Keeper of the Crimson Path

By The Obsidian Blade

Chapter five-storm

Lighting and wind spun around the two fighters like a hurricane as the two attacks collided with each other. Naruto's feet landed on the water as he pushed forward, trying to gain the upper hand. Nightmare's Touch was secured on his back with his right hand, as he did not want to drop the thing into the water below.

Sasuke kept on pushing forward, trying to prevail out as the victor. No matter what, he was going to win. It was his given right and no on could take that away from him. Yet a person was matching him with no clan! There was no way that he would lose to this blonde ever again! No, it certainly was not an option to lose this match.

The two soldiers kept up their attack, trying to prevail over the other. The hurricane of wind and lightning around them seemed to only intensify as they kept on trying to kill each other. It was no longer a battle to see who would win but a fight to the death. And in such a fight there could only be one winner. That was all that could happen, in the avenger's mind anyway.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the blonde made some ground, forcing his spiraling sphere of energy forward. With a final burst of energy, the blonde made contact onto Sasuke, sending the man backwards with a loud bang and floating on his back on the water before he sank down like a stone.

But it came at a price. A wisp of lightning came, hitting him straight across the sapphire eyes of the large sword wielder, damaging them to the extent where it would take a few minutes to take care of his eyes. All he could see is nothingness with a few shots of static and lightning.

Sasuke's hand started to erupt out of the water; gripping the surface like it was a ledge. The avenger managed to pull himself, heavily breathing as the wound on his stomach started to show signs of bleeding. His body had reverted back to its human form, showing that the curse mark at the base of his neck had weakened on supply. He looked at Naruto as he crouched down to nurse his eyes. This fight needed to end. And if he could not win with just brute force, he was going to have to win by another tactic.

Naruto's vision had come back to him as he raised his body. But it was not in time for what happened next. He felt several kunai come in and graze his body, drawing blood from light wounds. Before any more could hit, the blonde shunshin'd off the water and onto the shore. Before he could even move, he was sent flying back into the ground.

Sasuke was near the spot that Naruto was with his fist raised in the air. His breathing was labored as he felt his body start to give up. A chuckle escaped his lips as he watched Naruto raise his body and look at Sasuke. With one swift movement the blonde had stabbed Nightmare's Touch into the ground for support. "You honestly do not know what was on those kunais do you dobe?" the avenger asked with a mild grin.

Naruto's eyes shot wide open as he looked into his dark room. His breathing was labored once again and his heart was speeding up. 'Damn it! Why am I thinking about those things?! It is past damn it!' his fist was curled up as he got up. He felt his muscles stretch as his limbs and joints bent. His lavender eyes traveled to the digital clock. In bright red blocky letters read seven thirty. "As good as any time to wake up I guess," he muttered to himself as he got out of bed and started to get dressed.

The blonde dressed himself up in a pair of dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt, something simple to wear. Of course he decided that it was a good idea to put on some body seals to contain weapons on his left hip and under the sleeves. There was a tiny tear on his right thigh to allow easy access to the kunai pouch that he had under his clothes.

Before he could move, his hands had to clutch his head in pain, his thumbs proving that the source of the problem was the eyes. Quickly, the blonde dug through the top drawer of his dresser, pulling out black wife-beaters, boxers, and socks along the way before gripping a small vile with a clear liquid labeled morphine and a syringe. He tilted the bottle before stabbing the needle into the cardboard cap. His hands shakily pulled back the plunger, taking up some of the liquid before he gently dropped the bottle back onto a sock. His right arm smacked against the flesh his right arm, exposing a vain. The syringe sunk into the vain before Naruto pressed down on the plunger, injecting the substance.

'Shit, have not had an episode like that in along time' the blonde thought as he put back the stuff that he got out of the dresser. Once finished putting back the clothes, he walked into the bathroom with his sunglasses in hand. The blonde then looked into the mirror, setting down his shades on the counter. His index finger and his thumb ran over the vertical scars that were on each eye before spreading them out, making his eyes even more visible to the light.

What he saw made him groan. Sure, his lavender eyes with the barely visible pupil were still there but it was what was there along with them that made him groan. All around the eye he could see red throbbing as both eyes devoured them back into the milky depths. His hands let go of the outer flesh, allowing the skin to take normal position. 'Kyuubi must be acting up again. Damned fur-ball probably wants something. I will talk to her later as I have things to do.'

The blonde walked into the kitchen with his hands freshly putting on his sunglasses. All he could see was Ikki who was eating a bowl of cereal. As the blonde drug his body to the coffee pot, he started to question the crow like teen. "So, where's Mikan?"

"She went out saying that she is tired of being cooped up and drug Ume along for the ride as well," Ikki answered back. "Ringo is still sleeping and Rika went out for some unknown reason."

The blonde sighed as he shook his head and finished the rest of his coffee. "Well Ikki," the blonde said as he went for the front door. "I am going out. Looks like you are going to have the house to yourself until Ringo gets up. Don't do anything that you shouldn't know with her." Before the black haired teen could figure anything out, the blonde demon container grabbed the car keys and left leave the house.

Rika sighed as she walked down the street. She was not having a good morning. Her fight was rescheduled to another date and her plane ticket was non refundable. That left her without money for a week or so and she was hoping that the next fight was nearby, as she could not take any form of transport. And then she started to see familiar buildings and people grinding their way around it as she used to before. It was really hurting her. She wanted to touch the sky again and to let herself go again but she was too afraid of it to happen.

Before she could go any further, she spotted a tall man with a large beer gut. His skin was really pale and his hair was slightly balding with a shiny part on top of his head. He was sitting in a lotus position upside down with one AT on his foot and the other on his head, which he was riding on. She could see a perverted gleam in his eyes as he stared at her ass. And the worst part about it was that he was a few inches away from her.

With a swift kick the pervert was sent into a wall, making a small, human-sized crater into the concrete. "Wow, what did the wall do to you to send that guy into it?" she heard a familiar voice call out from behind. But her angered mind would not allow her to process who the voice belonged to. With a quick movement, Rika spun around to punch the owner in the face. But before it could reach his face as she intended to, her fist was caught at the wrist.

With a fluid motion, Naruto pulled Rika into a deep hug, wrapping his arms around his back. At first, the motion surprised Rika. She was not expecting anyone to do that to her, well, except for perverts. But she was not expecting Naruto to do this to her. She could hear him speak soothing words into her ear while he lightly rubbed her back. Slowly she closed her eyes and started to cry into his chest as she returned the hug.

Naruto sighed as listened to Rika cry. He did not want to find her like this. It pained him to actually hear her cry about life. And she cried hard to, as if she pent up everything her whole life. She cried about her former boyfriend breaking his legs, about how she was scared of her wings, about what she was afraid of happening if Ikki got his wings, and about how her parents died. Everything that she could see messed up in her life, she cried about it.

When she was finally got her crying down to a low sniffle, Naruto pushed her off his chest, gripping her shoulders. His hands went for her chin as she looked down from his eyes, making her tilt her head back and slightly and look him in the eyes. His thumbs started to stroke her cheeks, whipping the tears of her soft skin.

Her eyes shinned slightly as she looked at him. One of her hands gripped his sunglasses and peeled it away from his face, exposing his slowly closing white eyes. Her brown eyes became shielded as her eyelids closed over them. Her face drew near to his before quickly closing the distance, capturing his lips in her own.

She felt a sudden spark from them, jolting through the body and exciting her. She had not had a feeling like that since Sora was alive. But she made the kiss short, as she did not want to cause a scene. When she pulled back, she looked into his dazed eyes. She could tell that he had the same feeling that she had gained from the kiss.

She looked up and down his body as she put the sunglasses back over his pupil-less orbs. Naruto smiled lightly down at her before looking at his car. "I brought the mustang here," he told her. "Want to go out?"

Rika smiled at the blonde before gripping his hand and running off to the car. This may be her chance to finally get what she wanted. If she got her treasure, she was damned sure that she would never let anyone it away from her. He was hers and if they wanted then for their selves, then they would have to go through her.

As the duo drove along the streets Naruto looked at several places before casting a side glance to Rika. To him, she was everything that he wanted in a woman. She was funny, strong willed, definitely powerful, and had a very attractive air around her that made her so attractive to him.

"So, where do you want to go first?" Naruto asked as he made the corner.

Rika's eyes scanned around, looking for any place that struck her fancy. A smirk came across her face as she found where she wanted to go. There in bright neon colors was the sign for Gear Head Electronics. "Lets go there," she said as her hand pointed at the building. The blonde looked over to where she was pointing before smirking and driving to the parking lot.

Naruto opened his door before closing it with a loud metallic clang. He turned to his right as he watched Rika get out of the car before smirking, locking the doors along the way. "Not used to being in an American style car are you?" he asked teasingly.

She shook her head before walking to his side of the car and grabbing his hand, dragging him into the store.

Naruto looked around the inside of the store. It was basically like the name said. There were so many gears and manikins made of gears. The walls were done with some type of steel with a diamond pattern. The counter looked as if it was one giant gear. It was exactly what the name said, as Naruto predicted.

The couple walked into the store with no problem, walking around and looking at everything. Naruto noticed Rika was looking at the electronics that the store had to offer but that was not what he was looking at. He could see several mirrors placed at the corners of the place and angled so the clerk could see everything. The clerk at the register had a gun under the counter. From what he could make out, this place was very protective when it comes to their stuff.

The blonde looked at the brunette as she stopped at the cameras. His head was cocked to the side slightly as he started to question why she needed one. "Hum, Rika-chan, why do you need another camera? I thought you had one."

Rika sighed as she looked at Naruto, already having her camera chose out. It was a very slim thing that was mostly red with a silver rose on the side of the push out lens and the Kodak insignia on it. "My other one broke in an accident." Her voice was simple, not hinting that she was lying nor was it hinting that she was not. Her hand gripped the tag top it before going to the counter with Naruto in hand, literally

"Will that be all for you two?" the clerk asked in a dark monotone voice. Rika nodded slightly as Naruto got out his wallet. "That would be 40,226 yen please."

Naruto's jaw almost hit the floor as he looked at the price. He had never seen a camera cost so much. Hesitating slightly, he pulled out his visa card and ran it through the card reader. The cashier smiled as he gave them receipt and the camera.

The couple walked out of the store and to the Mustang's trunk. "So, where to next?" Naruto asked as he put the camera in the trunk and locked it.

Rika sighed as she looked across the street. It was an old arcade place that she went to when she had free time during junior high and high school. Her lips cracked into a smile as she turned to Naruto. "Lets go to Game Paradise."

The blonde looked over to the arcade before shrugging his shoulders. The place seemed like fun and he had wanted to go to and arcade so why not go to one when the opportunity has shown itself? The blonde gripped her hand before walking out of the parking lot.

Naruto looked around the place and he could honestly say that he liked the place. The whole place was lit up by black lights, making the neon colors on the walls light up as if they were glow in the dark. The inside was huge and to one side he could see the prize wall and on the other he could see where a person could get some coins to play the games.

He turned to Rika as he felt her nudge him in the ribs. "Hey Naruto-kun," she spoke out in an adorable voice. "Could I borrow some money?"

Naruto sighed as he pulled out his wallet and gave her a few bills. She smiled as she ran off to the token machines. Naruto stood at his spot, bringing his hands to his temples and rubbing them slightly. 'For some odd reason, I think those eyes are going to get me broke in no time,' he thought.

Before he could move, he watched a very attractive woman around his age walk to him. She had curves ion all the right places with dirty blonde hair and pale white skin, looking like a china doll. Her bust was not anything to show off but it did not take away from the fact that she was beautiful. "Hey there sexy," she said in a purr as she started to back him into a wall. She placed one arm at the side of his head before using the other to rub his neck slightly. She smiled at his nervous features. They just made him so irresistible at the moment. She pressed her body against him, grinding her privates against his. "Why don't we go and do some, extra activities."

Naruto was about to answer before the blonde woman was pulled away from him and thrown into a game called 'High school Date From Hell', destroying it. Naruto's wide eyes turned to Rika as she looked at him angrily. From the look in her eyes, he could tell that she would be worse then Tsunade if she got mad enough. "Have mercy," he squeaked out before getting pulled towards Kami knows where.

Rika walked over to the bathroom before throwing him in. her body moved through the doorway before closing the door and locking it with a click. Her chocolate eyes traveled to Naruto's shaking form as he backed up from her, bumping into the sink. She moved through staggering steps towards him. When she reached him, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a deep kiss.

Naruto's eyes widened at the contact of her lips. He was expecting a lot of things, pain, hurtful words, but not this. This kiss was way in the back of his mind for things that were going to happen. But he could feel so much emotion in it. There was so much passion that it egged him on to close his eyes and rub her back while kissing her. And that is what he did.

Rika moaned as she felt his hands glide across her sweater clad back. She could feel his tongue lick across her bottom lip, begging for entrance into her moist caverns known as her mouth, something that she was all to happy to allow. His tongue dominated hers, exploring the tasteful wonders of her mouth.

The kiss was bliss to them but it had to end. With one deep gasp of air, Rika pulled away from the blonde, leaving him dazed. She smiled lightly as she watched him regain composure. When she knew that his milky white eyes were on her, she lost the smirk. "You are now mine and mine alone, got it?" she asked while giving him a look that said 'I dare you to argue me'.

Naruto nodded weakly. "Yes Rika-chan," he said. The woman in front of him smiled lightly before gripping his hand and taking him out of the bathroom to play in the arcade. Both of them ignored the stares that they got as they were to focused in on what had just happened in the bathroom.

It was not until three that they got out of the arcade and went to some place called Rider's Café. It was a huge place that seemed to be bouncing with crazy music. Naruto looked at the place with a cocked head as he turned to his new girlfriend. "SO why are we here?" he asked.

Rika sighed as she rubbed her temples. "Well, I was a Storm Rider at one point so I used to come her and hang out with my team. So I thought it would be nice to show you this place as you are also a soon-to-be Storm Rider."

Naruto shook his head as he still looked. "But neither of us has a set of ATs on us at all," he stated as he watched random Storm Riders roll in on their wheeled shoes. Rika sighed as she gripped his hand and walked up to the bouncer to get them in.

The couple sat down at a table with a couple of soft drinks in their hands. Naruto had wide eyes though. Rika has been getting scarier and scarier to him in his eyes. At first the bouncer would not let Naruto in as he was not a known Storm Rider yet and Rika was really known at the time she was riding. Needless to say, the bouncer will not be able to walk for a very long time and he will never have any children of his own.

Rika looked at him with a slight smile as she sat on his right. She had not had a feeling like this in a long time. Not since Sora had lost that match and broke his legs. To her, the former Sky King was her wings, her everything in the world and when he lost, she had as well. But now that Naruto was here, she had been getting doubts about everything that she had thought. Maybe Sora was not her wings. Maybe she had her own still. She shook her head lightly. No, that was not a possibility. There was no way that it could be like that. To make sure that the feeling would never leave her, she was going to have to get Naruto off of ATs and down to earth with her. For right now though, she will enjoy her time with him. She clung her body to him, snuggling into his arm as she waited for the waiter to come and take their order.

Naruto looked at the waiter as he made is way to their table. "So what would you two be having today?" he asked in a monotone voice.

Naruto was about to speak when Rika interrupted. "We will take the steak and for desert we will have the lava cake and one small bowl of strawberry ice cream." Naruto looked at her with a quizzical look. Her eyes shifted to him, telling him not to question. A smile lit across her face as she snuggled back into him, seeing that the waiter was on his way to tell the chef their order.

It was about thirty minutes when their steak came by. Surprisingly enough, the huge steak was cut in two, giving each about a half a pound. Looking at the silverware, the two began to eat, occasionally feeding each other. Rika was on cloud nine as she was being fed her desert. She shared the lava cake but not the ice cream. That she wanted fed to her.

Rika was licking off the rest of her spoon as Naruto fed her the rest of the ice cream. The volcano cake and the stake were already finished and they just paid for what they ate, or rather Naruto paid and left a tip.

The two were about to leave when they heard a loud gun shot go off at the entrance. The blonde could hear everyone scream as they watched the second bouncer, or what was left of him, get hurled through the crowd. His hands slowly went to his thigh, pulling out a kunai through the tear. The owner of the shotgun was the pervert that Rika kicked earlier. So far, he had not noticed her and was still searching around. That moment in time gave Naruto enough time to hide the blade in the back of his pants and hide Rika.

"Where is that brown haired bitch!" the pervert yelled, trying to get Rika out and center.

"What brown haired girl," Naruto asked as he hopped over the bench and leaned against it, showing his body to the man.

"You know whom I am talking about Blondie," the man seethed out, lowering his aim.

Naruto sighed as he looked the man over and took a large whiff of the air around him. "Alright, from the smell of things and the looks of your body, I would say that you belong in a prison. You are obviously bad at aim as you are using a shotgun, something that scatters your shots and adds more power instead of something that is easy to conceal like a pistol of some sort. Your eyes are dilated, meaning that you are either on PCP, LSD, Crystal, or some other narcotic. I can also smell some type of plant, the five-leaf kind of plant. So that right there tells me, that you are one shot away from being an OD victim right there."

"You son of a bitch!" the man yelled as he raised his gun to fire. But his finger was near able to pull the trigger as he felt a sharp pain in his crotch. The man fell to the ground withering in pain, pulling out the kunai that had found its way into his balls.

Naruto sighed as he looked at Rika. He motioned for the car and she knew what he meant. They should not be there as there would be to many uncomfortable questions when the police came by, questions that they would not be able to answer. So, the two left as quickly as possible, getting out of the district so the police would not spot them.

Naruto drove up to one last store on Rika's part. It was almost five and Naruto had something that needed to be done tonight. All he hope was that this would not take to long.

Rika walked Naruto inside, gripping his hand. The sign outside had, in fancy writing, Cloud 9 Lingerie. She looked at the blonde before smiling and setting him down. Naruto knew what that smile meant. It meant that if he looked at anyone besides her, he was gone. 'For some odd reason or another, I kind of like being hers,' he thought to himself as he got up and stretched. 'Did not know that she would force this relationship though.'

What the blonde did not notice is Simca walking up to him from behind. Before he could react, the pinkette wrapped her arms around him tightly and start to press her body against him tightly, making sure that he could feel her breasts. Her tongue licked the shell of his ear as she began to speak. "So Foxy-kun, ready for tonight?" she asked in a sultry voice.

Naruto blushed heavily as he felt sweat starting to go down his forehead. "Hum, yeah Simca-chan," he spoke out in a cracked, nervous voice. "But now is a bad time."

Simca smirked, hugging him even harder. "Really now," she spoke out in a slight pouty voice. "All I wanted to do is to tell you to meet me at the top of the Capcon office building downtown."

Naruto nodded slightly. He really did need to know where to go.

"Simca, why are you holding him?" the blonde shinobi and the pink haired woman heard Rika bellow out.

Simca smiled lightly as she let go of Naruto and walked over to Rika who was holding several bags of clothes and Naruto's wallet. "Hey Rika, I was just greeting my fellow coworker," Simca spoke out.

Rika sighed as she shook her head. "You never did change did you?" Rika asked, narrowing her eyes lightly.

Simca chuckled at the woman before starting to speak. "Are you still the Thorn Queen?" she asked. "Do you still have the Regalia that I made for you or did it crumbled like your rose wings after the fall of the Icarus, Sora?"

Rika glared at the woman before gripping Naruto and walking out. "Sorry Simca, but I have no time for you," Rika seethed out.

Simca smirked as she watched Rika and Naruto walk out of the store. Her tongue swept across her lips as she thought of what could happen. "My, my Foxy-kun, aren't you a cute little fox. Tame Rose-chan and me and her will nurture you right to where you belong, the top of the Trophaeum"

A/N And cut! Airtight, I know slightly late but it is not as late as the other chapter. So, I know this may seem like a filler chap but it is not, it is for development and to show you that, well, Simca is Simca. Any who, I am sorry for making Rika OOC but it was the only thing I can think of at the moment. And do not comment on the morphine or the drugs. One, Naruto uses the drug for medical reasons, of course. The reason being as the eyes use chakra and have chakra flowing through them. So, do to his constant change in chakra, pain will ensue. And I know that the drugs the pervert uses are super soldier drugs and he should not feel pain. I did not realize till it was to late and could not do anything about it.

On another note for the story, the pole is closed and you people gave me some excellent ideas but the one that I like the most is the one about combining the two regalia ideas that I posted last chap. So, that is the winner. Sorry for the people who came up with their own ideas.

And another note, I am really considering adding two more people but that is it. I am considering Female Kyuubi and Ringo. I am not sure but do not say that Ringo should only be for Ikki. I know that happens in the manga.

And I also have a something to tell you guys as well. Naruto will not go on Ikki's team for the reason that it will take away from Ikki. So, put this into your thoughts for future plans. Genesis is made up of a lot of teams.

So, with those thoughts in your head, Ibid you, a due.