kids. "How will that help us?" She braced one paw against the tree and attempted to stand on her back legs, but lost her balance and fell.
"It won't. Not you anyway. But the squirrels it will help immensely. Tomorrow the older class will use the yard to practice their Ninjutsu. That's what you'll be interested in. Though…" Squash scratched at an ear and made a mental note to find a good sun bathing spot soon. "You should go down that way, and look in the fifth window. It's a younger class that will be studying chakra basics. Don't let them see ya."
The fox kit shook her fur out and scanned the area. Satisfied, she vanished from view.
Rai and his team stared out their slitted masks at the two mutilated bodies in the road. The signs of several villagers walking around the carnage was evident, but not all completely avoided it. Blood poured in such great quantities that small puddles had formed on the dirt road; particularly around the stumps of the unfortunate shinobi's legs. Yuukou slipped on a glove and lifted one large gauntlet claw to her face as she sniffed. The acrid scent of copper came to her nose and she tossed the weapon away in disgust.
"Just about all their weapons were coated in a poison. It's not common, seems metal based from the smell but I could be wrong. My nose is still tingling." She snorted and reached into her ninja pouch for some smelling salts to hopefully chase the horrid scent away.
Ayumu held his hands behind his back and peered at the two corpse torso's. "Both hearts were ripped out. That is unusual. Do you think the attacker lived?"
Rai was ANBU captain for several reasons. He allowed his two remaining subordinates to examine the bodies while he himself searched a spot on the side of the road. The grass was bent indicating someone or something had rested there for a good length of time. A patch of orange. The demon brat.
"It was the Kyuubi."
"Come again?" Ayumu questioned as he let Yuukou finish her work. "I'll admit the kid is a killer, a good one, but everything we have seen so far leads to the fact that he's lucky. And clever. But two fresh shinobi, with poisoned weapons? He should be dead!"
Rai ground his teeth and held up the sliver of frayed cloth. "How else do you explain this? Obviously the demon's power is growing, and we can't do anything. It's already long passed our time limit. The Hokage will be upset."
Yuukou stood quickly, a sick green glow faded from her hands, and she addressed her leader. "He's wounded."
"The demon?"
"I did a quick scan. I'm no medic-nin, but combined with my tracking background I could determine that there are three distinct blood types here. Comparing with the Mist-nin corpse's I can only assume that the third is the Kyuubi's. Consider that all their," she waved toward the bodies. "weapons are coated in poison, it is a safe bet the demon is weak."
Rai shook in anger. "What good is it?! We have to go back. Already have we over stepped our authority."
"But he's injured. He can't have gone far." Ayumu commented. The man wanted vengeance, blood, and violence.
"We would need to report this to the Hokage. If it is killing foreign nin as well, it could cause an international incident."
"I don't think so." Yuukou removed her glove and burned it, along with any traces of poison it may have picked up. "These two were reported as renegades by the Mist. No one will miss them, and Ayumu does have a point. Injured, we should be able to locate and eliminate the Kyuubi vessel within 24 hours."
"The Hokage…"
Ayumu shrugged. "It's up to you, Captain. Personally I don't see why we can't follow with what we have been doing, send one person back and the others go on. I want to finish this mission."
"We cannot let the Scroll fall into enemy hands. It is already in enemy territory."
Rai looked down at his hands. He wanted to get it all over with. He wanted to see the blood of that demon in a child's body flow. Yuukou and Ayumu wanted it as well. He took a breath and watched the sun. How far could the demon brat have gotten in that time? The bodies were cool, but rigor mortise had yet to set in. "Ayumu, you go back."
"What? Why not Yuukou, I want this."
Rai let his intent free to quell any protests. "Yuukou is our best tracker. The mission must be completed ASAP. Do I need to remind you that we already have gone overtime?"
Kin was tired. She had started to accept the fact the genin test would be the death of her when something bright and yellow caught her eye. Curious she turned to find the body of a small boy. Beads of sweat covered his face and he wore a bloodstained blue robe. Is this some sort of illusion? But why? It makes no sense to try and trick me with this.
Tentatively the kunoichi approached the body, and the small tremors became noticeable. "Poor kid." Kin reached out and touched the boys forehead, gasping at the temperature. He had to have a fever well into the hundreds. Kin looked around, fears of her former classmates surfaced and she moved to leave but something pulled her to the blonde boy. Something attracted her to him. "If the others find him, he's as good as dead anyway. I suppose we both are."
Unbidden, memories of her life before the Sound village surfaced. She remembered growing up without siblings. The hard life at the orphanage. The harder life of training, of constantly having to push beyond her limits. Emotions and dreams were buried because only Orochimaru-sama mattered. Only the snake and his dream. Obey only him. Kin spat as fresh anger and resentment for the Snake Sannin bubbled up from her heart.
She carefully lifted the boy, surprised by how light he was, but let the stuffed animal in his arms fall away. Her knowledge of healing didn't extend beyond bandaging cuts but anything was better than leaving the boy alone. Even if it were to be the last hours of her life, she would live them the way she wanted to. Not according to some bastard's selfish desires.
"Shhh. Quiet." Kin wined as her wounds throbbed at the sudden weight, but she carried the boy piggy back into the tree's. He stopped whimpering, and for that the girl was grateful. The kunoichi located a small spring and removed her hair ribbon. Incredibly long hair fell all around her as she cleaned the child's face. His skin was unusually tan for Rice country, and the whisker like marks on his cheeks drew her attention. He reminded her of a chipmunk and she whispered fondly, "You're kinda cute, you know that."
The boy had stopped shivering but he remained unusually warm. If they survived, the long haired girl hoped that he wouldn't have brain damage because of it. He slept lightly, and Kin stroked his hair while waiting for her enemies. The end was near but she wouldn't let them see her fear. It had dried up with the appearance of the sleeping boy, his presence was somehow soothing. Kin Tsuchi wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.
"Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?"
Kin closed her eyes at the muffled sound of Zaku's voice. She had yet to recover totally, and there was that damnable ringing in her ears, but she could make his speech out reasonably well. In total she was surrounded by five ninja, all ready and waiting to kill her. When Kin opened her eyes they were cold and distant.
Naruto didn't notice the person picking him up. When his thought process returned he felt a cold cloth on his forehead, and a pleasant smell of pine and blood filled his nose. Soon his hearing returned stronger than ever and Naruto groaned at the sharp ring of metal on metal. He curled into the fetal position and tried to block his ears before an irritating high pitched whine drove him insane.
"What's this? The little prick is moving!" Naruto blinked and looked into the waning light. Someone, a sound genin hopeful, was standing over him. The demon container growled at boy who oozed arrogance. "Dumbass. Think you can challenge us?" The nin plucked a kunai from his pouch and mimicked the motion of slitting his throat while staring at Naruto. The blonde took the hint.
Naruto rolled away from his attacker and bounced up. All around him were the signs of battle and he could see an exhausted girl getting kicked in the side. Blood leaked from her mouth, multiple cuts could be seen on her arms. Trees had been broken and splintered under a great pressure, dust floated in the air reducing vision capacity, and debris littered the ground making it difficult to walk. A headache pounded in Naruto's mind, causing him to squint and hold his forehead.
"Conscience? Where did Kyuu-chan go?"
The Kyuubi was absent. It had retreated to the very back on Naruto's mind to recover after spending it's energies on reconstructing Naruto's bone marrow. The blonde boy didn't like not hearing the comforting voice of the demon, and he was confused with the sudden change in scene. Waking up on a battle field would be disorienting for anyone.
"Conscience? Can you believe this kid?" Someone laughed.
Naruto sniffed the air. The girl smelled nice like the tree's, her eyes were having difficultly focusing on things. The gray of her fatigues was stained with blood, the majority of it her own. They already won… why are they torturing her? Why don't they kill her? Conscience? Conscience?!
Naruto shook his head in indecision. He caught movement behind him. A humpbacked ninja with a straw cape was opening the scroll! Naruto snarled and clapped his hands together. "You leave that alone, bastard!"
Kin gasped at the carnage being wrought by the small boy she had picked up. Her battle with the genin-to-be had been pitiful. It had taken less than five minutes and all she had been able to do was dodge jutsu and nick Joni. But the boy… he was extremely fast in comparison to his age and amazingly strong, though his style was extremely raw. He barreled into Dosu with his shoulder and knocked the genin into a tree. The girl was positive she heard something crack, and it wasn't the bark.
The blonde then lifted his small foot and brought it crashing down on Joni when the hand-to-hand fighter tried to come in from the side. Naruto clapped his hands together and screamed, suddenly splitting into multiple copies. Not mere bushin, but kage bushin harassed the sound nin giving the boy time to gain the advantage.
Zaku managed the use his kunai with wind technique to impale the boy, but then blood splattered onto Maki who had been coming from behind after dispatching four clones with a spear. Upon contact the dark red droplets sizzled and Maki screamed in terror as the blood burned his skin like an acid, small wisps of smoke rising from the dermis.
Kyuubi had not been able to cleanse the poison from his host's body so he altered the body to adapt to it. Naruto's blood was now a mid level acid that, given time, could eat through metal. Human skin didn't stand a chance.
As the genin screamed and scratched at the burns Naruto rushed forward and used his claws to rip the head from the neck. The human cries were like knives cutting into his ears, only worsening his headache. With the boy silenced Naruto pulled the body around and threw it at the ninja with tunnels for arms.
He then used the replacement technique with a broken tree and punched a genin in the back of the head. It didn't kill the boy, but Naruto's follow up ripping out of the heart did, he was getting quite good at it. Joni attempted to perform a genjutsu to slow down the animalistic boy but Naruto avoided it by closing his eyes and allowing his ears, ridiculously sensitive as they were, to help him navigate. He created another batch of clones that linked arms and collectively henge'd into a heavy rock that successfully squashed the genin.
Only Dosu and Zaku remained. Both watched the boy with wary eyes, and Naruto crouched while following their movements. He stood protectively before the injured girl, a wicked grin slowly spreading on his face. Naruto pulled a blade from his leg. Like a machine he proceeded to pull out and throw the blades at the two remaining boys.
Zaku easily blocked with his wind tunnel but Naruto acted as if he had been expecting that. He ran forward and grabbed the arm, immobilizing it, and bit into the flesh of the boy's unprotected neck. With a jerk he pulled out a chunk of bloody meat and ignored the spurts of blood that came gushing out in time to his dying heartbeat.
While Naruto was absorbed with killing Zaku, Dosu teleported to Kin's side and jerked her upright by the hair. He peered at Naruto with his one eye, in silent awe at the animalistic nature of the boy. He wondered where Kin picked up the kid, but he would have to keep her alive to find out. He'd also have to keep himself alive. Normal attacks didn't slow the brat down. His only choice was to bargain.
"Come any closer and she's dead." Dosu warned. The sound ninja wasn't sure why Naruto seemed to care for Kin, he was certain they hadn't met before, but she was a weakness. Leverage he could exploit. He had learned long ago that friends and emotions were a hindrance.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, shifting their focus from haystack to pine. Did it matter if she died? He took a breath and watched Kin's hand twitch. Her eye lids fluttered as she struggled to remain awake and conscious. Of course it matters! She didn't do anything, they're the bad ones!Naruto prepared to move, when he noticed the almost imperceptible twitch of her lips.
Dosu's grip on Kin's hair loosened as he dropped to his knees. Red bubbles spilled from his throat. A shuriken covered with Naruto's blood had embedded itself in the boys neck. Kin smiled in satisfaction as she passed out.
Naruto looked around and wondered what to do.
Shidou groaned as he set the ice filled towel on the back of his head. He didn't have any mirrors in the cabin, but he was willing to bet there was a large black bruise where the ninja had hit him. Every time the bruise was brushed against it sent slivers of pain to cut into his skull. Sleeping had become especially difficult since he couldn't rest his head on anything. The woodsman nudged a piece of broken pottery with his toe and sighed. He still hadn't managed to find all the shards from the plates and vase.
He stood slowly and set the towel on the counter while picking up the broom. With slow methodical steps he swept the floor, praying that it would be the last time as he never liked house cleaning. Without the cold to deaden the nerves around the injury Shidou felt like each motion jarred his brain. It was painful, and annoying. Gods. I'm not old. Why is this so debilitating?
He swept the shards of clay out the door and into the dirt. Shidou stood in the doorway and leaned his side against the doorframe, enjoying the warmth of the setting sun on his face. His body still ached from the fight, and there were several cuts marring his face, but it didn't really matter. Not at that moment. The woodsman looked around his 'yard' and paused as an old fox slunk from the surrounding shrubbery.
She walked with the air of royalty and Shidou felt the hair on his arms stand up in response to her approach. While not the most feared human, as deep in the forest as they were animals generally avoided them. They were unknown variables. A human could simply be a lost camper or a dangerous trapper. Where their scent remained there was a good chance a snare did as well. Simply put, for an animal to come walking into his domain like it owned the place was not something that should happen.
He examined the vixen, curious if she was injured, and briefly noticed that all other wildlife sounds had ceased.
She examined him in return, her brown eyes lingering on the bandaged wound of his hip before moving up to his gray eyes. The vixen stared into them for a long time, and Shidou felt his lips quirk as he returned the favor. For many minutes they stood still, fox and human, as if waiting for some sign to attack.
The fox blinked.
"Ah ha! I win." Shidou exclaimed with a laugh. He had always been good at staring contests. Granted it was with an animal, but it had been entertaining.
She yawned and flicked her reddish ear. Shidou was turning to go inside when he heard a rough voice that resembled that of smoker on their death bed. "I hadn't… realized… we were competing."
Hinata leaned against the outer wall of her family estate, facing the street, and let the dying rays of the sun warm her face. It was bright and yellow, a symbol of hope and light, just like Naruto was. Naruto. Naruto Uzamaki. Thinking about the boy who had been her crush caused her chest to constrict painfully. Had had been her guiding light, but now he was gone. Probably dead.
"Naruto-kun…" The Hyuuga whispered the name like a charm, and memories of the energetic blonde flooded her mind. He was always so perky and never let other people get him upset. He remained positive and tried his best, refusing to conform to what others wanted him to be. She had wished many times she could learn form him and fight back against the people that got her down.
Hinata shrunk in on herself as her father came to mind. She slid down the wall, and tucked her knee's to her chest. No one bothered a Hyuuga, and her family members could care less about her when she was on the outside. She was a failure. The Hyuuga drop out. The only reason she hadn't been pushed off to housework was because she was the heir, and Hanabi was her back up. Most likely when her sister came of age she would inherit everything and Hinata would become the spare.
The girl shook and ducked her head down, fighting the tears that longed to spill. Naruto was gone. She was alone again. Completely alone. "Oi. Hinata. What are you doing? Shouldn't you be inside?"
Hinata swallowed dryly and glanced up, her mind racing back to the day before when she had been formally introduced to the loud boy as his teammate. Not quite as loud as Naruto. Kiba would never understand.
My name is Inuzuka Kiba! I like my pack, hate cats, and my dream is to be a really strong ninja!
A really strong ninja. Why couldn't he go with something more specific like Hokage? Naruto would have said that, but he was gone with ANBU after him. Surely they would catch him and… Hinata didn't want to think about that. She could not believe in Naruto's death. Naruto was her counterpart. Both shunned by society. Both trying to improve themselves beyond everyone's expectations.
"Oh Hi-na-ta! Earth to Hinata!"
Hinata snapped out of her memories and was surprised to find that she had the urge to snarl at the boy. She settled for a mild glare. "Kiba-kun."
He laughed and scratched the back of his head as Akamaru barked. "Finally. Thought you were high or something."
"It is dangerous for a shinobi to do drugs." Her voice was low, but with his advanced hearing he didn't notice it.
"Yeah well… what are you doing out here?"
Akamaru sat at her side and let out a short whine. Hinata smiled lightly and began stroking the rough fur. Both ninja's laughed when Akamaru sighed and rolled over exposing his belly. Hinata decided she liked the dog better than the master. She turned her pale eyes back to Kiba, hand working on autopilot, and considered her options. Should she tell him that she was prolonging the inevitable? Remising about her true love? No. He had been one of those that made fun of her orange clad crush.
It hit her like lightening. Slowly, a smile formed. For Naruto. From this moment on everything she did was for Naruto. Not for her father. Not for her village. Not even for her, for she was nothing without him. "Kiba-kun, would you like to help me train?"
"Eh? Didn't we do that already with Kurenai-sensei? I've still got bruises from when Shino kicked me into that rock." Kiba rubbed his side and looked down the street, eyeing a cat wearing a ribbon with utter loathing.
"Yes, but. Kurenai-sensei spends most of her time with me building up my chakra reserves for the Byakugan and teaching kunoichi specific techniques."
Akamaru rolled over and sat up, only pausing to scratch his ear, and barked something at Kiba. The boy shrugged. "But why would you need that? We're a recon team." He grinned and puffed up his chest. "Like sensei said, if we do get in trouble Akamaru and I can take of things."
Hinata stood up shakily, her bangs hanging down over her face concealing her pain. Even the dog boy thought she was weak and useless. "If you don't want to help…" She entered the compound leaving Kiba in the street.
Suna was known for two things, sand and heat. The rest of the world would avoid the place, some thinking that the sun had fried the native's brains, but the people of the desert wouldn't leave the dry wasteland. It was part of their souls, each and every sand grain held a piece of them and they loved it. Most of them anyway.
Such were the thoughts of one Kotaro Suzuhara as he blew out a stream of smoke from his pipe, staring out into the seemingly endless desert. He shook, and listened with a grimace as sand fell off of his form and onto the stone building. "Blasted sand. Get's in the gears, ruins the joints." The words came quickly to his lips as he repeated the familiar litany that had developed over the years. As a puppet maker, very different from the users, sand was his worst enemy.
His old clouded eyes glared at the offending grains and he turned, his pipe spinning in circles as he chewed on the end. The sun was near its midday point, and only a fool would remain out in the open when it was. Alone and unprotected from the heat anyone, including the hardened shinobi, could die of sunstroke and dehydration.
The old man flipped up his hood as he entered the shade of his home, a two story building of stone that from a distance blended perfectly with the desert landscape. In reality Sunakagure was the best hidden village of all. It was very difficult to find for those who did not already know where it was. Kotaro laughed as he thought of the thousands of skeletons lost in the desert, people searching for the shelter the ninja village represented but never found. Even if travelers managed to bring plenty of water, sand storms could be just as deadly as dehydration.
"Kotaro-san?"
The old man coughed into his fist, all humor quickly evaporating. "Ah, yes. What is it Kurumi dear?" he spoke with a straight face as he looked the girl over. She was cute, which was why he chose her for apprenticeship. In the past puppet users created their own puppets as a sort of graduation test; however, over the years especially unique and useful puppets were passed down to new ninjas. As a result often a puppet master could perform basic repairs and maintenance but lacked the ability to truly create a new puppet. Hence the profession of puppet maker took hold, and the need to teach others to build them.
The teenage girl tucked one of her curls behind a pierced ear. "I've made the adjustments to the baa-sama design as you've requested. The torso can hold three times the previous volume now." She held out a thin slip of paper with several blueprints and idea's for new puppet models drawn on it.
Kotaro accepted the parchment and slipped a pair of reading glasses from his sleeve. "Interesting…"
The girl stood on her toes in an unconscious gesture of pleasure. She had been working on the designs for a year, and they were an attempt to puzzle out the weakness in an older model that Kankuro-dono would be inheriting soon. Grinning, the man lifted it to the light and clucked his tongue in disapproval as he ripped the sheet. Kurumi rocked back on her heels and bowed her head in submission, all pleasure evaporating at the sign of disapproval. "Kotaro-san?"
It would be nice to get out of this oven for a while… but if I inform Kazekage-sama of the potential weakness, he'll want me to find a way to fix it. That would take so much time! Kotaro let the pieces blow away in the wind. He rested a hand on the sad girls shoulder, inwardly pleased with her analytical ability. No doubt she had created smaller scale versions of the puppet in question to test the theory. She would be one of the best. "Now now, Kurumi dear, don't be upset. You did very well, but we can't let others know about something like this. The good far outweighs the bad, one weak link will go unnoticed by all but the makers. See?"
She nodded jerkily. "I suppose."
"Excellent. Let's go have tea, this heat is killing me."
Naruto was laying on the ground with his elbows in the grass and his head supported by his hands. His feet kicked in the air as he watched the sleeping girl. His conscience claimed that she was physically and spiritually drained, but the blonde didn't know what that meant. Roughly translated the voice said it meant she had multiple injuries and they best thing they could do for her was let her sleep.
Naruto tilted his head and took inventory off her many cuts and bruises. She certainly looked like she went through a war zone, and with the way those others had acted it would make sense. He dragged her over to a more sheltered spot away from the battle zone and waited.
"Naruto, why don't you take a nap? I can keep watch and wake you if something needs to be done." Whispered the voice seductively.
"But I'm not tired." Naruto reasoned. He had been before the fight but at the moment his mind was working round the clock and trying to puzzle out the days events. First he was attacked by those 'demon brothers' and then he found some weird wind based ninja. Don't forget the pretty girl!
"We don't think of girls as pretty! We don't need those kinds of distractions from our goal."
Naruto smiled as the girl in question whispered something and shifted in her sleep. "What's that? What's our goal?" The Uzamaki questioned. He had always wanted to be the Hokage, for if he was in a position of power surely everyone would have to acknowledge him. The voice on the other hand seemed to think there was something greater than Hokage.
Kyuubi smiled within the cage and relaxed as the boy's attraction to the girl faded. The fox would rather have liked to kill her. She would be cumbersome, but it didn't want to alienate the host by doing something that he opposed so much. As long as he did not think about her in 'that' way she might be a useful minion if used correctly. "Power. We need more strength, and perhaps allies? Yes. We need to be stronger. That is our goal."
"That's fairly vague." Naruto grumbled as he reached for the scroll. If his conscience claimed they needed power, then he should be reading the scroll again. It had plenty of techniques that would make them grow.
Kin grumbled and opened her eyes. I'm alive? Her body was screaming in pain telling her that death would have been more merciful. She felt the warmth of a small fire and snapped up, fighting through the pain to reach for her kunai holster… that happened to be missing. Naruto had taken it off earlier and examined the contents searching for implements of femininity. It was no secret most Konoha kunoichi tended to store a tube of lipstick with their knives. Kin stiffened, an action that her back protested. "You!"
Naruto looked up with a grin. "Me!"
"You, what are you doing here?" Kin asked and looked around, her heart racing as her eyes searched each shadow for signs of her village's ninjas. It was unlikely Orochimaru cared that almost this year's entire Genin class had been wiped out, but he might send in some investigation teams out of spite. If the boy who helped her to got killed, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. Then again if Orochimaru did send out someone they might kill her as well, just to keep the numbers even.
"I was reading this…" Naruto went back to the scroll, completely missing the panic and worry in her tone. Kin could barely make out the title to his scroll with all the mud marring it, but the importance of it was unmistakable. "Why are all these shadow based?!"
Kin bit her lip and contemplated her situation. She was alone. She owed the impossibly strong boy her life. With a resigned sigh she tucked her legs under and bowed until her forehead touched the ground. It was difficult and she felt her ribs shift in protest, but she would do things proper. "My name is Kin Tsuchi. Please accept my thanks. Had you not been there, there is no doubt in my mind I would have died today. I am forever in your debt."
Naruto's eyes went wide. He didn't know how to react. The scroll tumbled as his grip went lax and jaw dropped. It rolled out along the ground and Kin glanced the first few techniques described, shadow clone and dragon.
Inside Kyuubi rolled its great red eyes. "Naruto, hold out your hand."
Naruto did so.
"Now put it on her head, we need to establish who is the master. Good. Tell her you will accept her as a servant."
The boy thought about those words as he pet Kin's hair. It wasn't nearly as soft as Sakura's had been and far below his own, but it was a nice change. "I'm Naruto Uzamaki! Kin-chan. You serve me now, and I want you to be my friend!" Naruto said forcefully, all business.
Kin allowed herself a small smile and sat up while observing the small blonde bundle that now commanded her. "I would love to." She meant it. This boy's mere presence broke down barriers long established and fascinated her. His eyes sparkled with the warmth of a joke only he was privy to. "What's this?" She asked reaching for the bit of scroll that had rolled near her.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as her hand went toward the scroll, and Kin paused. "You're not gonna try to take it, are you?"
"No. I was just curious. Only wanted to look at it." She backed away from the paper despite her wish to read it. Most of the skills would be beyond her level but the chance to get a look at valuable jutsu was sorely tempting. Still, Naruto was her master. If didn't want her to do something she would not.
Naruto broke out into a large grin and crawled over to the girl and the scroll. "Well that's okay. You can look all you want. Iruka-sensei just said I couldn't let anyone take it. See, I already learned this one. Shadow clones were ton's easier than the regular kind. Next is the Kage Ryu, shadow dragon but it says I need a tattoo before I can use it."
Kin sat down next to the boy as her eyes scanned the writing hungrily. "What's the problem then? You can get one of those in any city."
Naruto blushed and looked down. He had never liked hospitals, for various reasons. "I don't like needles."
The dark haired girl bit her bottom lip to prevent laughter, and couldn't understand the sudden urge she had to ruffle his hair. She would have, but it wouldn't be proper despite his childish appearance. "Then you'll just have to move on to the next one."
The demon vessel leaned back, into Kin, and grumbled, "That's just shadow shuriken. Kinda pointless if you ask me." He yawned. "I mean if I can make clones of myself, then they can throw their weapons and I don't need to make specific copies of the shuriken."
Kin glanced up through the thin tree cover and noticed the sun was nearly gone. She may have slept most of the day away but Naruto hadn't, at least she didn't think so. After the fight he should have been exhausted. "Why don't you get some sleep and think about it in the morning?"
Naruto scowled at her. Then he started talking to himself while rolling up the scroll. The act send alarm bells ringing in her head but she quickly squashed them. It was a known fact that the stronger shinobi tended to have quirks and she would be damned before she mentioned it. Nothing brought death swifter than angering the unstable and it wasn't like Naruto could hurt her by talking.
"I'm not tired! Sure my body is a little sore but," he waved his arms. "Up here I'm wide awake. What do you mean it's your fault? Well if I can't fall asleep it can't be helped. I'm sorry." Naruto grumbled the last part and pulled his knees up to his chest as a gloomy air took hold of them. He began muttering about a missing 'Kyuu-chan' and cursing haystacks.
Kin sighed. It was never fun hearing only half of the conversation and what she was about to ask was embarrassing. If Naruto was any different than what he was, that being a childish powerhouse, she wouldn't have even given the thought a second of consideration. "Would you, like a lullaby?"
Naruto looked up. "What's a lullaby?"
Certainly not a question the kunoichi was expecting. "It's something that parent's sing to their children to help them fall asleep."
"I'm an orphan. I never had any parents to do that." Naruto could be very blunt, and Kin felt like someone just stabbed her with a dagger. Yet there was something about the revelation that brought her closer to the demon child. She gave a dark smile and chuckled before replying.
"So was I. Seeing as neither of us has had a proper lullaby like 'Hush Little Baby' I think I'll go for something more… relevant." Naruto nodded at something only he could hear and rested his head in Kin's lap as she stroked his hair hesitantly and hummed in an attempt to remember how the tune went. Once she found the pace Kin began singing in a low tone so that only Naruto heard it. The kunoichi knew she picked well at the smile that blossomed on his face as his eyelids dropped.
"Joan was quizzical, studied pataphysical
Science in the home.
Late nights all alone with a test tube
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Maxwell Edison majoring in medicinem
Calls her on the phone.
Can I take you out to the pictures,
Jo-o-o-oan.
But as she's getting ready to go,
A knock comes on the door.
Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head.
Bang, bang Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead.
Back in school again Maxwell plays the fool again.
Teacher get's annoyed,
Wishing to avoid an unpleasant scene.
She tells Max to stay when the class has gone away,
So he waits behind,
Writing fifty times I must not be so
Oh oh oh.
But when she turns her back on the boy,
He creeps up from behind.
Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head.
Do do do do do
Bang, bang Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead.
P.C. thirty-one said We caught a dirty one,
Maxwell stands alone,
Painting testimonial pictures,
Oh oh oh oh.
Rose and Valerie screaming from the gallery,
Say he must go free. Maxwell must go free.
The Judge does not agree and he tells them so,
Oh oh oh.
But as the words are leaving his lips,
A noise comes from behind.
Bang, Bang Maxwell's silver hammer,
Came down upon his head.
Do do do do do.
Bang, Bang Maxwell's silver hammer,
Made sure that he was dead.
Wow wow wow oh!
Do do do do do
Silver hammer Max."
End Chapter.
A/N- Originally I planned to have Kin sing him 'Hush little baby', but then I was going through my mom's vinyl and I found the album Abbey Road. I love this song. It then occurred to me as I was on the couch that I could fall asleep listening to it. Ah ha! I think it's a bit better suited to this story than hush little baby.
I would suggest looking up 'Tsukumogami' on wikipedia. It'll be important latter on.
OMAKE!!
"Yes, but. Kurenai-sensei spends most of her time with me building up my chakra reserves for the Byakugan and teaching kunoichi specific techniques."
Akamaru rolled over and sat up, only pausing to scratch his ear, and barked something at Kiba. The boy shrugged. "But why would you need that? We're a recon team."
Hinata grinned and stood, her eyes blazing with an intense passion. "Because I'm going to be the next Hokage!"
END.