Hey you all…well I can't really make an excuse this time. It's just that I haven't really been motivated to type at all recently. But since Lucario is officially completed I figured I'd type this chapter and start a new story so hopefully I will have that up in a few weeks but I am not promising anything. Well anyway it's time to start the story again and just a heads up but some more questions are going to be answered so keep a look out.
Oh and these past months have not been unproductive! I've been checking and editing some things in previous chapters. I also changed a few things so if you feel like it you can go back and read those. There not changes to the plot just small things that I felt could be better so anyway I'm rambling on with the story!
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Demonic Speech/Jutsu"
'Demonic Thoughts'
Demonic Requiem
Chapter 5: Cerino's Past pt.1
Team 7 plus Tsume and Hana were walking through Konoha at a leisurely pace. It's been a week since the prelims and they had decided they had waited long enough. They were silently heading toward the Delgada compound and were going to see if they could get Cerino to talk to them. They had seen neither hide nor hair of him since the prelims and they were determined to get some answers.
When they reached the gate they paused. Of course Cerino had synced them into the wards during the time before the prelims but had he removed them? Figuring the best way to figure out was by trying Kushina raised her hand and sent a chakra burst into the gate. To their mild surprise the lock clicked and the gate opened.
Walking across the grounds they kept a lookout for any sign of their friend. Upon reaching the door Kushina opted to knock instead of just barging in unannounced. They waited for about a minute before the door was flung open.
But instead of Cerino standing there it was Yugito. But she looked different. Her ears were pointed like Cerino's and she now had purple highlights in her hair. And her eye's while retaining the same color were slitted also. She was carrying a large tub of warm water and her cheek had some blood smeared on it. "Oh thank god you're here Hana!" She said before shoving the tub into Naruto's arms who surprising caught it without spilling anything. Grabbing some towels from the stand beside the door she turned to leave. "Come on there isn't much time."
Catching on the others quickly followed her Hinata taking care to close the door. "What's happened?" Hana asked.
"Kirara went into labor late last night and is about to ready to give birth!" Yugito asked leading them through the halls. Upon hearing that Hana began hurrying also with the others in tow Kiba helping Naruto to balance the tub.
They exited into the garden were they could see three shapes by the tree in the center. When they got closer they saw Kirara lying on her side with Fenrir kneeling by her head offering comfort while Cerino stroked her stomach to comfort her. When they got their Hana immediately took over with the delivery.
Kirara was a beautiful wolf about the same size as Fenrir only with a chiefly brown coat with a multitude of colors mixed in. Red, pink, and blond were the other colors mixed in. The group had seen her before hanging around the gardens preparing to become a mother. Cerino looked surprised at their appearance but wasn't complaining.
The delivery went well seeing as Hana had arrived just in time to help Kirara through the worst of it and when it was all over four adorable pups were drinking their mother's milk and they were starting their new lives. "Oh Fenrir their beautiful!" Kirara said tiredly and she gazed transfixed at her new pups.
"I…I can't believe it…I'm a father!" Fenrir said knelling beside her staring at them like they were the most beautiful things he had ever seen.
Cerino was smiling beside him before his face went blank as he glanced at the group. With a nod towards the main building he moved to lead the way. Fenrir seemed torn between staying and going with his familiar but Cerino placed a hand on his shoulder giving him a gentle smile telling him to stay with his family.
Fenrir couldn't say no and curled up around his mate and watched over his new family. Hana had to nearly be dragged from the new family as she said she wanted to check up on the pups, but Tsume simply said. "Nature has already dealt with that in the form of loving parents and a mothers milk!" She said as Hana opted to go with them.
The entered the building and made their way to the living room. Everyone seated themselves while Cerino opted to stand leaning against the wall opposite from them while Yugito took the armchair nearest to him. It was silent for several minutes, as Cerino seemed to be collecting his thoughts, and Naruto and the others glanced between each other trying to decide how to pose the question they came to ask.
"I'm sorry." Cerino broke the silence. "I know I should have told you about my 'tenant' months ago but you must understand that I've never told any before and I didn't know how to explain it. And to tell the truth…I was afraid about how you'd react."
"Cerino…after all this time and you still didn't trust us?" Hinata said sounding hurt.
"How long did it take Naruto to tell you?" Cerino shot back before flinching realizing what he had just said.
"You knew?" Naruto said surprised before he got angry. "Sarutobi told you!"
"No! I figured it out on my own the glares in the street, the ungodly stamina, and huge amount of chakra. You reminded me so much of myself in these aspects and I eventually put two and two together."
"Even after you figured it out you still didn't trust us Cerino?" Kushina said. "We could've helped you."
"It's like I said I've never had to tell anyone before."
"But surely you had tell someone back in Shadow. Especially after…you know." Kiba said.
"I've never had to. When my…'partner' was sealed in me word spread to quickly before our Kage could stop it. While you grew up with peers who were oblivious I grew up with peers who knew about my burden and treated me like some kind of monster. They shunned me like I was some kind of plague. But through it all I still found friends." Cerino paused and after a second he chuckled. "But even that aside I still somehow acquired a group of fan girls. I always thought it was stupid. If I gained anything through that experience it was knowing how my true friends were and knowing who was just looking for some kind of personal gain."
"But why didn't you tell us." Kushina repeated. "If you knew about the Kyuubi why didn't you tell us about your own burden! Goddamn it Cerino! We could have helped you!"
"Because I've taken it a step further!" Cerino said glaring. "I not only hold a demon a BECAME a demon to defend those I cared about. I didn't know how you would react. I couldn't let my self tell you I was a Jinchuuriki without telling you I was also a Half-Demon, and I didn't know how you would take it." Cerino said before he leaned more heavily against the wall. He seemed to be deflating on the spot. "You guys were some of the best friends I've ever had outside of Shadow and I did not want to risk it."
There was a long pause after that as everyone began to mull everything over in their minds. "How did they react?" Kushina finally asked gaining everyone's attention. "How did your friends back in Shadow react when they learned what you did to protect them?"
"They didn't care." Cerino said with a smile. "If anything it brought us closer. They were just shocked that I would go to such lengths to protect them."
"And I take it you're in the same boat?" Hana asked looking at Yugito new appearance.
"Yes." Yugito said finding the floor very interesting. "Cerino found me in Kumo and he instantly knew what I carried. He was the first friend I've ever had and the first person other than the Kage to ever stand up for me. When he left he offered me asylum in Kuro I was sorely tempted, but I couldn't leave. The Kage had been to kind to me and I couldn't leave him."
"And are you…well are you the same as Cerino." Tsume asked not quite knowing how to phrase it.
"Yes. I…I went through the change just after you guys got back from Wave. I wanted to be able to help during the upcoming troubles and that was the best way of going about it. Ever since then I haven't regretted it."
"Wait does that mean when we saw you when we came here to train that means you…" Hana began.
"Yes. I was weak after the change and Cerino had to take care of me."
"Which one do you guys hold?" Naruto asked. "Seeing as you guys know I hold the Kyuubi."
"I hold the Nibi. She's been the closest thing to a mother I've ever had." Yugito said.
"I hold Ifrit the Ten Tailed. He's been more of a father to me then anything." Cerino said surprising many.
"Yeah Kyuubi's told me about him." Naruto said scratching the back of his head. "Sorry I haven't told you guys it's just that. It's his burden to tell not mine."
"Why'd you do it?" Kushina asked after another minute of silence. "Why did you become a half-demon Cerino?"
"If you'll allow me I'll show you." Cerino said.
"How?" Hinata asked.
"An ability of my bloodline. It allows me to trap people in an unbreakable genjutsu. It's good for torture but it can have other purposes like this."
After they talked about it for a couple minutes they all agreed. "Ok now just relax and don't panic." Cerino said as his bloodline flared to life.
A blinding flash of light overtook them before they appeared to be standing on a small hill in a grassy field allowing them to see for miles in every direction. They were all standing in the middle of a crossroads of a dirt path. Off to the side was an oasis with a large tree beside. In the middle of the oasis was a small island with three tombstones on it. Around them was a never-ending grassland except off in the distance they could just make out the outlines of some mountain range. The sky overhead was overcast with some rays of sun peeking through. "Welcome to my mind." Cerino said beside them. "Sorry I had to bring you here before we could move on to the memory.
"This is your mind?" Naruto asked remembering how he changed his own mind from a sewer into a beautiful forest for Yumi.
"Well as the Yamanaka call it my 'mindscape' an expanse of land that reflect a persons personality. Of course I could change it but I kind of like it here. I sometimes meditate to come here. I find it relaxing." Cerino explained.
"Whose graves are those?" Hinata asked gazing and the tombstones.
"Those are my first teammates. I put them their so that I will never forget them nor the lesson's they taught me."
Another flash of light and they find themselves in a dense forest with five people racing through it. The first one had thick, shoulder length, bright red hair styled into slicked-back spikes. He had sea-green eyes and two purple reverse-teardrop markings under each eye. He also had a slim build. "That's Axel." Cerino said pointing to him.
He then pointed to one of the girls on the team. She had blonde hair sleeked back to about neck length and had two stands styled into some sort of 'antennae' with green eyes. She had an hourglass figure and you could just tell she was going to become even more beautiful when she got older. "That's Larxene."
He next turned to the last girl on the team. She had waist-length platinum blonde hair in a traditional hairstyle. Her eyes were the same shade of green as Larxene's and she had the same build also. "That's Irene." Cerino finished.
"They are my new teammates and are now some of my closest friends. They all come from the same orphanage and are like siblings. As you can see Larxene and Irene look so much a like they sort of adopted each other as sisters. They were some of the few people who were able to see past the horrible rumors and actually got to know me."
Next came a man in his late 30's with black hair and brown eyes. "That's my new sensei. He was very outspoken about me joining his team and he hated me even more when his complaints went unnoticed."
And of course there was Cerino. He looked much younger, but he still had the same eyes and build. Two of the most striking differences were that he was much shorter and he didn't have the scars across his face.
"The mission that we were on was a simple delivery mission for a local business. But apparently some competitive company hired some missing-nin to intercept the documents and kill the carries as a message to our client."
The group entered a clearing and continued across it, but it was then that the views caught sight of the group's pursuers who were gaining fast on the genin team. Suddenly a gruff voice rang out of nowhere although no one seemed to take note of it except Cerino. "Their gaining on you guys pup! Unless you guys do something they will overtake you before you get to the village!"
Then Cerino's much younger voice replied even though his lips never moved. 'I know! …Ifrit you think I could go through the change now to buy them some time to escape do you?'
"That's me and Ifrit discussing over our mental link. I decided to add it in so that you guys would understand better what was going on." The Cerino beside them elaborated.
"That's suicide pup if you undergo the change now you will be killed surely. Unless…if you were to use my chakra to delay them you might be able to undergo the change with some energy left to fight. But the strain it will put on your body might be too much!"
'Don't' tell me the odd's just do it! I am not going to allow them to die like my last team.' The younger Cerino replied.
"…Alright but it will take a few minutes can you hold out until them?"
'Well just have to wait and see eh?' Cerino replied while skidding to a halt prompting his team to do the same.
"Go go get back to the village GO!"
"What are you talking about man we can't just leave you!" Axel shouted angrily slipping into a loose stance.
"Your crazy if you think we're going to do that!" Larxene said as she pulled out a kunai.
"Damn straight." Irene said slipping into a fighting stance.
"I'll be fine just GO! …Please."
The jounin grabbed Axel's shoulder and began to move. "Come on if he want to die then just let him!" He said fiercely.
"Just go I'll be fine!" Cerino repeated.
"You better be or I'll bring back to life just to kill you myself. Got it memorized!" Axel said before they took off.
Cerino gave them a thumbs up and a smile before he turned to face their pursuers. 'How long do you think you'll need?' Cerino asked Ifrit as he slipped into a stance.
"I don't know just remember to use no more than three tails! You need to be conscious for this to work!"
'Joy.' Cerino replied back sarcastically as the enemy ninja's broke though the tree line. From what the spectators could tell there were 12 enemies ranking from genin to jounin.
Once they entered the clearing they caught sight of Cerino and charged straight for him. Cerino remained unmoving as they raced for him. He didn't move a muscle until they were no more than 15 feet away from him. Then out of nowhere and explosion of youkai burst forth from Cerino pushing them back. Cerino began to take on a more primal look as his hair became more ragged and he crouched down like an animal as he grew fangs and claws.
The missing-nin looked confused at this new development and a few of them began to panic at the sheer killer intent leaking off Cerino. "YOU WILL NOT GET PAST ME!!!" The demonically charged Cerino shouted at them daring them to attack.
Shaking off their initial shock the more skilled ninja attacked. Cerino met them. Cerino threw the first punch by slashing at a chunnin with his newly acquired claws. The chunnin was just barely able to dodge receiving four angry slashes across his torso. A jounin went to stab him in the back of the head with a kunai but he was able to dodge gaining a cut under his ear, which healed almost instantly.
This continued for a couple of minutes but they were starting to attack in pairs to keep Cerino on the defensive. Three times Cerino nearly got overwhelmed and had to shove them back with another wave of youkai.
"Shadow Kunai Jutsu!" One of the jounin behind him shouted as he threw a kunai at Cerino. Not having enough time to dodge Cerino was barely able to cover his head before they began to dig into his back, arms, and legs. Once the barrage ended Cerino collapsed to his knees. 'N-no I can't be done…this can't be my limit…I still haven't given them enough time…no…no…no' "I CAN'T BE DONE! NOT YET!!!" Cerino shouted to the heavens as another burst of youkai issued from his body. The kunai still lodged in his body were also shoved out with the blast flying through the air at blinding speeds killing three of the ninjas and injuring two more.
But this burst of youkai stayed unlike the others, which dwindled, leaving Cerino surrounded in a aura of youkai. Slowly patches of blue chakra began to appear in the sea of red, as Cerino seemed to have gone rigid. Slowly the youkai and chakra began to mix until it formed a sickly purplish chakra that began to expand. The ninja seemed to have had enough of watching and charged before whatever was happening finished.
But as they neared their target an explosion of golden chakra burst forth and threw them back more forcefully then the youkai ever did. Once they landed and regaining their balance and saw that the purple aura Cerino had been surrounded by had turned golden and was continued to grow. Trying once again they charged and once again they were pushed back by and even bigger burst of energy. Deciding they couldn't advance they opted to watch.
Then slowly Cerino began to change. His hair began to gain red, blue, and golden highlights, the tips of his ears began to sharpen into points. Then a series of loud 'CRACKS' went through the clearing, as Cerino's bones seemed to be breaking and healing at their own accord. Cerino was baring his teeth as they began to shift and take on a more carnivorous shape. Then as soon as it began it ended leaving a panting Cerino in his place.
One of the chunnin saw his chance and charged at the apparently exhausted Cerino. Cerino glanced up at him through his bangs. But something strange was happening to the chunnin. He seemed to be moving in slow motion and everything seemed to appear in better perception. The chunnin never saw his end coming. In a split second Cerino had shoved his arm through his chest.
Retching it out of the now dead ninja he continued to move with blinding speed as he decapitated a jounin with his claws before they could react. He continued to dispose of his opponents in an equally precise matter until they seemed to have enough and the genin and the few remaining chunnin fled. Of the 12 that entered that clearing only 4 left.
The Cerino in the memory took off into the trees after his team before the memory faded. "I am moving the memory forward to when I caught up with my team. I'm sorry you had to see that." Cerino added seeing Naruto's, Hinata's, and Kiba's green faced. "Ifrit later told me that he took over my body towards the end because I nearly passed out and it was a few seconds before I was fully awake.
The memory faded back in with Cerino walking through the trees. The group began to hear voices up ahead. "You felt that chakra! He could be dead for all we know!" Larxene's voice rang through the forest.
"Good riddance then. Any way we better get moving it's only a matter of time before they pick up our trail again we better get moving." The Sensei's voice spat back.
"No! I'm going back to look for him he wouldn't leave any of us behind!" Axel shouted back furiously at their sensei.
"All you'll find is a corpse and several enemy ninja! So don't waste your life on that filth!"
"You've always hated him just because something was thrust upon him. He has feeling just like us and he's always put up with your shit! Would a real demon really put up with all the crap you've given him!" Irene retorted.
"Don't fathom the ways of a monster. Not that it matters he's dead now."
"You don't know that! That's it I'm going back to look for him who's with me?" Irene said.
"I am!"
"Me too!"
"Fine!" Their sensei shouted. "Go throw your lives away but I am not I'm going back to the village!"
"There's no need!" Cerino said as came through the last of the trees.
"Cerino!" Axel said already grinning before it was replaced by shock. "What happened to you?"
"A fight that's what happened." Cerino replied weakly as he collapsed only to be caught by both Irene and Larxene.
"Hey take it easy you've lost a lot of blood!" Irene said as she, with Larxene's help, lowered him to the ground. "Axel get the First Aid Kit out of my pack!" The red head rushed off only to return to a second later with the kit.
"What happened man you look…different." Axel said kneeling beside Larxene.
"Yeah what's with the highlights." Larxene asked.
Cerino sighed before answering. "I had to fuse my chakra with Ifrits to buy you guys the time to get away."
"You did what!" Irene said looking shocked.
"I fused our chakra's together. It's a process Ifrit and me have been discussing for a while. But it comes at a cost. To do so…it…it cost me my humanity." Irene gasped and Axel and Larxene looked shocked. "I'm sorry but it was the only way. I couldn't let anything happen to you. Not like my last team." Cerino went silent refusing to meet any of their gazes.
"Wow…you did that for us?" Irene asked looking amazed. Cerino only nodded. Next thing he knew he was in a bone-crushing hug courtesy of Irene. Cerino just looked shocked until Irene let him go. "What? You didn't think we'd hate you for something like that did you?"
Cerino gave a weak laugh before smiling. "Of course not."
"You better not have!" Axel said from the side.
"Yeah or we'd have to hurt you!" Larxene teased.
"Wait what happened to the missing-nin?" Axel asked after a few minutes of silence during which Irene was patching up Cerino's wounds to the best of her abilities.
"They ran off after I…took care of a few of them." Cerino answered.
Axel nodded before they sank back into a comfortable silence broken only by a silent hiss or curse from Cerino. "So…if you are no longer human then…what are you exactly?" Larxene asked.
Cerino stayed silent for a few minutes before answering. "I'm no longer human but I am not a demon so I guess…you could call me a half-demon because I guess I'm a mix of both."
"Why don't you just ask Ifrit?" Irene asked as she continued to treat the wounds on his back.
"I've tried but I think the merging messed with our connection or something. I'll meditate later and find out." Cerino said as his head lolling to the side.
"Hey Cerino! Stay with us for a little while longer okay?" Irene said shaking his shoulder gently.
Cerino nodded before he looked at Axel. "When do you think back-ups going to get here?"
"Well we sent out the message when they started chasing us so I guess another hour…two at most."
"Good cause I don't think I'll be able to move when they get here."
"Yeah and I wouldn't recommend it either. You could reopen one of these wounds. One of us will have to carry you." Larxene said helping Irene bandage his torso.
"Like I'm even touching that monster." The Sensei who had been silent up until then growled angrily.
"No ones asking you! I'll carry him!" Axel growled fiercely.
"Fine! Carry the Demon! But I'm not slowing down for a good for nothing…" The Jounin was cut off as a black blur came from the tree line and slammed him against a tree effectively knocking him out.
"That 'demon' your insulting is my son!" The new arrival said as she glared at the now unconscious jounin. Turning to the group she smiling. "Hope I'm not to late."
"Hey mom." Cerino said weakly from the ground.
In an instant Rei Delgada was beside her son. "Hey Cerino how you feeling?" She was a beautiful woman around Kushina's age. She had the same pure white hair as her son cut to about shoulder length, but her eyes were pure silver. She was wearing a cloak in the same style as Cerino's usual one.
"Like a million bucks." Cerino answered sarcastically smiling at his mother.
"Well let's get you out of here so we can get you checked up okay?" She said as she picked him up gingerly before setting him on her back piggyback style.
"Okay." Cerino replied.
"What about him?" Axel said gesturing back to their still unconscious sensei.
"Lets let the retrieval team find him shall we?" Rei answered with a grin.
The group nodded as Larxene replied. "I like your thinking!" The last images of the memory were of the group disappearing in the tree line. Another flash of light and they found themselves back in the living room.
"Wow." Was all Hana said.
"So what happened after that?" Hinata asked from her spot on the couch.
"Well we got back to the village okay. But as a side effect of doing the change under such circumstances I slipped into a month long coma shortly after that. Ifrit was right. The strain that method put on my body was almost too much. After the fight I was running off of pure adrenaline and will power." Cerino replied taking a seat in one of the armchairs finally relaxing. "Feel free to ask any questions you have."
"What happened to your sensei?" Naruto asked.
"He was fired from his job as a jounin sensei and removed as a ninja. He later attempted to go rogue but was caught and executed before he left Shadow. My mother stepped up and took his place as sensei. After that things were great and me and my friends each grew better as time passed."
"What was that chakra that you gave off during the change? It's not youkai it feels totally different." Kushina asked the question that had been bugging her since the prelims.
"That chakra is the result of me merging Ifrits and my chakra. It's a mixed of both human chakra and youkai. So in essence not only did I gain my own core of youkai, but I also gained that third type of chakra that is a mixture of the two. I call it 'Valor' chakra because of the feeling it gives my allies and myself."
"Yeah I was meaning to ask about that." Tsume said as she finally got into the conversation.
"Well even I don't fully understand it, but not only can I mold and wield valor chakra like my regular human chakra but it also subconsciously effects the people around me. People who I trust and are fighting with will get and instant boost and moral and spirit when I use it hence the name 'Valor'. But my enemies will feel a sudden sense of dread and despair. So not only is valor chakra good for practical uses it's also effective as a sort of psychological warfare too."
"What can it do?" Kiba asked clearly interested.
"Well I can mold it just like regular chakra for jutsu's. But one thing I noticed was that it is a lot more potent then chakra thus requiring less to use jutsu's. It took me awhile to get use to it but I eventually got it down and began working on chakra control with it.
But a side effect of it is that it's so potent that if I don't use if for an extended period of time it will begin to rebel against my other chakras and tear my coils. That is what happened during the prelims. I hadn't used it since our mission in wave. That night I stayed up all night on our way there remember. During the night I replaced my self with a shadow clone and snuck off so I could let off some of it to buy myself some time."
"Ah that brings up another question!" Kushina began. "How can you move so fast without getting tunnel vision? Back when you stabbed Zabuza's clone in the neck during his first attack and during the prelims you were moving at such speeds that even I couldn't follow."
At that Cerino laughed. "Nothing escapes you eh Kushina? Well let me tell you that my eyes aren't just for show! That is one of the reasons why I can move so fast. Most people like Gai and Lee have to train their eyes for years to be able to keep up with the intense speed they use. I've never had to. Ever since having Ifrit sealed inside of me I've had these eyes. They have helped me greatly during my life." Cerino answered with a smile.
"But why did your eyes change when Naruto had the Kyuubi sealed in him all he got were the birthmarks on his cheeks?" Tsume asked curiously.
Cerino's smile faded and took on a more somber attitude. "Well the man who sealed Ifrit in me was nowhere near the Fourths skill, and to save me from dying Ifrit had to make some changes to my body to help me survive. My eyes were one of them."
"Cerino…this might be a personal question and you don't have to answer but…why did you have Ifrit sealed inside you? No rumors were ever spread about Ifrit the Ten Tailed attacking Shadow?" Kushina asked gaining the attention of all even Yugito.
Cerino swallowed and seemed to be thinking on it. "No. No you deserve to know. The circumstances could not have been any different but the same person as Naruto sealing brought it upon me. My own father had Ifrit sealed inside me." Silence rained as Cerino seemed to compose himself and collect his thoughts. "While Naruto here had his burden given to him as a sign of trust and love. Mine was thrust upon me for one goal and only one goal. Power.
My father had courted my mother and married her for one reason. Power. They had a son before me but my fathers plan wasn't ready so he simply brainwashed my brother into believing in his dream and to hide it from my mother. But when I was born his plan was ready to be followed through. So on the night I was born he snuck into the nursery and kidnapped me and took me outside the village with our villages seal's master. Now Ifrit normally didn't leave his family and visit this realm no more than once a century so my father had to seize the chance that his arisen.
He had spent years pouring over document of his visits to discover his patterns and plan his move wisely. Now Ifrits visits were completely at random and spontaneous but my father discovered that he always inhabits the same cave during his visits. So on that night he and my older brother, who at the time was 4, kidnapped the seal's master, by threatening his family, and myself.
So they left and went to the cave, which my father had spent years searching for, and they entered. Now at first Ifrit was curious but once my father started talking Ifrit became hostile and would have killed him if he didn't threaten me with a kunai. Now Ifrit most likely could have still killed him before he knew it but he was too kind to risk it. So he let the sealing happen. Know the reason my father kidnapped the seal's master was because he knew the sealing would cost the sealer his life. So he simply had someone else do it. He was hoping to turn me into a weapon but thank whoever was watching over me that that never happened.
But what my father didn't anticipate was my mother feeling worried about me for some unknown reason. So even in her weakened state she placed a seal on me to tell her if I was in any danger. So when my father took me she immediately alerted my grandfather, who was my father's father, and he immediately dispatched as many ninja as could be spared to search for me seeing as I was the only person other than my mother and brother with my bloodline so the council didn't complain.
And even against his orders my mother went with them. They arrived just after the sealing was finished. Now my father didn't anticipate a fight so he was caught off guard. My mother was with the group that found him and was devastated. Using her as a distraction to keep the group talking he and my brother was able to escape. But during the brief struggle my mother was able to grab me before they could escape."
Cerino sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "While part of my fathers plan was spoiled he still managed to escape and I never saw nor heard anything about him ever again until a couple months ago." The group just looked shocked
"What happened?" Hinata asked after she got over it.
"It doesn't matter now." Cerino deflected. Silence rang again as everyone mulled the story over in their minds. "I'm sorry for never telling you, but it's a sore subject for me and I didn't want to risk your friendship nor trust."
"It's okay Cerino." Kushina said leaning over and patting his arm. "We understand."
"Where's Zabuza and Haku?" Naruto asked just realizing they hadn't seen them since they arrived.
"They were able to buy a house and moved out just before the Exams started. They've already stopped by. They are ok with me too so everything's fine. So who's facing who during the final exam?" Cerino asked. "Sarutobi only told me that I was facing Gaara."
"Well I'm facing Temari." Naruto began. "Ino is facing Shino. Shikimaru got seeded to face to winner of my round. Hinata is facing Kankuro. Kiba is facing Choji. And then there's you facing Gaara."
"Cool." Cerino said grinning.
"Seeing as we could all end up fighting each other we have decided to divide this month up into individual training." Kiba said grinning back.
"Alright." Cerino replied.
"Well I think we've kept Cerino long enough! His familiar just became a father so lets not keep him any longer!" Tsume was smiling ear to ear.
"Yeah I gotta check up on them. I'll see you guys at the exams!" Cerino said standing up and stretching.
"Alright. But remember Cerino if you need anything at all you can come to us for help." Kushina said also standing up as everyone else followed suit.
"You got it." Cerino replied grinning.
He saw them off the estate before heading back to the garden to great the newly made parents.
-Council's Chamber 10:47 p.m. Two weeks later -
Kushina…had no idea why she was even here. She and Tsume were sitting in the council chambers listening to the other members, chiefly the civilian council and Danzo, rant on and on about Cerino.
Now the others among the shinobi council members simply asked questions about Cerino. Some were not answered but most were by the Hokage, Tsume, Kushina, and surprisingly to most Hiashi Hyuuga. But the civilian council was going on and on about 'how the Hokage could have let that monster among us' and 'we should kill it now while it doesn't expect a thing'. And Danzo was predictably going on how we should 'gain leverage over him and make him a weapon'.
"Danzo how many times do I have to tell you? We are not making him a mindless puppet! He is a shinobi of the Leaf and we will neither harm nor threaten him!" Sarutobi repeated for the umpteenth time at Danzo's advances.
"You speak of him like he's human. Did you not hear him? He confessed to being a demon!" Danzo retorted.
"He's only half-demon, or are you also deaf along with crippled!" Tsume shot back at Danzo angrily. "He not only saved my sons life in wave, but also the children of half the people here!"
"I will not be insulted like this! What if he were to turn on us! If we don't do something now he could vary well do some serious damage!" Danzo retorted turning a deep shade a red.
"That's bullshit and you know it! If he were going to do something he would of done it a long time ago!" Kushina was getting tired of this. The rest of the shinobi council was silent although they defended him on several occasions. Kushina didn't see why they waited this long. It was a week before the final exam!
"Don't fathom the ways of a demon. Neither you nor I can understand why he hasn't acted. Now what we need to do is to get some type of control over him. Then we send him after our enemies!" The still red Danzo replied but on the inside he was smirking. He was a very good actor. What no one else knew was that he was purposefully dragging the meeting on so that the team of ROOT nin he sent to the compound could kidnap one Yugito Nii to use as a trump card in controlling the 'demon'.
"No! First we need him to restore Sasuke's Sharingan! That should be our first priority!" Haruna Haruno screeched.
"Haruno we've already cleared up that matter. It's a clan matter so you can't do anything about it. So stop humping the Uchiha's leg like some bitch in heat! Oh wait you are one!" Tsume grinned at putting the Haruno down. Haruna turned red and was about to screech again but was cut off.
"SILENCE!" Sarutobi shouted gaining the councils complete attention. "Cerino is one of my ninja meaning that he responds only to me! I will not have any of you threatening him. He has done more for this village than many of you have ever done. He is a valuable asset to the Leaf and I will not allow him to become a puppet of the council! Now this meeting is adjourned and…" The Hokage cut himself off as a black substance began to appear on the floor and continued to grow through the chamber until it stopped just short of the council seats lined up along the circular wall.
-Delgada Estate: 2 minutes prior-
The group of ROOT Nins Danzo had sent had just entered the compound to find it unguarded. The 20 shinobi slipped over the walls soundlessly and made for the main building. The door was unlocked also. They crept silently through the halls until they reached the living room where the group held their 'intervention' not two weeks prior.
Just as they were about to move on to the upstairs everything went dark. Now like when the light goes out, no like pitch dark like the shadows had come alive and swallowed them whole.
"I believe you're in the wrong house." A voice said behind the group, which whirled around only to find nothing. "Over here." The same voice said behind them yet again. Turning again they found their vision restored. And their in the doorway they were just about the enter through they found one VERY pissed off Cerino Delgada who was only in a pair of shorts and a wife beater.
"What do you think we should do with them?" A voice said behind and they found their target Yugito Nii, also dressed in her pajamas, standing there in the doorway blocking their exit except the windows.
"Well this is the proof the Hokage was looking for to incriminate Danzo. He's obviously to smart to have on of them keep the orders on them. They more than likely burned them. So we better keep at least one of them intact. My bet is the one in the weasel mask is their leader." Cerino replied.
Before any of the ROOT Nin could react Cerino's eyes flashed golden and their leader fell unconscious. "Hold no qualms about killing them because these cowards wouldn't show you the same courtesy." Cerino said as he prepared for the slaughter to come.
"Yeah I know now lets get this started!" Yugito said before they both blurred out of sight and all the ROOT Nin ever saw again was blood.
-Council's Chamber present time-
Out of the darkness flashed a golden streak of light and shot straight at Danzo. A spear of golden chakra lodged into the wall right beside his head. "Now tell me why a group of ROOT Nin, a group you were ORDERED to disband years ago, snuck their way inside MY home!" One royally pissed of Cerino Delgada said as the darkness faded revealing a gruesome sight.
He and Yugito were standing amongst what must have been at least 20 corpses. Oddly neither of them had a drop of blood on them. Each corpse bore slashes across their body and several were dismembered of some of their limbs. Most of the civilian council lost their dinner at the sight of the bodies. Danzo looked shocked and the shinobi council looked alarmed.
"YOU DEMON! You see Lord Hokage? He's obviously went out and slaughtered some of our ANBU!" Haruna screeched after wiping the vomit of her face.
"No. They do not have the Leaf symbol on their masks. They are not ours." Hiashi Hyuuga said taking a closer look at them.
"DANZO! What's the meaning of this! Not only did I order you to disband your little group of rebel's but they also planned to attack one of MY shinobi! Such crimes can only be awarded with death!" Sarutobi shouted standing up preparing to deliver the sentence.
"But Lord Hokage 'Cerino' here could have just as easily put those marks their himself and there is no evidence their that links them to me." Danzo said coolly. One thing he learned early on it was how to cover his tracks.
"Uh actually there is some evidence." Cerino said before he began to walk amongst the bodies. "Now where did we put him…AHA here he is!" Cerino said lifting up an unwounded shinobi who bore a weasel mask. "You see unlike some of you believe we are not just mindless killing machines. We decided to keep this little bastard here alive for questioning. Now we could send him to Ibiki but that could take days, weeks even. Or…if Inoichi Yamanaka here doesn't mind he could take a peek inside his mind and get us the answers in seconds." Cerino continued waving the unconscious ROOT Nin like he was nothing more than a rag doll.
"Inoichi do you have a problem with that?" Sarutobi asked as he glared at Danzo.
"No I do not, but he needs to be awake." Inoichi said jumping down, bringing his chair with him, unfazed by the bodies.
"Excuse the mess and just give me a second." Cerino said casually like he was inviting an unexpected guest into his home. He snapped his fingers in front of the ROOT Nins face who immediately jerked to life. Cerino quickly hit a point on the base of his neck with his fingers before holding him in front of Inoichi. "I've paralyzed him so there is not need to worry."
"Thank you Mr. Delgada." Inoichi said before flipping through to hand signs for his clan's jutsu. He then collapsed into the chair and there was nothing left to do but wait. Cerino unceremoniously dropped the ROOT Nin.
Everyone was silent as they waited for Inoichi to finish sifting through the shinobi's mind. While they were waiting Danzo was trying to come up with an escape plan. Sarutobi was glaring at him from across the chamber and he knew one wrong move would tip him off. But he didn't anticipate this! The demon having such backing as for most of the shinobi council to side with him!
If he didn't come up with a plan than he would be dead within the next several minutes. Good thing he always brought a pair of ROOT ninja with them because he would probably have to sacrifice them to make his escape. Yes! He would tell his ROOT Nin to assassinate the Hokage and while everyone was moving to defend the old fool he would make his escape!
Cerino summoned his sword from the seal on his arm preparing to spring to action at a moments notice. This action went unnoticed by the audience as they waited for Inoichi to tell them the truth.
On queue Inoichi blinked and rose from the chair. Swaying for a second getting used to his own body he blinked before glancing at the Hokage. "Cerino speaks the truth. Danzo sent him and the others to capture Yugito in hopes of gaining leverage over Cerino in order to get him to help over throw you." There were many surprised gasps from the civilian council and every shinobi in the room was glaring Danzo.
Danzo decided now was as good a time as any. "ROOT!" Immediately two of the ANBU in the room jumped to his side. "Kill this old fool!" He shouted pointing to the Hokage. As Danzo planned the shinobi council moved to defend the Hokage…but that's as far as his plan got.
As soon as they leaped at the Hokage twin jets of golden light leapt towards them and each were pinned to the wall by a spear of golden chakra on either side of Danzo. While Yugito took care of the ROOT Nin Cerino appeared in front of Danzo, kicked away his crutch, and threw him against the wall his sword at his neck his face twisted into and animalist snarl. "Nice try."
Danzo looked shocked and nearly passed out when the wave of killer intent hit him from every shinobi in the room. "What do you want done with this filth!" Cerino asked as he continued to keep Danzo pinned.
"Down here!" Inoichi shouted having not moved from his spot during the disarray. "Let me go through his mind before we deal with him!"
"Excellent thinking Inoichi!" The Hokage said resuming his seat.
"Yugito!" Cerino said tossing Danzo to her like a sack of potatoes. "You know what to do!"
Yugito caught him deftly and immediately began shocking him ignoring his screams of pain as she fried his nervous system. Once she was done she carried him to Inoichi. "There. Don't worry I just fried his nervous system. His mind still works he just won't be able to move ever again. So I guess you could call him a vegetable." Yugito said with a reassuring smile.
Inoichi nodded as she set him in the chair as Cerino brought another one for Inoichi. A few seconds later Inoichi was once again slumped down as he searched through Danzo's mind. Kushina and Tsume went down to Cerino and Yugito to talk.
"Never a dull moment with you around is there?" Kushina said with a grin.
"Yeah it's a blessing and a curse. No matter what I always turn up where all the action!" Cerino said returning the grin before taking a thoughtful stance. "Now let me guess what this meeting was about…"
"Don't! Please! We've had enough of it and I just want to drop the subject!" Tsume said with a sigh. "It's like listening to a broken record!"
"Alright. And by the way Yugito I see you've been practicing! I didn't know you could do the 'Valor Lance' yet!"
"Yeah well I've been practicing with my valor chakra and I must say you were right. After a while it starts to just come to you!" Yugito replied with a smile.
"So you've taken the shift rather well?" Kushina asked.
"Yes. It took me a while to get used to my own body after I got better, but let me tell you. While Cerino's methods might be a little odd and lets face it sadistic they definitely do work!"
"Hey more pain for you is more fun for me!" Cerino said grinning.
"Hey you remember what it was like when Ifrit put you through the grinder!" At that Cerino shuddered before grinning again.
"So you should be thanking me! Compared to what Ifrit put me through my methods a cake walk!"
Yugito laughed before glancing off to the side to see a familiar ANBU standing in the corner. Cerino followed her gaze and frowned before nudging her in that direction. "Go on. She at least deserves a chance." Yugito looked up him for a second before giving him a brief smile and taking off towards her.
Catching there confused looks Cerino decided to explain. "Yugao Uzuki. Yugito's best friend when she was in ANBU. She hasn't seen her since the prelims and has been afraid how she would react once the truth got out. After I spoke with you guys I told her she should at least give her a chance. She's been putting it off until now."
"You two are close aren't you?" Kushina asked.
"She's like my sister to me. We both hold burdens and the first time I saw her she reminded myself of me before…" Cerino's eyes glazed over and he seemed to space out.
"Before?" Tsume brought him out of his daydream.
"It doesn't matter now." Cerino said deflecting while shaking his head. Glancing over to Yugito he smiled as he saw her face go from worried to happy as she hugged her friend. "It looks like Yugito has found a friend that she can count on." He said with a smile and a nod to her. Yugito and Yugao, with permission from the Hokage, left the council chambers to go hang out.
As they left Kushina thought to herself. 'He's obviously still hiding things from us but at least he trusts us. Maybe after the exams are over he'll tell us more.' (EPIC FORESHADOWING)
"Excuse me I need to go speak to the Hokage quickly." Cerino excused himself before going to speak to the Hokage before returning. "Well it seems my work is done so I think I'm going to head home. As you can obviously those ROOT Nin caught me napping!" Cerino said with a smile.
"Yeah. Goodnight Cerino and see you at the Final Exams!" Kushina replied.
"Goodnight and don't let the bed bugs bite!" Tsume said with a grin.
"Goodnight you two and tell Naruto and Kiba I said 'hi'." Cerino said before leaving.
-End-
Well that's a wrap! Again sorry for the wait but like I said I kinda lost my motivation to type there for a while. So anyway next chapter in the 3 stage of the Chunnin Exams and here's a little hint. There is going to be a MAJOR plot twist and I can't wait to type it! After that no more deception. All the secrets will be out and it will be just straight up action. And again if any of you have any ideas for the plot PLEASE tell me and I'll take all of the into consideration into how I would make them work. And please read and review…that might help me get more motivated to type.
So Until Next Time
Cerino the Ultimate Ninja signing out!