Guardian Angel
"Speech"
'Thought'
"Summon/Bijuu/Inner Speech"
'Summon/Bijuu/inner thought'
A/N: Hmm… well might as well start the story hm?This arc shouldn't be long, three chapters at most, mostly because I want to show you current power levels, do a little more character development and stuff like that. No one has yet to guess on the origins or species of Kiki and Echo yet, so no one gets a cyber cookie .
Also while I have you, should I up the rating or keep where its at?
Kiki: Up the rating! That way me and Naruto can *giggles * well you know
Danasca: Kiki you disturb me sometimes… Remind me again why you're a pervert?
Kiki: Because I came from your mind?
Dana: Fair enough, now lets start the festival!
Naruto yawned tiredly as he sat on his perch. Ever since they got there, Goza had worked everyone ragged to build the festival as soon as possible. Everything had been set up just a little before sunset and the very next day, Naruto and his team were once more awoken by Hito's explosion. This time it was to watch people, overlook the shops, watch for thieves, help people out, and so on. Basically, they had been working non-stop from dawn till, well to this point, which was maybe an hour or so after sunset? Bah, didn't matter, Naruto was just bummed he had to work alone.
"Gah, why the hell did this place have to be so big?" muttered the blonde as he leapt on top of a small banner. True enough, the entire festival could be comparable to the size of a small town. Filled to the brim with shops, attractions, rides, games and competitions and at the center of it all a gigantic circus tent. Truly, the size alone was mind bending and an attraction by itself, but it was the guests and employees that really grabbed the attention.
Since the employees made no move to hide their demonic or non-human like qualities, many people saw it as a chance to dress up in all manner of costumes. It was kind of like one big cosplay convention in that regard, or something Fredrick told him about once, some holiday from the old world called Halloween? "Who knew so many people would enjoy dressing up?" Naruto muttered as he scratched his nose. "Gotta admit though, it's kind of fun," grinned the blonde as he pulled a grinning fox mask on.
It had been Goza's rule that the ninja hide their headbands and wear a costume so as not to panic the customers, something Sasuke had protested against and Sakura just didn't like the idea at all. Something about not being a 'cosplaying hentai' or something like that. Kikioko had gotten angry with her for some reason when she said that.
In the end, both Sasuke and Sakura were forced to wear something because the majority of their team was for the idea. Naruto had gone with a mask styled in the form of a fox along with ears and tail, the fur matching his hair color. With the scythe and the orange armband with the black kanji for 'Guard' on it, Naruto was pretty sure people would behave with him around.
Seeing nothing happening, the blonde ran off to continue his patrol. "Hmm… the big show should start soon," he murmured, looking towards the circus tent. He scratched the back of his head. "Wonder what it'll be like," he muttered before leaping onto a speaker pole. As he did, he nearly died of fright due to the sudden activation of said speakers.
"Ahem!" coughed a voice over the speakers, "Attention all, the big top event will be taking place in the next thirty minutes! Have your money ready and remember, there is no reserved seating! You want a good seat, get over here fast!"
Immediately people rushed to the tent, if the street attractions were any indicator, the big top promised to be one hell of a show. Naruto sighed, more than likely he would have to stay outside and guard the place. However he heard a crackling noise in his earpiece, a radio Kakashi gave them for the job.
"Oi, Goza wants us to get to the big top," Kakashi's voice crackled in his ear.
"Eh? You sure sensei? I mean, wouldn't t make more sense to guard the outside?" Sakura stated through the link.
"Sakura has a point, someone could rob them if we all go inside," Sasuke stated into his mic.
"Ma, it's our job to protect the troupe, not the valuables. Besides, Kiki-chan is already there and Goza-san said he especially needs Naruto," drawled Kakashi.
"Eh? Me? Why does Pointy Ears need me?" Naruto demanded.
"Naruto! Respect the client!" Sakura scolded.
The blonde sighed. "Fine, but it better be worth it, ttebayo," Naruto muttered as he leapt off towards the tent.
In the tent
Kikioko took a deep breath as she waited. This would be her first time doing something like this, and with Naruto too! She was pretty sure he had never done something like this either.
Taking another deep breath, she desperately tried to calm her nerves; she could never remember a time when she was this anxious! 'This outfit doesn't exactly help either' she grimaced looking over the outfit. Currently she was in a secluded area of the Big Top, open only to the troupe and those invited.
"Oi, Kiki-chan!" Goza called, appearing in her room and causing the girl to jump in fright. "Naruto is here, want me to send him or no?"
Kiki whirled around her face red, "Baka Tou-san! Don't scare me like that," Kiki scolded. "Wait, did you say Naruto's here?" she asked in near hysterics. Immediately the girl ran to the full-length mirror desperately checking her appearance and outfit. She quickly turned and started posing for her surrogate father, "Do you think he'll like this? Is my hair ok? What about my make-up?" she demanded.
"The only make-up you wear are those two red dots on the corners of your mouth," he deadpanned.
"That's not the point!" she shouted before crossing her arms and turning her head away, "I… I've never done this before… I figure if I do it with Naruto…" she mumbled, blushing as she did. "I'm, I'm kind of scared Tou-san," she admitted.
Goza smiled gently, "Heh, it's ok to be nervous, I was too you know," he assured her placing a comforting hand on her head. She looked at him with wide eyes, curiosity shining in them. He just laughed, "Truth is, everyone is nervous their first time be it a little, or be it a lot, but," here he grinned widely, "It's easier when done with someone close to you! I'm sure Naruto will be just as nervous but just that you'll both have a wonderful time when you finally get into it,"
With that, the goblin gave her one more pat on the head before leaving, "Oi! Naruto boya! Kiki-chan needs you so get moving!" he called. It didn't take long for Naruto to soon arrive in the back, however his vision was blocked due to the giant fox plushie in his hands.
"Heya Kiki-chan! Look what I found, its huge, dattebayo!" stated the blonde as he set the fox down, his foxy grin on his face and eyes closed. "So what did you need me for-" he was cut off because when he opened his eyes, Naruto froze at the sight before him.
What he saw before him, well, who knew nothing more than leotard could be so stunning? That's what Naruto thought, for Kiki was wearing nothing more than that, an outfit that was like a second skin, accenting and capturing every voluptuous curve. The slimming black piece of clothing perfectly complimented her red hair and lightly tanned skin.
For a while, the blonde just stared at her, fox plushie under one arm and his face frozen in a smiling form. Kiki stared at him, unsure of why he was like that, "Eh, Whiskers-kun, are you ok?" she asked walking towards him.
Seeing her move and hearing her talk, the boy immediately shook himself from his stupor and went ram rod straight, one hand scratching the back of his head while his eyes were closed. "S-Sorry Kiki-chan, didn't really expect to see you in something like that," he laughed nervously.
The Atezuiryo blinked before she smirked deviously at the blonde, "Oh? Well what do you think?" she questioned 'innocently', posing in front of the blonde.
Naruto blushed heavily before quickly turning away lest she see the blood trickling from his nose. Kiki giggled at his reaction, making a victory sign behind her back. 'Another point for me in the game to win Naruto's heart' she thought happily.
Coughing, the blonde turned around again, "So how come you asked me to come here? And is there any reason as to why you're wearing that?" Naruto asked, staring at Kiki's face. 'Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down' he repeated to himself.
Her smile vanished and a blush came over her face as Kiki crossed her arms and turned her head away shyly, "Ah, well, um, how do I put this?" she stuttered. Gulping nervously she finally took a deep breath and faced Naruto with a serious look.
"Naruto, will you be my partner tonight?"
Naruto stared at her, trying to figure out what she meant by that. 'Partner? What does she need a partner for?' he wondered. For a while he stood there with a blank expression, thinking things over. 'Coming alone to a secluded area… She's wearing a single piece outfit, which does look good on her… And wants me to be her partner for tonight…' a couple more seconds passed, then Naruto's face turned tomato red and he desperately grabbed his nose to keep from dying of blood loss. "Gah! NO! Ero-Kiki, why would you ask me to do that? No way, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping the gun and, in doing so, causing unintended harm to Kikioko's heart.
The red-head took a step back as if physically struck. Tears formed in her eyes as she glared at the blonde, hurt and anger shining in them, "I figured you'd want to, but if the idea of performing with me is so repulsive you could have just said no!" she yelled.
That threw Naruto through a loop, "Wait, what do you mean by perform?" he asked stupidly, not realizing just how bad he'd screwed up.
"I mean perform!" Kiki snapped, turning away from him so he wouldn't see her tears, "I-I wa-was scared to perform in front of all those people…" she stuttered, her body shaking from restrained sobs, "I… I thought it'd be better if you were my partner, you know? Easier!" she sniffed and rubbed at her eyes with her arm. "But I was wrong! Whiskers doesn't care about me anymore," she stated, more to her self then anyone else, "Whiskers won't play with me, won't eat with me, won't tell me what's wrong, he doesn't want me, no one does," she sobbed.
Naruto stared at her, realization suddenly going off in his head, 'She's performing in the Big Top event… and she wanted me to perform with her, that's what she meant by partners,' Naruto thought with shame.
"Yet Naru-kun no Hentai thought she meant something else," giggled Kyuubi, "Silly girl should know that Naru-kun doesn't need her when he has me, someone who will never leave," she cooed as Naruto felt the phantom touch of hands caressing his body, As the phantom feeling continued, Naruto's eyes seemed to glaze over, darkening while he became oblivious to everything except the seductive voice and feather touches. "Come on Naru-kun, lets leave this girl to wallow in her sadness while I show you what it means to be mine,"
"Yours…" Naruto whispered, his body unconsciously moving away. However he stopped when he heard something, he had not heard for years.
Snapping out of his stupor, the blonde turned around his eyes wide and filled with guilt. There before him was a sight he had no desire to ever see again.
Kikioko Atezuiryo was crying.
Something Naruto had not seen for years, not since that storming night where everything changed. He moved without thinking then.
Kiki sat on the ground, hugging herself with head bowed, trying desperately to stop crying. 'Stop it! You should be used to this, they all leave sooner or later, but why does it hurt so much when he rejects me?' she thought. She was so deep in her thoughts that she did not notice his presence until his arms had wrapped around her in a tight embrace. Surprised, she looked out of the corner of her eyes to see nothing but blonde hair due to the fact her head was over Naruto's left shoulder.
"Kiki-chan, please stop crying," He whispered, "I overreacted, I didn't mean to make you cry so please," he tightened his hold, "Please stop crying," he pleaded. "Gomen ne, Kiki-chan, I… I'd love to perform with you if it means you'll be happy," Naruto finally stated softly.
Kikioko stopped crying and pulled away from the embrace just far enough that she could look into his blue eyes that shone with regret and shame. For while they stared into each others eyes, Kiki looking for even a speck of deception and Naruto conveying all his regret and sincerity through the simple eye contact.
Finally, Kiki gave a watery smile and grabbed Naruto in a tight embrace, her face buried in his chest. "Arigatou Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed, her muffled voice easily reaching Naruto's ears. The boy simply laughed and hugged her in return.
Unknown to both of them, Goza smiled from the shadows as he gazed upon the heart-warming scene. "Heh, I knew she'd be the one to break through," he murmured.
"She has not done anything yet," said a familiar, but distorted, voice. "Kyuubi still holds sway over Naruto,"
Goza frowned, "And beating him with a shovel will get him to admit he has a problem? If anything that will drive him further into her grasp, not more likely to come searching for help,"
With the sound of swishing wind, Echo materialized next to the green skinned goblin. The man sighed, "That's probably true," muttered the man, reaching into the front pocket of his sweatshirt and withdrawing a black bottle. Twisting the cap off the man took a whiff of the contents before sighing in content, taking a swig he let a small smile grace his features, "But I don't exactly converse with a lot of people anymore," Echo stated carelessly.
Goza looked at him sadly, "That's actually very sad Echo," he stated, "Are you really content with just fading into the background?"
Echo shrugged, "I'm the remnant of a voice long since dead, my existence is nothing more than reverberations of that voice, of that sound, so to call myself something other that would be to say I'm not such a thing," he took another drink, "An echo is what I am, nothing more, nothing less," he finished, eyes half lidded.
Goza sighed, "If that makes you happy then carry on with your lonely existence, but is there any reason you came here other than to check on Naruto?" asked the merchant.
Echo's face grew serious at this, "There's going to be death here soon,"
Goza stopped walking and turned to Echo, alarm in his yellow eyes, seeing this Echo waved his free hand dismissively, "I'm only here to protect and bury, besides I want to see how powerful this group is," he stated and with his piece finished, the blonde man slowly dissolved into grey smoke.
Goza sighed before walking away a smile making its way over his face, "Oh well, nows not the time for that," snapping his fingers, a ringmaster's uniform appeared on Goza's body, complete with top hat.
"Now I have a show to put on!" he exclaimed as with another snap of his clawed hands, the goblin vanished in a poof of smoke.
Inside the Big Top, audience seats
"Wow! This place is packed!" Sakura stated staring in awe from the top seat where she was seated. Like her teammates she too had a mask, but it was a black eye mask with pink bunny ears. She figured she might as well look cute if she had to wear a costume.
"Mm, but remember to keep on guard Sakura-chan, we're here on a job," Kakashi stated. The man didn't really need to change his look. He merely removed his headband and wore an eye patch while a black cloak covered his ninja garb. He still had the facemask on and in addition he had dyed his silver hair black as an extra precaution.
Seeing Sakura's somewhat ashamed look he smiled, "That doesn't mean we can't enjoy the show though," Kakashi happily pointed out. Sakura immediately grew bright and nodded in agreement. Turning to look at their last member Kakashi gave an eye smile, "The same goes for you Sasuke-kun, relax a bit ne?"
"Hn," was the raven-haired boy's response. The boy had decided to wear a simple black hoodie with his regular pants and a raven mask. Currently the hood was up and the Uchiha was watching vigilantly for any threats. At the moment, everyone in the dim light was anxiously awaiting the start of the show. 'I can't let my guard down for a moment' the boy thought as he watched the large area. The ring was forty two feet in diameter so it was somewhat hard to see across the ring to the audience seated on the other side, but Sasuke was from a clan known for their eyes, so his vision was better than most.
The crowd continued to chatter, but -for an instant-, a hush fell over the crowd as the lights dimmed. An excited atmosphere filled the air as the people began whispering in anxious tones.
"Ladies and gentleman!" announced a voice that the three ninja instantly recognized as Goza's, "Monsters, spirits and creatures of every age!" an explosion of smoke appeared in the middle of the of the ring. When it cleared it showed Goza standing on a small stand, garbed in the stereotypical outfit of a ringmaster and looking quite happy in the spotlight that glinted off his pearly teeth "Welcome, to the first Big Top show in our three day festival!" he announced happily. The crowd erupted into applause and Goza grinned. Next to money and his employees, this was the best thing in the world. "Tonight, you will be dazzled, dumbstruck, and perhaps even disturbed by my performers!" Goza announced, much to the crowd's excitement, "My question is, are you ready?"
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause. Goza smirked, "Are you sure? Are you ready to be entertained?" he asked, a gloved hand to his pointy ear. More cheers and claps greeted his question, "Are you ready to be amazed?" he asked. The crowd nearly shattered his eardrums with their response.
"Are you ready to be terrified!" he shouted. No sooner had he finished than the people were screaming their heads off, proclaiming to start the show.
Laughing the goblin began shouting so as to be heard over the crowd, "Then we shall begin! I, Goza, shall be your ringmaster and our first performer comes from places of unknown," he said mysteriously, "He is known to converse with the dead and see the future," he proclaimed, "He is a mystic with powers no mortal can comprehend!"
The crowd was on the edge of their seats, "Please help me welcome the magic man, Tetsol!"
On queue, purple smoke seemed to come together in a small vortex in front of Goza before disappearing in a brilliant flash, leaving behind a figure in gaudy robes of silver and blue.
The figures face could not be seen due to a hood, and the long robe covered his hands and feet. Another thing was that the man was hovering a foot off the ground! This promised to be interesting.
Tetsol spoke no words as he slowly lifted his arms. There was silence as Tetsol remained still as a statue. Slowly, something started to form in front of the robed man's, a small orb of blue light appeared on his right, while an orb of yellow appeared on his left. Lastly, a red orb appeared above his head.
The people stared in awe of the orbs and watched, enraptured as the orbs slowly rose in a triangle pattern a good ten feet into the air. Then the triangle began to spin in a clockwise motion, slowly at first, and then it started to speed up.
Mesmerized the people watched as the balls of energy spun faster and faster, small tails of their respective color being left in their wake like the tail of a comet. Faster and faster the orbs spun until the orbs colors began to mix!
Now greens, oranges and violets could be seen as a circle of rainbow light began to form as the orbs spun faster and faster. With a wave of a hand two more orbs, these colored white and black, appeared in front of Tetsol. With a sweep upwards, the black and white spheres joined the spinning halo of color.
Soon, the entire spectrum of visible colors could be seen in that circle. All manners of hues and tones ranging from, from a shining gold to the blackest obsidian, every color was present. The audience was entranced and made noises of awe and amazement and gasped when two more circles of light separated from the first, now creating three spinning circles of light. Then two more rainbow circles divided from the recently made ones.
There were now seven dazzling circles of rainbow light, but Tetsol did not stop there slowly he began waving his arms and the circles immediately began to come together, creating a sphere of multi-colored light. Tetsol brought his covered hands together, keeping them about half a foot apart.
Slowly the mystic pulled his hands away from each other and the sphere of light slowly became longer and more oval shaped. The people watched in awe as Tetsol manipulated the shape of the oval, slowly forming it into some obviously complex shape. The audience murmured among themselves, excited and curious as to what the mage was creating, but there wonder was put to rest when the figure was finally created.
It was a serpentine creature with four clawed feet and one row of spines going from the back of the neck to the tip of the tail. At the moment, it was a mostly white figure with pulses of color dotting its body. Needless to say, the sight awed everyone; even Sasuke had broken from his vigil to gape at the creation.
However, Tetsol was not yet done. Slowly, Tetsol began to speak, his voice a whisper but it thrummed with such power that all could hear him. He whispered but one word "Vivere (Live)"
The colors in the dragon seemed to pulse then slowly areas of the dragon began to fill in with specific colors. The scales became a wondrous green and the spines a shiny red. The underbelly was painted a pale yellow, as the claws were colored black as ink. Finally the eyes blazed to life with a red glow.
The dragon gave a mighty roar, belching fire and snaking through the air it put on a marvelous display. The people cheered and screamed in appreciation and continued to do so when the dragon exploded into a million shining specks of light with Tetsol nowhere to be found. Instead a boisterously laughing Goza could be seen.
"Hahahaha! That man never ceases to put on a good show!" he exclaimed, "Now for our next act, some of you may want to scream or run in fear but rest assured, nothing shall harm you!" Goza warned his grin becoming scary.
The lights were shut off completely, much to the surprise and even fright of the audience. A single flashlight came on, Illuminating Goza's face in a creepy manor, "The person I am about to introduce comes from a place where terror and screams abound," Goza started in a creepy voice, "Where monsters make their homes and the undead walk!" Sakura felt her heart race increase a bit as she continued to listen, "A place! Where sunlight never touches and the wind chills to the very bone!"
The audience shuddered in anticipation as Goza continued, "From the Land of Horror, I introduce to you the father of fear, the king of creeps!" the lights died completely as someone's mad laughter filled the room.
"Scream my little playthings! For you are now the unwilling toys of me!" cackled a voice filled with what only be called the very essence of fear. There was a flash of lightning that illuminated the ring and revealed a tall and strange creature.
He was extremely tall, easily seven feet tall and so skinny that turned sideways he could easily hide behind a pole. On his head was a green top hat decorated with small skulls and tattered black lace while greasy and untamable black hair tumbled past his shoulders. He wore an open black trench coat that seemed more like a straitjacket with matching pinstripe black pants. For a shirt it was a sking tight muscle shirt that stopped just above his practically non-existent stomach. His shoes were black but the tips curved back somewhat like the shoes you'd find on a jester.
His skin was paler than moonlight and his yellow fingernails were sharpened to a point that reached an inch past the tips of his fingers. Lastly his face was just as pale as the rest of his skin but it was sharp with high cheekbones and angled jaw-line and pointed chin. Black rings were under his onyx eyes that brimmed with madness. "My name is Damian, Damian P. Manson," the man said with an extravagant bow.
"Now who wants to… volunteer?" he asked, a grin cracking his face, showing off his crooked teeth. No one said anything.
"Then how about you my dear?" Damian asked in Sakura's ear. The pinkette jumped in surprise and whirled around to see the tall man grinning at her, crouched down and balancing on his toes on the back of her seat, "Surely a sweet young thing such as you would make delightful screams!" he cackled, his hands reaching for her.
Sakura squealed in fright, quickly hiding behind Sasuke. However Damian had vanished. Confused Sakura looked around, as did the others nearby. 'Where did he?'
"Course," Everyone snapped their heads up to see the tall man sitting on the landing for trapeze artists, his legs dangling over the edge with a noose around his neck. "Perhaps the best way to get some screams is with a little suicide!," he proclaimed pushing himself off the platform.
The people gasped and some screamed in fear as the madman plummeted to the earth cackling all the way. The rope suddenly went taunt, causing Damian's body to bounce several times before it finally stopped and swayed side to side. The people were shocked as they murmured to each other, a few even made to try and see if he was really dead.
"Then again, killing myself is pointless!" Damian announced, head snapping up so everyone could see his manic smile. A good portion jerked back in their seats as if visibly struck. "I mean you could cut my head off and I still wouldn't die," he declared.
Reaching into his trench coat the man withdrew a bloody butcher's knife. With a single swipe, the man decapitated himself, the body falling to the ground with blood spurting from the neck with the head soon following after.
Some women and children screamed in fear at the sight, but were stunned into silence when the body's hand caught the head upside down, the head still inside the decorated top hat. "Like I said, there's no point!" cackled the man as he replaced his head back on his body, the neck still seeping blood. "Now that you're all well and truly," here he giggled, "Disturbed, let's start this show!"
With that declaration the man threw his hat into the air and from it exploded a something very few people had ever seen. For one it was huge! With pipes of all manner of size coming from what appeared to be a piano. The pipes were an eerie bronze while the keys were creepily pristine in condition. "Try not to die of fright," Manson giggled, twisting his head a full one eighty degrees to see the audience. Laughing the man cracked his knuckles and slammed his hands on the keys, flooding the area with sound! He began to play, a strange melody that sent shivers down peoples' spines as a fog slowly filled the air. Slowly the fog took a shape, one of a graveyard with a full moon and behind it was a creepy town of sorts.
As the music picked up in volume, shadows of creatures started to form on the tombstones and markers, singing in eerie and spooky voices. The audience, even the ninjas, felt captivated by the melody and were unable to look away.
"Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?"
"Come with us and you will see,
This our town of Halloween!"
Several ghoulishly grinning jack-o-lanterns then appeared and flew over the crowd before combing back together and spearing themselves on the spiked fence that bordered the graveyard all while singing
"This is Halloween. This is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night"
True to words, the pumpkins screamed like banshees and launched themselves at the audience before exploding. Next ghosts filled the tent and flew through the air, reaching towards the audience with ghastly hands that seemed to steal the warmth from a person's body when they neared. Like the pumpkins before them, they began singing.
"This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It's our town, everybody scream
In this town of Halloween"
The ghosts then seemed to disappear as the scenery changed to that of a house, a bedroom with a steel bunk bed to be exact. Somehow, the underside of the bed seemed to draw in everyone's attention and some yelped in fright when glowing red eyes and razor sharp teeth made themselves present. In a craggily voice it sang.
"I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red"
Once again the scene changed. This time to a staircase colored gray and with shadows everywhere. However something came slithering out from under them followed by billions of spiders that ran into the audience, scurrying over people who were yelping in surprise and fright at the tickling sensation of tiny legs crawling over them. People could barely make out the figure of a large creature with long greasy hair and strange hissing fingers.
"I am the one hiding under yours stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair"
Then it was like the audience traveled up the stares away from the creature only to find a room with four coffins.
"This is Halloween, this is Halloween"
From the coffin burst forth four vampires, their fangs dripping blood and nails sharper than razors.
"Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song"
The vampires flew, painting eyeryone's vision black for a spell. When it cleared it showed a strange figure shaped like some bulbous triangle whose head spun on it's shoulders, revealing both a smiling and overly friendly face and an utterly hopeless and sorrowed face.
"In this town, don't we love it now?
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!"
The scene changed to follow a small black cat that was wondering down an alleyway. It stopped on top of a trashcan next to a wooden door and sewergrate. It stopped to clean itself, uncaring for the verses that disembodied voices sang.
"Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can
Something's waiting no to pounce, and how you'll..."
A terrifying creature with wiry hair and a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth popped out from the trashcan that the cat was sitting atop, terrifying the cat as it sang, soon accompanied by a werewolf that crashed through the wooden door and a melting green man that burst from the sewers.
"Scream! This is Halloween
Red 'n' black, slimy green"
"Aren't you scared?"
Asked the wolf man in a growl while two witches flew by him, one a stereotypical hag and the other a one eyed frog woman. They flew into the sewer singing as the scenery followed them.
"Well, that's just fine
Say it once, say it twice
Take a chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night"
Popping out from a well, the focus switched to a walking and singing tree, the skeletons of hanged man swinging from its boughs.
"Everybody scream, everybody scream"
People nearly jumped out of their seats when the skeletons sang next.
"In our town of Halloween!"
The background went black as a creepy clown came in, riding a unicycle singing in a scratchy voice.
"I am the clown with the tear-away face
Here in a flash and gone without a trace"
No sooner had the clone ripped off its face- scaring the soul out of most every person in the stands- then did it vanish in a poof of smoke, leaving behind a yellow full moon with a cold wind sending chills down peoples' spines. A disembodied voice then sang,
"I am the "who" when you call, "Who's there?"
I am the wind blowing through your hair"
A ghoulish shadow appeared on the moon and like every other creature started to sing.
"I am the shadow on the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright"
The shadow dissolved into bats that sang the next chorus
"This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Halloween! Halloween!"
The scene changed to two zombie children playing with a guillotine. They began as soon as the blade came down, turning a pumpkin into various lumps and slush.
"Tender lumplings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare"
What could only be the parents of these undead children then walked onto the scene, gathering the two up as they walked towards the square, where a seeming parade was about to take place.
"That's our job, but we're not mean
In our town of Halloween"
The two faced creature once again appeared, leading a horse with a pumpkin headed scarecrow on the back down the streets.
"In this town"
"Don't we love it now?"
All manner of creatures lined the streets all singing as the scarecrow came to life, dancing on the horse's back. It reached down, grabbing a torch and devouring it, setting himself on fire in the process.
"Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everyone scream
Wont' ya please make way for a very special guy"
"Our man jack is King of the Pumpkin patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King"
"This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!"
The parade lead back to the square, a fountain with glowing green water at the center. The flaming scarecrow into the water dousing itself. Two children, one wrapped up like a mummy and the other bulbous with sewed shut eyes, eagerly ran to the wells edge and looked inside.
"In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song"
A figure then started to emerge from the fountain, a skeleton wearing a pinstripe suit that was as tall, if not taller than the man who started this entire macabre musical.
"La la-la la, Halloween! Halloween!"
The creatures all sang, the music and their haunting tones fading with the scenery. It all seemed to be sucked into the green hat Damian had removed from his head and now held in his hand. With the last few chords, both the tall madman and the organ were sucked into the hat as well, mad laughter echoing through the hair as the top hat spun and blinked out of existence.
For a moment the audience stayed in stunned silence then they erupted into cheers as Goza appeared once more in the spotlight upon his stand. "Haha! Theres plenty more where that came from folks!" announced the boisterous ringmaster.
True to his word, there were several more acts, all of them exciting and fun to watch. Ranging from stunts to clowns to even simple sketches, the people cheered themselves hoarse.
"This is amazing!" Sakura cheered, "I can't believe Naruto-baka and Kikioko missed this!"
Sasuke merely grunted, "The dobe and her are probably guarding the troupe or patrolling the area," he dismissed. "That or they're messing around somewhere," he added as an afterthought.
Kakashi gave a perverted giggle at that. Ignoring the disturbed and somewhat angry looks from his students the masked man merely waved off their concerns, "I'm sure that the two of them are fine," he drawled lazily, "Now be quiet, it seems they're ready to start the final act," Kakashi pointed out.
Goza had once more taken his spot in the spotlight, "Well ladies and gentlemen, tonight has been delightful! Sadly, we only have one more act for you before we must bid you goodnight," Goza proclaimed, "This will be their first time performing tonight, but this promises to be quite the show indeed!"
"Please help me welcome a woman without fear, a femme fatale, the veritable Mistress of Knives!" people grew excited as a spotlight shined on one of the acrobat platforms that were on the support poles.
In the spotlight was a woman with red head that went to her shoulders and covered her right eye. She was wearing a black leotard with a brown harness and belt full of knives. She had on a pair of black, high-heeled boots, the heels shaped in the form of knives. Finishing her look was a orange face mask somewhat in the form of a vixen's eyes.
She leapt off the platform, doing several flips as she came down.
The audience gasped, but cheered in amazement when she threw a knife into the ground and landed on the handle, balancing on the tips of her toes like a ballerina. She did a quick cartwheel to right herself, picking up the knife in the progress. Giving a bow, Goza introduced her, "My daughter, Kikioko Atezuiryo!"
The crowd cheered in amazement, two genin did not though. They were too busy trying to figure out just how their teammate got involved in the show!
"Well that explains where Kiki has been," Kakashi commented amusedly. Looking to the other pole he smirked, "And that explains where Naruto is," at his students' questioning stares he merely pointed lazily to the other pole.
"And please welcome her partner, the fantastic fox, a top class trickster, the one and only Shinigami Kitsune!" Goza announced, pointing his arm to the opposite pole.
On top of its platform was a man wearing an orange hakama and white kosode, a blonde foxtail emerging from the base of his spine with matching ears appearing from his spiky blonde hair. An ornate fox mask covered his face, it being white with red decals and in his hand was a large scythe.
The fox dressed man leapt off his perch just like Kiki did, but instead of a flip he began spinning his scythe at incredible speeds. With a 'shink' the blade landed in the ground, with the fox perched on the handle in a crouch. "Please welcome the one and only, Naruto Uzumaki!"
The crowd erupted into cheers as the blond man gave an energetic wave. His teammates were amazed and slack jawed at the new development. Kakashi could only chuckle. 'Sensei, if you could see Naruto now' he thought wistfully. Smiling neath his mask, Kakashi settled in to watch the show.
"Tonight, my daughter shall showcase her amazing knife skills while the fox boy here," Naruto's 'tail' wagged in excitement, "Will be playing the part of target," Naruto immediately stiffened. Glancing from the knife wielder to the ringmaster, he started to slowly inch away. The audience chuckled at that, which ultimately gave the blond away.
Goza turned to look at him only to see the fox man grab his scythe and make a run for it. "Oi! Get back here!" he shouted, giving chase. The audience laughed as the fox ran from the demon in. Naruto ran past the pole only to give a startled yelp when something caught the back of his kosode and pinned him to the wooden structure.
For a minute, the fox flailed about, trying to dislodge himself from his predicament, much to the amusement of the audience. Giving up the man crossed his arms and seemed to pout as he hung there. Kiki giggled as she twirled a knife in her hand. Goza chuckled as he spoke once more, "How about that for fox catching?" he joked. The audience laughed and applauded the girl's skills. "Now, how about you two show us just what you can do with those knives and scythe," Goza offered, the people cheering them on to do so.
Kiki giggled before freeing Naruto. She knelt next to him and held a quick whispered conversation with him, "You sure about this Whiskers?" she asked nervously, "We only practiced for a couple of hours and I don't want you to-,"
"I trust you Kiki-chan," Naruto interrupted her warmly. She looked through the eye holes of his mask to see his blue eyes brimming with encouragement. Smiling, the red head pulled him up and the two began their performance.
The audience watched in amazement as Kiki did all sorts of things with the weapons. From juggling five of them in each hand to nailing seven bullseyes blindfolded, the girl did everything! She even made it to the top of one of the trapeze landings on the poles using them, but not in the way you may think.
Instead of using them to simply pull herself up, she used the knives as launching points! She would throw it into the pole, leap off the handle, then use another to stab into it, spinning herself on the handle, launching herself higher until she reached the platform.
Naruto acted as the comedic assistant, dodging the knives, tossing up fruits and other things for her to hit. He even put an apple on his head, blindfolded himself while he smoked a cigarette with the mask still on. At one point, a woman in the audience asked to see his face, which was encouraged by a good portion of the rest of the crowd. The two had made a big show of it, with Naruto running away while Kiki tried to take it off. In the end she slashed it off with Naruto's own scythe only to reveal him wearing another mask, this one was yellow with a big grin showing off pearly white teeth and two X's for eyes.
All in all, the crowd loved the two, and they were all waiting on pins and needles for their final act, one truly deadly one.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, for their final act, my daughter shall walk across the tightrope," Goza declared, gesturing to the length of rope stretched taunt between the two poles, which was over two hundred feet in the air. "However! What makes this seemingly played out act interesting is the fact that instead of a net, the ground below will be littered with blades of all kinds!" declared the goblin. True to his word, knives, swords, spears and all manner of sharp and pointy weapons were placed below the tightrope area, all of them pointed upwards, waiting to impale anyone who should fall from the dizzying height of the tightrope.
The audience gasped in fear and awe as Goza continued, "Kiki will also be balancing a knife by their points on each finger!" he announced.
True to word, the red headed knife thrower was already balanced on the rope, ten knives being balanced on her fingers, one for each digit. The audience gaped at the danger that the girl was putting herself in, but they had to admit, it was a hell of an act.
"Do not worry folks, our very own Naruto Uzumaki is here to prevent the worst from happening," Goza reassured as he pointed to an intensely alert fox boy. "Now, are you ready Kikioko?" called the demonic ringmaster. She gave a curt nod, eyes forward and focused. "Are you ready Naruto?" he asked. The fox man gave him a thumb up, not taking his eyes off Kiki. "Then begin!" shouted the goblin.
Immediately, Kiki gave a short hop and was on the rope, taking slow and careful steps, her arms and fingers perfectly till as she balanced the blades on her fingers. Her face was a mask of utter concentration, her mind blank of everything except for the task at hand. Step by step she made her way across, not once faltering in her stride across the tight rope. The knives wobbled a bit, but a quick twitch of a finger and a short burst of chakra kept them from falling. If even one fell, her balance would be upset and she would definitely fall.
Naruto watched with tensed muscles as his best friend continued to walk. He was completely focused on her, something a certain vixen did not take kindly to. "Naru-kun, this will only make it hurt more when something happens," she warned the blond, her voice betraying nothing, but concern and affection for the teenager.
'I know, I know, but Kiki-chan… it's just feels wrong to completely abandon her…' he replied, images of her crying entering his head, 'And I promised I'd be her friend till the end! And I refuse to ever go back on a promise!' he declared.
"But what about me?" she asked quietly, "You promised me you'd push them away, because we don't want to hurt them, aren't you breaking a promise by doing this?" she questioned.
Naruto frowned at that. Was he breaking a promise? He did say he wouldn't let people close to protect them, but he promised to be Kiki's friend to the end long before he met Kyuubi. He frowned, thinking to himself before a light bulb went off in his head, 'Ah! This isn't anything Kyuu-chan, there are people who aren't close to each other but they're still friends right?' he asked.
"Well that is true but-,"
'Then there's nothing to worry about! I can still be Kiki's friend without us getting too close; I can keep both my promises!' Naruto thought happily. To him it was so simple! He just had to keep Kiki from getting too close and keep from telling her anything that was personal and stuff.
Stupid, stupid, Naruto.
Kyuubi said nothing in return, but if Naruto could see her, he'd see she was beyond furious. 'You're mine Naruto, I won't let anyone interfere, not Echo, not 'them', and definitely not that red haired brat!' she mentally growled.
Naruto ignored the angry demon inside him, instead focusing on Kiki. She had met it a little more than halfway across and seemed to be doing quite well. Kiki was inwardly cheering as she kept going. 'Yes! Almost there!' she thought. However, in the midst of her celebration, someone decided that she would not be reaching the end. Whether it was a vengeful demoness, a bored divinity looking for entertainment or some other being is unclear, but it happened all the same.
A knife, precariously balanced on Kikioko's left pinky, fell from its tedious perch and slowly plummeted towards the ground. Time seemed to slow down as every eye was fixated upon that simple dagger.
Handle over knifepoint it fell to the ground before finally clattering on the ground, breaking the silence that filled the air. Kiki could only stare in horror, 'I… dropped one?' she thought. That's when she felt herself start to fall.
She started to fall, teetering to the right. A knee jerk reaction occurred as she quickly tried to right herself, dropping her knives in the process, but all it did was delay the inevitable.
With a cry, she fell from the rope and towards the waiting bloodthirsty blades. The watching people gasped and some began to scream, mothers covered their children's eyes. All the while, Naruto could only stare in horror.
He tried to move, to catch her yet his body would not budge! 'Move, move, move! Need to move!' he screamed at himself. Images of him and Kiki started to flash through his mind. He needed to move, to catch her, but something held the teenager back.
'Friends till the end?' asked Kiki's voice. Naruto stopped trying to help her then. If the red head fell and impaled herself, then it would be the end.
Yes… yes if she died, then he could keep both of his promises! He'd be a friend with Kiki till the end and he wouldn't get close to her! It's hard to get close to a dead person, right? So all he had to do was just let her fall and then…
Kiki had shut her eyes, mind blank as she plummeted to her doom. She knew this stunt was dangerous, but her faith in Naruto had led her to go through with it. Goza had even asked her not to do it, even begged her to use chakra if she was going to.
Kiki just said she trusted Naruto.
…
And she was right to do so.
Slowly, she opened her eyes, realizing that she had stopped falling and was actually being… cradled? She opened her eyes fully to see the masked face of Naruto Uzumaki. She stared at him in shock before looking down to see just where they were.
Naruto had somehow got his body moving again and leapt to catch her. However, his leap was not far enough to clear the blades so he did the next best thing, which was to create a landing spot.
By quickly turning his scythe into a spear, the blond stabbed it into the ground and leapt atop the pole, all as he caught the red haired woman. All in all, it was quite an impressive feat.
"You alright Kiki-chan?" Naruto asked the stunned girl in his arms. She stared at him for a moment, before quickly latching onto the blonde, arms wrapped around his neck as she buried her face into his chest. He could only laugh as Kikioko mumbled thank you over and over again. Behind them, the audience erupted into cheers, all praising the heart-thumping conclusion of the first night.
In the woods, just outside of the festival grounds
A small figure scurried through the forest underbrush. The figure wore a nondescript tattered robe of grey and simple black shorts. It had no shoes to speak of, but bandages wrapped around its feet. Soon the figure was illuminated by a local campfire, revealing it to be a filthy and ratty looking man, a sword at his side and his very physique screaming 'bandit', but the people who had made the campfire paid him no heed for they too were bandits.
The rat man had entered a camp of bandits, a large one filled with all sorts of unsavory characters. The small man paid no heed to the various thieves, murders and highwaymen he passed on his way to a large red tent.
Rushing in, the bandit spoke, "Boss, I'm back!" he proclaimed.
"I can see that dumbass," drawled a male voice in reply. The voice belonged to a rather large man, whose skin deeply tanned skin was littered with scars and rippling with muscle. His eyes were black and shone with malice. He wore a filthy brown vest with matching bracers on each of his wrists and black pants that were tucked into equally black boots. "So you figure out what we're dealing with yet? Or do I have to make an example of what happens to people who forget their duties?" he growled.
The rat man gulped before laughing nervously, "Ahaha… No need for that Khan-sama, I did what you asked!" he assured. The large man merely grunted and waved for him to continue. Coughing nervously the bandit began speaking, "Right, well, I went to the fair like ya said and the place seems to be even busier than last time!"
The big man smiled at that, "Heh, bet that pudgy little freak is raking in the cash, all the better for us," he chuckled, "Now what have we got to worry about in terms of security?" he demanded.
Gulping, the scout chuckled, "Well, it doesn't seem like security has changed much at all," he answered, "But there were some, uh, new people there, I think they're some newly hired guards or something,"
"How many? What did they look like? Anything special I should know about them?" barked Khan.
"Ah! Um, well, there was five of em, two sweet looking babes, two teenage brats and a big guy with weird spiky black hair," The scout scratched his hair, "When I saw em, one of those teenagers was dressed up like some weird fox, he has this spiky blonde hair and carries around a big ass scythe,"
Khan grunted at that, but kept silent, "Then one of those babes has somme pretty red hair that covers on of her eyes, she's pretty damn good with knives and really, fu fu fu, flexible," described the bandit with a perverted chuckle, "The other girl was wearing bunny ears and a black facemask along with a red battle dress and some tight bike shorts. Oh! She's also got long, pink hair!"
"Pink?" Khan asked disbelievingly. The scout nodded, "I didn't get to see her use any skills, same for the other teenage brat and the bigger guy. The other teenager was wearing a black hoodie, along with a sword strapped across his back,"
"And the big guy?" demanded Kahn.
The scout shrugged, "Has most o' his mug covered and big black hair, can't really miss him," Kahn mulled over the information, "Oh! One more thing boss!" the giant frowned, but didn't say anything, "They may be trained like those shinobi in the village so we might wanna be careful considering what we know about this group,"
Khan nodded before smiling, "Heh, now things are interestin," he grunted before strutting outside, the little bandit following closely behind, "Get the boys ready, we're gonna be visiting those bastards pretty soon,"
"Right boss! When are we going?" asked the man excitedly.
Khan smirked as he continued walking, "You'll know soon enough, just tell the boys to get ready," the scout nodded and rushed off.
"No one escapes the Genghis Gang twice," Khan chuckled as he lumbered back to his tent.
A/N: Finito! Ah good chapter I feel, next chapter should have more action, might actually just finish this arc there.
Now… PLEASE REVIEW! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THATS HOLY PLEASE REVIEW!
Ahem, sorry, but I'd like to get some feedback on this story.
Ja ne!