Author's Note: If people were shocked or upset at the last chapter, I'm sorry. But I can guarantee, all your fears will be settled in this one. You'll be surprised.
I'm not that much of a sadistic bastard… come on, no way I was gonna let Fu off without a hitch…
I have plans for a juicy Shippuden era… (evil laugh)
NARUTO
Nox Noctis Ingredior
Stuck With You
Nine Years Ago…
"Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun… w-where are you?" Fu called out, walking through the village from street to street, combing every known location and safe area they had called their own for her friend. Ignoring the passing giants and silhouettes of adults and the laughter of other children running around in the background, the green haired girl wandering the maze of a town was both worried and scared for the boy's wellbeing.
"Naruto-kun!"
Panting, she ran down another random road, stopping at the intersection at the end, before turning left and heading down another boulevard. Her search was taking her everywhere, her anxiety and fear climbing with every unsuccessful area. She had just left him for a few minutes to pickpocket for the last time this afternoon, so that they could buy a proper dinner, and as per their plan, she had expected to meet up with him at the end of the road and their shift. But after half an hour of waiting patiently, he didn't show up, and that worried her to no end.
After a few minutes of relentless searching, Fu ran round a corner back to the street where they were previously, intent on doing one final check of the area, only to bump into a stranger wearing a purple trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat. She was nudged to the side, staggered by the run in.
Nervously, she bowed to the woman, apologizing for her lack of attentiveness. "I… I'm sorry miss… sorry…"
"Oh, that's okay little one. Carry on," Kisarabi exclaimed, the woman patting the little girl on the head before walking off, whistling a happy tune as she went on her way. The white haired bounty hunter disappeared into the crowds a few seconds later, her coat trailing behind her, and leaving a rather befuddled Fu standing on the side of the road.
"Hmm… what a strange looking lady," the jinchuriki murmured.
With a shake of her head, she turned to leave and reengage in her quest for her best friend, but was once again side-tracked when another, tall, shady figure suddenly appeared before her. Backing up a little when she bumped into the tree of a person, resulting in her back pressing up against the wall behind her, Fu looked up to see who it was that was standing in her way.
She half expected a law enforcer or a samurai from their attire, out to stop her thieving and mischief for good.
However, her thoughts were far from the truth.
If it weren't for all her time living on the streets in a world filled with assassins, murderers and alike, she would have screamed out of fear. However, the demon host was pretty used to the sight of a cloaked figure with an overshadowed face looking down at her. I mean, she and Naruto met one last Tuesday, and he was a pretty funny drunk.
The person in front of her on the other hand, was clearly a young woman in her late teens, and a complete stranger at that, with a pair of black eyes with red tomoes spinning around the pupils, which stared daggers back into her own orange eyes. The young girl was clearly unfamiliar with the Uchiha, yet she knew that this person must have come from a prospective clan to possess those irises.
In either case of concern and curiosity, Fu's eyes shimmered as she shared a staring contest with the tall figure in question, not knowing what to expect.
Cloak ruffling in the wind, the figure looked left and right, as if to periscope for trouble, before eventually kneeling down in front of the girl and taking a closer look at her. Fu backed away out of caution, as the woman looked her over, reaching out with a hand and gently caressing the side of her face. Eventually, the hooded kunoichi smiled and nodded her head.
"Now I know I'm in the right timeframe," she murmured. "So young…"
"Huh?"
"You're Fu-chan right, the one who protects Naruto at the end of days?" the Uchiha replied.
"Y-You know N-Naruto-kun?" Fu asked in surprise, stepping forward. She obviously mistook the question of one meant to describe a day-to-day basis, and was too young to consider its even deeper, philosophical meaning. "W-Where is he?"
"Oh, he's looking for you at the moment," the woman replied, smiling brightly at the young girl. She reached into her pocket, fumbling for the item in her possession. "I don't have much time, so I'll make this quick…"
Fu became rather suspicious at this point, and was about to make a break for it if the woman tried anything funny. However, just as she was tensing for a blow, Fu was caught off guard when the kunoichi in front of her pulled out a hairpin from her pocket; an orange jewelry with a golden shine that simply sparkled with untold value. The gleam of metal in the sun caught the girl's eye, and the young jinchuriki was unable to question or awe the headpiece for long when it was unexpectedly slipped into her hair by the stranger, clipping her locks back.
Blinking in surprise, Fu moved to touch it, but Yukari took her hand and stopped her. The Uchiha shook her head at the young girl and lowered her hands, taking them into her own.
"This was one of three precious heirloom hairclips worn by Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage. It is the same one that she passed on to Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mother," the dark haired woman stated, giving the girl a comforting smile. "You play an important part in Naruto's future… so when the time comes, this will save your life…"
"S-Save… my life?"
"It will protect you… trust me…"
Before Fu could respond to the surprisingly kind woman's words, Yukari quickly stood up and walked off. The jinchuriki was about to pursue her with a question, but was stopped when she heard her friend's voice call out from behind her.
"Fu-chan! Fu-chan! Look!" Naruto exclaimed, jogging up to the girl and showing her the coin Kisarabi had given him some time ago. After searching for his companion for a good half-hour, he was relieved to have found her, and in between his breaths of air, showed her the prize he had gained. The valuable gold coin flashed in the sunlight, its intricate carvings and symbols reflecting in both their awe-filled eyes.
"It's a pure gold coin! We can buy a week's worth of dinner with this!"
"Wow! That's amazing Naruto-kun!" Fu exclaimed, taking his hands in hers. The moment she embraced his hands, and shared with him a warm smile and a giggle, the blonde suddenly became aware of the hairclip pushing back her bangs. Having not seen it before, he pointed it out curiously.
"Hey, where did you get that hairclip?"
"Oh," Fu ran her hand over it and touched it, its metallic surface flashing in the sun. "A lady gave it to me. Do you like it?"
"Y-Yeah. It makes your hair look very pretty," Naruto smiled. "I like it." Fu blinked in surprise at his answer, and as a result, blushed and nodded her head toward him, hugging the boy in gratitude to his comment. Taking his hand in hers, she began pulling him along, leading him back to their home.
As the two kids ran off, they were unaware of the woman watching them from the shadows. Hidden safely away in an alleyway, the younger version of Yukari Uchiha smiled and pulled her hood over to cover her eyes, hiding her face away from the sunlight.
"So, you gave it to her?" a male's voice asked.
Yukari turned around and began to walk, passing by the tall swordsman of Hikita, who had just recently left Kirigakure with her, and was leaning against the wall of the alley with his arms folded. He watched as she strolled passed, curious as to what she was accomplishing with her little stunt.
"Of course…" she replied.
"You do realize these time skips are incredibly risky," Hikita stated, warning the woman of her choices and actions. "You are interfering too much in his life. Events have already skewed off course; things are going to get dangerous…."
"Believe me, events are going exactly as planned," Yukari stated, glancing back at the swordsman. "Akatsuki will be coming after the tailed beasts for whatever plans this 'phantom' of Madara Uchiha has for them. He will use the Ame Orphans for his own purposes, making them believe he is supporting their cause, while really feeding his own. In order to prevent the Akatsuki from acquiring all the tailed beasts, one of them has to be hidden away, or at least, taken off the shogi board for a brief period of time until the threat has passed. In doing so, I'm preventing the Ten-Tailed Beast from returning to the earth, as it cannot be completed without the others…"
"All the same, you should just let things be as they are. The Kyuubi brat is going to have a real shock when he realizes what that heirloom actually does," Hikita said, earning a giggle from Yukari. The woman obviously knew a lot more then she was letting on to, even to him, and he still went with her willingly.
The Uchiha shrugged off his questions and walked on, with him following.
"I know. Isn't this fun?"
Present day…
Right next to the Battlefield…
Naruto did what any sensible person would do, and patched up Fu's wounds before making her comfortable where she lay on the soft soil. It was common decency after all to tidy her up, and since he intended to bring her back to Konoha with him, he wanted to make the journey for her as bearable as possible.
After wrapping her in cloth taken from his supply scroll, he then went about carving out a mark on the shoreline of the lake, now sitting in the middle of the wasteland of dead trees. It was a simple task really.
Taking a huge slab of rock, he transformed it into a memorial stone he hoped would last for many years to come. Placing it against the side of a tree and impaling a kunai into the roof of it, the young Jonin began to write across the surface of it. He briefly described in detail the events that occurred here, and wrote in memory of his closest friend, a few simple words he felt he needed to be said.
In Memory of Fu: May her Spirit be Free and at Peace. Her Sacrifice will be remembered.
Sighing, he lowered the knife he used in his carvings, and holstered it. He knelt before the stone and placed his hands together, mumbling a short prayer to the Gods to protect her, and rose to his feet once he had said enough. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he stared at the stone through sullen eyes and a fallen face, the memories of him and Fu coming back to him full force.
His cheeks showed the stains of recently dried up tears, and his heart clenched in agony.
After all, it was hard to say good-bye to someone you loved.
"I'm sorry for what happened to Fu-chan…"
Naruto didn't jump at the voice, but was surprised nonetheless. He turned to his right, unexpectedly seeing the familiar, cloaked figure of Yukari Uchiha standing beside him, staring down at the stone as he was. Blinking, he watched as the woman turned to face him with a small smile drawn across her lips, her unique Sharingan deactivating as she looked into his eyes.
"She was a strong girl," Yukari whispered. "I don't think there is any other person out there who could have endured as much as her."
The blonde simply stared at her when she finished speaking, and then turned back to the tablet, unresponsive. Seeing that he was still down in the dumps, Yukari shrugged her shoulders and turned heel, walking towards the area where the green haired girl lay by the beach, staring up at the sky.
When the Uchiha reached her, she simply stared down at the former jinchuriki, giving her a considerate smile. "She must have been really close to you to have this effect. It's the first time I've ever seen you cry…"
"You have no idea," Naruto replied, looking away. In all honesty, he didn't want to hear anything from the woman. However, his highly sensitive hearing prevented him from blocking out the world completely.
"Still, it could be worse."
"How could it be worse?" The young Jonin turned to face her, pulling his hands out of his pockets in his sharp maneuver. "I just killed my closest friend! The first person I ever considered family in my entire life! The first girl I ever loved!" Naruto snapped back, showing her the tears brimming at his eyes, despite her not looking in his direction. "How can anything else be worse then this?"
"Heh… you're overreacting," Yukari looked back at him. Crouching down beside the body of the girl, she slowly and attentively took the strands of Fu's soft, silky hair between her fingers, and showed him the hairpiece slipped into her locks, holding back the bangs that once covered her face. "After all, I didn't train her over the past eight years in secret while you were gone to help her control her Tailed Beast for it to simply end like this…"
Naruto catching on to the grin she wore and the information she was implying, gritted his teeth and began a furious march over to her. His balled fists and nails drawing blood from his palms indicated he was more then pissed off at this point. Within seconds, he was towering over the crouching woman, who simply stared back up at him without a hint of fear.
"What the hell did you do?" Naruto growled as he glowered at her, at the same time his memories began bringing back images of him and Fu as street urchins when they were younger. His thoughts carelessly took him back to the days, to when and where he remembered her first wearing that hairpiece. "You gave that to her, didn't you? This is all a part of your sick, twisted game!"
"Believe me; everything I did was in order to save the future of this world…"
"Bullshit! What the hell kind of future is this? Using people to get your way! Look at her!" Naruto pointed at his dead friend. "She's gone and there is no way to bring her back!"
"Oh really," Yukari rose to her feet, smiling. "Well, we'll just see what happens in the next… I'd say… few seconds… maybe then you'll reconsider your verdict on the situation…"
Naruto glared at the woman oddly for a moment. That was all the time that passed before he noticed something strange happening to Fu right before his very eyes. When he looked, he saw the girl's body suddenly start to glow with an orange chakra, the same chakra that the Six Tails and the Eight Tails used when their jinchuriki entered their first stages of the transformation process. However, instead of her gaining a feral look, as well as the shape of her tailed beast, she instead suddenly became coated in silk like strands, which began to spread across her body as the chakra enveloped her and proceeded with damage control.
A minute or so later, the chakra faded away, leaving Fu wrapped in a pure white chrysalis. The boy stepped back in shock as Yukari smiled down at the girl, once the process had been completed.
"W-What the heck… what just happened?"
"You seem surprised. And here I thought Killer Bee taught you everything there was to know about the Tailed Beasts," Yukari exclaimed, looking up at the young Jonin as he backed away from her, and she rose to her feet. "Every jinchuriki is given a unique defensive capability by the Bijuu inside of them as a means of self-preservation. This however, is done at the incredible expense of their chakra, so that continued use of their unique abilities is limited. In reality, the demons like the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Six-Tailed Slug and the One-Tailed Tanuki for example, are really only looking out for themselves, and in doing so, protect their containers as best as they can, or else they would die if the injuries their hosts' sustain are too great."
She and Naruto looked back down towards Fu, the pupa beginning to harden around her, forming an almost impenetrable skin encompassing and shielding her body. Once the process was completed, it simply laid there, like a coffin. Of course, that was a pretty unreasonable term, as she somehow still had a bit of life left in her.
"Every Tailed Beast is different in respect to their hosts. The Kyuubi provides accelerated healing and regenerative capabilities for its container, including immunity from poisons that are normally fatal and cause death; cyanide being a prime example. The Hachibi alternatively, is more of an evasive creature, giving you the ability to excrete ink from your body in order to evade threats by clouding or blinding opponents, or making your body slick…"
"That's kind of gross," Naruto murmured, absorbing the new information being given to him.
"Tell me about it. Killer Bee uses it as writing ink for his songs. It's weird. Anyway… whenever serious damage occurs to the host or the demon, the Eight Tails can heal those wounds similarly to your Bijuu, particularly severed limbs. It can also substitute for lost limbs, as indicated by its octopus like characteristics. As you know, of course, aside from the two strongest demons, those others further down the line like Shukaku, provides a sand shield for its host, which reacts automatically and at their defense, making physical attacks against the jinchuriki relatively impossible. The Nibi, as it surrounds itself with fire, is constantly defended, and it can also provide this defense to its jinchuriki when he/she are using its chakra. It also makes the Two-Tailed Monster Cat the first conventional Bijuu to actively produce a cloak of chakra that is harmful on contact…"
"…"
Not getting anything out of Naruto accept a glare, Yukari sighed and continued. "The Sanbi, as indicated by its turtle like qualities, provides an armor stronger than steel for its jinchuriki host, as both an automatic and manual defense. However, it is only effective in brief intervals of about three-seconds apart, meaning the user loses a lot of chakra as a result of the defense, just like the Ichibi and Nibi. Of course, this trait isn't shared by all Bijuu. The jinchuriki host of the Yonbi, when its blood is drawn and spilt, it melts anything it touches when empowered by the Bijuu's chakra, making damaging the host in combat a huge risk for the attacker. The Gobi gives the user increased speed and agility, so that actually managing to attack it is made impossible as the host's speed is above that of a normal shinobi. Then there is the Rokubi… this one is interesting. Its defenses revolve around sheens of liquid, which neutralize all physical attacks to zero, and also allows the user to enact these abilities against foes offensively."
She then nodded down towards Fu. "Of course, you are aware of the incredible physical strength and invulnerability provided by the Nanabi for its container. It is also worth noting that it has a unique healing ability of its own. Though its process is slower than the Hachibi and quicker then the Rokubi's, when severely damaged, the host undergoes a pupa cycle, like the original beetle the demon bears resemblance to. Even close to death, the Tailed Beast can resurrect its host body," Yukari exclaimed, earning a rather shocked look from the young Jonin.
Naruto immediately stepped forward at the piece of info given to him, and leant over the cocoon to inspect it, placing his hand against it. Extending sharpened senses from years of experience and training of his own, he began to search for signs of life, as well as chakra, within the protective casing of the chrysalis. Some time into his investigation, he eventually found two life forces, just barely flickering in the center of the silk covering.
The Stubborn Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle nestled within Fu, not wanting to go down so easily, also saved her life.
Using the last of its chakra, it underwent its pupa state, leaving the girl and itself in a temporary coma as it slowly began to regenerate.
Though relieved when he detected his friends' presence, the blonde Jonin was still shaken up from the events that had transpired, and glanced over his shoulder towards the woman standing behind him.
"Why did you do this?" Naruto asked with his brow furrowing and his temper wavering. "She could have easily avoided all of this. Instead of warning her, you nearly had me kill her! WHY?"
"Well… she's still alive, isn't she? Chill out," Yukari shrugged; gesturing toward the silk-wrapped girl he was leaning against. "That hairpiece I gave her helped trigger the Bijuu's recovery after the near fatal blow, as well as sustain a reasonable amount of her own chakra in order to make the process work. I orchestrated all of this to protect you both…"
"Protect us?"
Yukari giggled and tapped the side of her nose. "That part is a secret for another time…"
Frowning, Naruto shook his head and glanced back down at the pupa. When he did, he closed his eyes and, albeit through great irritation, spoke up. He was more worried for his closest friend's wellbeing then his anger towards the woman standing behind him, and even though he didn't want to speak to her, he just couldn't help it.
"At least this will save her…" A small smile crossed his face and tears fell free from his eyes again, just for a few seconds. "I'm just… so relieved…"
"There is a drawback to this process, however," Yukari began, alerting Naruto to more, supposedly bad news that rocked him harder then any blow to the face.
Annoyed at the constant surprises he was receiving today he spun around and glared towards the kunoichi. Honestly, he should be expecting these at this point in his life.
"What?" he hissed through clenched teeth.
Yukari smiled awkwardly and gave him a nervous look. In spite of being far stronger then him, like… thousands of times stronger, she was still worried he might go into a Nine-Tailed state and rip her to pieces, regardless of her neutrality in this state. At least her anger was directed at her, and not at anyone else.
"Because… umm… Fu-chan was so close to death, the period in which she will remain cocooned will be… uhh… some… quite a bit of time into the foreseeable future," the Uchiha grinned. "For such a large, powerful tailed beast, in response to all the damages its host has suffered at the expense of its own chakra, it stands to reason…"
"How long will it take?" Naruto growled.
"About… two years…"
Naruto's jaw almost hit the floor. "T-Two ye… THAT'S WAY TOO LONG!" He turned back towards the pupa and slammed his fist on top of it, the side of his hand thumping against the protective encasement, and bouncing off uselessly. "OYE! YOU LAZY BUG! THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND IN THERE! HURRY UP AND BRING HER BACK! DATTEBAYO!"
Yukari had to suppress some laughter at his antics over the procedure, making her shake her head at how he fussed over the girl. In this instance, he acted so much like his father when concerned, and a lot like his mother when flustered. Her giggles earned a tick-mark from the blonde, who simply rested his head against the side of the cocoon.
Suddenly, all of that crying, all of his prayers, and all of that anguish was all for naught, as Yukari pulled a fast one over him. The only reasonable conclusion he could settle on in terms of everything that has happened to him over the past… several years… could only be summed up into one word…
Girls…
They were all out to get him, and he was certain if anymore girls were to grow attached to him and come to live with him at his place, he would most surely die.
However, as he was resting against the cocoon and groaning his thoughts out, the Uchiha kunoichi standing behind him spoke up again.
"Oh yeah, one more thing…"
"Please… no more…" Naruto mumbled into the side of the casing, his voice muffled and eyes tearing up again, this time out of comical distress. "I can't take anymore of this. All of you are out to get me! All of you! Mia, Ero-Sennin, Baa-chan, Mum, Dad… Kami… this is all a big, fat joke planned out by the ring leader in all this…"
"Well… actually… it's in regards to Fu's recovery, for the time being," Yukari cleared her throat. "That hairpin she's wearing has a seal on it, similar to the necklace you wear around your neck to suppress the Tailed Beast's powers, as well as protect your chakra from it. When she kissed you, she unintentionally produced a seal bypass reaction with your own in the exchange of affection, and… well…"
Naruto suddenly looked up, eyes widening.
He was told time and time again by Jiraiya the unique traits of his seal, and how in making it, his mum and dad passed along pieces of their life-force and chakra into it. As a result, their spirits had the rather unhealthy habit of paying unexpected visits to him in the forms of spiritual manifestations, as well as, simply putting it, allowing them to hang around in the depths of his mind. If the results with Fu's seal caused an imprint to occur during their displays, it only meant one thing.
"Oh no…"
"Naruto-kun!"
Naruto paled when he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him, as a transparent image of Fu appeared floating behind him. She nuzzled his cheek affectionately, and in turn, earned a quiet moan from his lips. The transparent, slightly glowing, ghost of a jinchuriki laughed happily and kissed him on the cheek she was nuzzling, while hugging him tightly. Strangely enough though, he could still feel her suffocating him, despite being…
Well…
Dead…
(Inspired by Naruto Shippuden Episode 193: The Man Who Died Twice)
"You're here! You're here! This is heaven! I'm going to love it in this world!"
"F-Fu-chan… y-you're…"
"Yes…" the girl replied, waiting for the rest of his words to follow.
However, instead of responding to her, Naruto turned towards Yukari, who was giggling non-stop. The raven haired woman, unwilling to interrupt them, waved to him and turned to leave. But the young Jonin was having none of it.
Instead of sitting by to watch her run off this time, he gently peeled away from the girl hugging him and made a jump for the Uchiha, ending up grabbing the hem of her cloak and hitting the ground, flat out. He ended up being dragged along by the woman as she walked on, effortlessly.
"You! YOU!"
"Yes?" the Uchiha replied in a sweet voice, smirking down at the boy from over her shoulder as she dragged him along through the dirt.
"FIX THIS! RIGHT NOW! THIS ISN'T NORMAL!"
"Sorry Naruto-kun, but the effects are irreversible until the sealing period is over. In this particular case, it is the time from now to Fu's rejuvenation at the end of the two year cycle. Your father designed the seals for the Tailed Beasts specifically for this purpose. The transmission of foreign chakra from person to person helps the seal stay strong," Yukari smirked at him and brought her hood over her eyes, tipping her head to him. "Besides, Fu's with you now. That's good. Enjoy your baths, lack of privacy, and sleeping periods together…"
"WAIT!"
With that said, Yukari suddenly faded away, Naruto's hands eventually grabbing nothing but air. The boy gawked at the air space in front of him, seconds before he allowed his face to fall flat to the floor with a loud thump. He sobbed as he groveled at the earth, dragging his face left and right across it. With all the crazy out of his system he looked up, his cheeks and forehead smeared with mud.
"I bet dad didn't have to go through this shit…" "That hentai Uchiha Crow!"
"Naruto-kun…" Fu murmured, the blonde shinobi glancing over his shoulder towards the apparition of the girl who caught his attention.
No question, he was thrilled to have Fu back and amongst the, ugh… living. It would just, take some getting used to the fact that she was a floating mass of chakra, in a sense, a ghost.
However, as he stared at the green haired girl several meters behind him, it took him a few seconds longer of contemplation to notice that she was floating a foot or so off of the ground, looking down at her arms and legs in a very analytical way.
After looking herself over, she then looked back up at Naruto, blinking in confusion.
"Why am I transparent?"
"Uhn… this is going to be a fun trip home…"
Two miles out from the battlefield…
Outside of the Land of Woods, a squad of shinobi was on its way to investigate a commotion that was taking place in the general area. Word got out that a jinchuriki was on the loose and causing problems for the locals and in response to the threat, feudal Lords and village leaders dispatched ninja in order to investigate or put a plug on the problem.
Out of the dozens of shinobi villages out there, only a small number of teams were sent out on the search, as very little man power could be spared at the moment. Some were called back, a set number of the unlucky few went off on wild goose chases, and others just gave up.
The only ones to come close to actually finding the jinchuriki, however, were the shinobi from Otogakure.
Accompanied by the Sound Four, the clone of Naruto Uzumaki, Naruko, following direct orders from her master, was on a course to hunt down the jinchuriki in question, and eliminate it.
As it was Orochimaru's goal to become the most powerful shinobi in the world by absorbing every known jutsu, he felt that the loss of a tailed beast would hinder his enemy, the Akatsuki. Being the greater threat, he calculated a bargaining chip or a player absent from their game would give him a bigger advantage, and allow him to grab more power before they found him.
Furthermore, dispatching Naruko to deal with the problem would test her abilities as the newest clone from his collection, and in the event was to prove unsuccessful; the only consequence would be yet another stepping stone for an even greater goal was lost to the cause.
Picking up on wisps of the tailed beasts' chakra, Naruko continued on course with Orochimaru's top bodyguards not too far behind. Tayuya, Jirobo, Sakon and Kidomaru, though under direct orders themselves to accompany the girl, were quickly growing impatient at the distance they were traveling, and being led by the newbie wasn't helping them that much.
"How much further is this… jinchuriki?" an irritated Sakon asked the team leader, calling out from the far right of the pack. "It's not like we have anything better to do."
"Shut up Sakon, geez," Tayuya snapped. "You can be a real pain sometimes."
"That's all you've been doing this entire trip: complain, complain, complain," Kidomaru muttered.
Donned in khaki shinobi robes, and wooden sandals, and with her only weapon being the one kunai, Naruko kept on without a single word, her hair tied back into pigtails, and carrying in the wind. When they arrived at a small clearing at the base of a cliff, the squad halted their progress, with the Sound Four taking up flanks behind the leader.
Stepping out from the shadows of the forest, the blonde haired girl looked over the cliff, her senses tracing the jinchuriki target. The wisps of chakra in the air had notably thinned out, and it was beginning to get harder and harder to track the demon.
When a tremor in the earth reached the five as they were analyzing the cliff side, Kidomaru caught sight of a giant mushroom cloud blooming over the horizon line of the rock face, the blast coming from the deadwood valley. The fiery red and black cloud reached so far into the heavens, it formed a blanket in the clouds, and literally blocked out the sun.
Not long after the hot blast of smoke hit stratosphere, it dissipated, with ash floating away on the breeze being the final result.
"What the hell was that?" Kidomaru blinked in surprise.
"Probably our jinchuriki target in battle," Jirobo grumbled, crossing his arms. "Someone else has beaten us to it."
"Shit, and I was looking forward to fight," Tayuya grumbled.
Naruko blinked with her stoic expression still in play, as she watched the mushroom cloud fade away, and after some quick tabs on the chakras she was picking up, frowned. Looking down, she turned back towards the Sound Four, no emotions registering on her face whatsoever.
"The Nanabi is dead," Naruko stated, and began walking back in the direction they had come. "Mission complete…"
"Well that was an utter waste of time," Sakon folded his arms, grumbling.
"What the hell? How can you tell?" Tayuya asked, watching as the girl walked in between the four of them and onwards without a care.
Irked at not getting a response, the red head shoved past Jirobo and grabbed the blonde haired girl's shoulder. "Hey, bitch! I'm talking to you!"
The hand on her forcing her to a stop, Naruko unexpectedly spun around and, with a swift punch, sent Tayuya flying. The red haired flute player slammed into the Cliffside with a loud thud, and fell to the ground a second later, coughing out blood, bruised, and shaken. Astounded at the strength displayed by the girl, the other three members of the Sound Four rounded on Naruko and glared at her.
"Hey! What the heck was that for?" Sakon asked.
"Attacking us out of the blue…you're worse than Kimimaro," Kidomaru snarled.
Naruko turned her glare on them momentarily, before slowly reached for her weapon. She drew her kunai from her holster at her side, and with a graceful hand movement, spun it between her fingers.
"My first mission was to eliminate the Seven Tails' jinchuriki. Status: Complete. My second mission was then to eliminate the Sound Four. Status: In Progress…"
The three Cursed Seal shinobi had but a second to react, before the girl just feet in front of them viciously and without hesitation, lunged at them, kunai first as she bolted towards her targets…
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Now Naruto has a ghost following him around. I've always wanted to try this. It's like Tenchi Muyo and Maburaho all over again.