Sorry for the delay, been a busy couple of weeks. Have a longer chapter to make up for it :)
They ran for the next two days with only five hours of rest, and another half hour for Arashi to redo Mei's bandages, when the Mizukage sped up to run next to Arashi when they saw the gates of Konoha. "Arashi, when we arrive I want to speak with the Hokage, Tsunade-sama and you in private" he nodded and they slowed to a walk.
As they neared they saw team seven with a man carrying a sake bottle. They were obviously going on a mission and by the looks of it it was an escort meaning a C-rank mission. Kakashi looked over "ah! There you are Arashi-kun" he said in his creepy voice. Arashi grumbled under his breath. "We were given a C-rank mission and the Hokage wants you to go with us. We can delay departure..." he was cut off.
"No, I have some important work to get done first. Where are you heading?" He asked as they met up. Kakashi blinked several times before answering "the Wave country. We're taking the west main road all the way up. Will you be able to catch us up?" He asked seriously. Arashi thought for a moment "what I need to do may take some time...wait, I have an idea" he made three hand seals "Moku Bunshin no Jutsu" several branch like protrusions extended to his left and formed a bunshin of him. "Go with them". The bunshin nodded and fell into step with team seven who were staring at him in shock along with the man, with the exception of Naruto who already knew of that skill. "Ok Kakashi-sensei. I'll be able to catch up and track you so long as my clone is with you" he said. Kakashi nodded and the team moved off again at a civilian walking pace. Mei raised an eyebrow "that was quite impressive Arashi" she said as they started walking towards Konoha again. He nodded "arigato. A useful jutsu that one" he said with a smile.
In the Hokage's office the group waited to be dismissed. The Sandaime smiled at them "mission completed. Well done, you are on a weeks stand down. Arashi, will you be able to catch up to team seven?" He asked.
"Later perhaps Hokage-sama. I have something to do first and it is very important" he said as the rest of his team filed out. The Hokage nodded and Mei spoke up "I would like to speak with you, Tsunade-sama and Arashi in private Hokage-sama" she said. The man obviously heard the urgent tone as he nodded "of course, ANBU" he called looking to his left. Four ANBU appeared from various places surprising no one. "Leave us but Neko, go and tell Tsunade-sama that her presence is required in my office immediately" the cat masked ANBU bowed and all four left. Mei looked to Chojuro and Ao "that means you as well im afraid" she said. They blinked twice but bowed and left as well. "Might I ask what this pertains to?" The Hokage asked as they sat down.
"I shall explain when Tsunade-sama arrives" was the answer.
They only had to wait two minutes as Tsunade walked in wearing a slightly confused expression. She saw Arashi sat with the two Kage's and rolled her eyes "what did you do?" She asked resigned. He smirked "always think the worst don't you oka-san?" He replied. She shook her head a little before smiling as Mei approached her and shook her hand "it is good to meet you in person Tsunade-sama. Arashi speaks very highly of you" she commented. Tsunade smirked
"I should hope so" she said grinning. Mei laughed a little before gesturing to a seat which the med-nin took. Then the Mizukage turned serious. "I must thank you Tsunade-sama because your training allowed Arashi to uncover a very unnerving, and hateful, crime being committed" she started. Both the Sannin and the Hokage looked confused and Mei sighed "as you can see I am currently bandaged" she indicated to her normally bare shoulders that showed the bandages. Tsunade nodded
"broken ribs right?" Mei blinked twice and Arashi said
"told you" Tsunade smirked a little but Mei went on
"quite, Arashi pointed them out a few hours into our travels. He outright refused to let us continue until he healed them" she said with a smile. Tsunade nodded then frowned
"why did you wait so many hours Arashi? You know it gets worse over time" he nodded
"I know, but im not as skilled as you. I could tell something was wrong but I wasn't sure what until I saw Mei wince as we were travelling" Tsunade nodded "besides, she was silly enough to not get checked out for three days after sparring with some of the seven swordsman" both med-nin present were sending glares at Mei who coughed a little. The Hokage was smirking slightly "anyway" Mei started "he fixed my ribs and applied a bandage. You should be proud of him Tsunade-sama. It takes an awful lot to make me do as im told regarding my health and Arashi had me walking around with help for a day" Tsunade smirked "though, the next day, and after he changed my bandages, he saw several bruises on my arms. Bruises that suggested someone had been holding me too hard" she said. Tsunade's eyes narrowed already seeing where this was going "as I told him I have never...participated in that kind of activity" the Mizukage said sidestepping around using the word 'sex' in her description. "Because of this Arashi found that I had been, and several occasions before, raped after a drug had been used on me" Tsunade's eyes widened as did the Hokage's. "As per Arashi's suggestion I gave him some blood so that he might be able to make an antidote or vaccine against the drug so that I can catch whoever did this to me" she told them. The Hokage nodded
"of course Mizukage-sama. Extremely good work Arashi." Tsunade nodded her assent. Mei nodded and smiled "that is why I wish to offer you a reward Arashi. You may ask anything of me and I shall do the best within my power to see it done" she said inclining her head respectfully towards him. He blinked several times "there's really no need Mei..." he tried but came up short when she stood
"Arashi, in my eyes what has happened to me is something I would wish on no woman. If it weren't for you this may have continued and possibly never have been discovered. Please, make your request" she said firmly. He glanced towards his oka-san and the Hokage who nodded once. What would he ask for? The look in her eyes suggested she thought he would ask something from her personally. A thought flashed through his mind "in Kirigakure, and the surrounding area's, there is a rare herb that is exceptionally useful against most poisons. Konoha does not have this herb and suffers greatly for this. A small stock of these herbs would be very beneficial" he said to the woman who blinked several times but smiled
"then I shall see to it that you get them" she assured him. Tsunade smiled proudly at him
"you'll have to get the details on the herb from my oka-san" he added. Mei nodded and he stood "is Shizune-nee-chan at the hospital?" He asked Tsunade who nodded "I'll ask for her help to make an antidote or vaccine but I won't tell her why" he reassured the Mizukage who nodded gratefully "arigato" she said. He smiled and she kissed him on the cheek before he left with a wave. Sitting down again Mei looked to Tsunade "he really is something special isn't he?" She nodded. "Do you think he realises I was offering myself to him?" Tsunade smirked as the Hokage's nose bled slightly. "He knew Mizukage-sama but my Arashi isn't like that. Somehow I think you could've been stood there butt naked and he still would've asked for the herbs instead. Its just in his nature to help people, and he's very good at it" she explained. Mei nodded and smiled.
It was almost thirteen hours later when Mei was approached in her hotel room by a tired looking Arashi. "Have you not been to sleep?" She asked surprised. He had been awake for thirty four hours flat, and for fifteen of those he had been running. "No, I'll get a few hours later. Here" he passed over a syringe with a light yellow liquid inside "that is a vaccine against the drug. I would suggest not taking it until you return to Kirigakure. It'll last for a week. Shizune-nee-chan is making up two more doses just in case and she'll bring them round soon. I didn't tell her Mei but she knows what the drug compound is and what its for so I imagine she's worked it out. She won't say anything about it however" he assured her. She nodded
"I seem to say this a lot to you Arashi but arigato yet again. Now, please go and get some sleep. You look exhausted" he nodded and left with a goodnight and a wave that she returned.
He woke up nine hours later and quickly showered, dressed and re-equipped his scrolls placing them back in his pouch. Team seven was quite a distance away but only about eleven hours of running. Although that was eleven hours of flat out running for him. If he was a normal genin that would be nearly two days worth. Thanking his lucky stars that Tsunade adopted him for the millionth time in his life he made sure he was ready before heading out grabbing something to eat on the way out.
When he reached the gate he saw that the Hokage, his oka-san, Shizune and Mei were waiting along with Kurenai and team eight. "Are you sure you're ok to go?" The Hokage questioned. He nodded
"sure, I should catch them up later tonight. I hope you realise that just because it isn't me you still have to get those bandages changed every day" he added to Mei who smiled
"hai hai, Tsunade-sama agreed to do it in your stead" she told him. He nodded
"good, I should get booking" he said. Kurenai moved forwards and surprised only the Hokage when she kissed him before he headed out. "When did that happen?" The old man asked confused.
"A few weeks ago now" Kurenai replied absently. He nodded slowly before shrugging and heading off. Mei and Kurenai started walking through Konoha "how did he take that request?" Kurenai asked. Mei shook her head "im now certain he knew I was offering myself but he stilled turned me down in favour of securing some rare herbs for Konoha. Im getting quite jealous of you Kurenai." She added. Kurenai smiled
"he does seem oddly perfect doesn't he" she said absently. Mei nodded and Kurenai smirked "who knows, maybe I'll share him" she teased the Mizukage who blushed slightly but smiled back "I think I would like that" Kurenai grinned at her.
As Arashi ran he sneezed randomly but shrugged it off. His oka-san often said that if that happened it meant someone was talking about him. He didn't believe in that kind of omen so dismissed the idea straight away.
He travelled flat out before reaching what looked like a wood cabin. He sensed several chakra signatures inside but what really proved to him that it was team seven was the fact his Moku bunshin was in there with them. He was quite tired by then and knocked twice. "Coming" came a female voice. The door opened to reveal a pretty brunette who blinked several times "aren't you in the living room?" She asked surprised. He shook his head
"that's a Bunshin. Im the real one. Is team seven here?" She nodded and let him in "arigato" he said walking into the living room. Something instantly screamed to him that something happened to them on the way. Kakashi was slumped in a chair talking with the team with effort lacing his voice. "Ah, there you are Arashi-kun" he said wearily. The Moku Bunshin got up and Arashi put his hand on its back absorbing all the information and memories of what had happened as he dispelled it.
Moments later he frowned "Zabuza huh?" He said to himself before sitting down. He sighed "Kakashi-sensei, why didn't you let Naruto help? You know that you could've beaten him before that hunter-nin arrived if you had" he scolded. Kakashi chuckled while scratching the back of his head sheepishly "I figured that if he got away we wouldn't have revealed anything too important" he reasoned. Arashi rolled his eyes
"brilliant idea, and now you're suffering from chakra exhaustion. Go and get some rest. I'll take over until you're better" he assured the man who nodded and got to his feet stumbling slightly. Naruto supported him and helped him upstairs. Sasuke glared at Arashi "why do you get to take charge and not me?" He demanded.
"Because im a med-nin Sasuke. That makes me a higher rank when the jounin isn't present. Plus I, and Naruto, have the longest training and are the strongest of us. Now, from what I saw from my Bunshin Zabuza was put into a death like state through the neck. He'll be out of action for a week" he said. Sakura huffed
"we know this. Kakashi-sensei told us" Arashi nodded
"good, then we'll spend this week training." Naruto returned and sat down "Naruto and I will be assisting you two. For now however get some rest. We'll be up early" he told them. They reluctantly agreed and went upstairs. "Naruto, you know the deal" he nodded and headed outside. The woman, that Arashi now knew was called Tsunami, looked confused "why did he go out?"
"To be on watch. Zabuza was knocked out and there isn't a great deal to be done to speed recovery of a death like state. Its possible the hunter-nin would try and take out who they perceived to be the strongest, Kakashi, within the week. Naruto is more then enough to stay on watch. I would've gone first but i've been running flat out for eleven hours. I need some rest first" he said standing. She nodded and waved as he went upstairs to the shared room with Sasuke and Kakashi. The Uchiha scowled at him as he entered but said nothing.
The next day found Arashi, Sasuke and Sakura by some trees. Naruto was getting a couple hours rest before coming out as well. "Ok you two. What you're going to learn is to climb trees" he said looking between them. Sasuke scowled whereas Sakura asked "why is climbing trees going to help?" In response he walked straight to a tree, up it then across a branch hanging upside down looking down at them. "This will teach you more precise chakra control" he dropped and flipped around to land "focus chakra to the soles of your feet. Not too much or you'll be blown off the tree and not too little as you won't stick. Its best to start off running up then slowing to a walk in order to master it. Use a kunai to mark the height of your last attempt then try and beat it" he said. The two chose their trees and Arashi was not that surprised when Sakura ran straight up to the highest branch smiling widely. Sasuke scowled as he only managed a few feet before dropping down. "How is it Sakura can do this so easily?" He demanded.
"Because Sakura only has a little chakra and as such it is easier to control properly. All it'll take is practise Sasuke. Keep going, you too Sakura. You can run now try walking" she nodded and dropped back down to start again.
The week passed swiftly and both genin mastered tree, and water, walking in that time. Kakashi had recovered and agreed that Naruto and Arashi should help him fight Zabuza and Haku, the hunter-nin. Arashi made the Moku bunshin again and sent it with Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. Naruto would do the normal three spikes of chakra if there was something going on.
There had been a brief distraction in the shape of some thugs with katana's trying to take Tsunami or Inari, her son, but Arashi had swiftly disposed of them before feeling three chakra spikes. He told the two to go to the other villagers before heading off towards the bridge.
When he arrived there was a thick, chakra enriched, fog covering everything. Only his honed senses could pick up the chakra signatures on the bridge. His clone was fighting with Kakashi against Zabuza while Naruto and Sasuke fought Haku. Sakura was defending Tazuna. Decided to help Kakashi first with the biggest threat he focused on Zabuza's location and suppressed his chakra to hide his approach. His bunshin could sense him nearby and usefully herded the man towards him. The real Arashi saw Zabuza back closer to him dodging away from several senbon. He didn't know of the Mokuton yet. Drawing his fist back Arashi threw a punch forwards releasing his chakra. Zabuza tensed and span around in time to catch the punch with the flat of his huge blade. The mans eyes widened upon feeling the enormous strength behind the punch. It wasn't one of just muscle power, even though that would've been enough to kill the man easily on a solid hit, but a chakra enhanced punch that could destroy buildings if used just right. A huge dent was smacked into the blade and Zabuza was launched down the bridge with a heavy thud. "Kakashi, that must have broken some ribs" he called to the man as he sped forwards to catch Zabuza. His bunshin got behind the man and threw several dozen senbon at vital places meaning Zabuza had to dodge. He had a choice, the real Arashi or Kakashi. The man obviously thought Arashi just got a lucky hit and darted towards him. Arashi smirked and ducked under the sword swipe planting his knee into Zabuza's gut hard causing the man to cough up blood, which stained the bandages around the lower half of his face and neck, then followed it up with a swift elbow to the back of the neck slamming him into the bridge hard enough to crater it. He kicked the sword away and Kakashi leapt forwards with a Raiton jutsu that he plunged through the prone Zabuza's back destroying the mans heart killing him instantly. The thick mist dispersed after its caster was killed and the three saw a strange dome made of ice. Inside it were Sasuke and Naruto. The Moku bunshin was dispelled back into Arashi's palm and he ran forward with Kakashi. "Don't go inside Kakashi-sensei...and cover that Sharingan. The last thing we need is you collapsing from chakra exhaustion again" the man nodded and did so. "How are we going to help without going inside. A Katon jutsu won't harm this ice" he reasoned. Arashi nodded before smirking "you're forgetting who you're with Kakashi-sensei. Stand back" he said cocking a fist. Haku's voice rang out
"you can't break my ice mirrors with strength" he said.
"You want to bet on that?" Arashi replied before throwing the hardest, chakra imbued, punch he could at the mirror in front of him. It shattered into tiny shards and Haku gasped "how?" He demanded. Arashi ignored him in favour of getting the two inside to come out to him. "Give it up Haku. Zabuza is dead. You have no one to be a tool to any more" Naruto told the boy who came to a sudden stop in one of the mirrors. "Dead? No, he can't be dead" he said desperation clear in his voice. Arashi pointed to the corpse "he is. If you don't stop then the same will happen to you" he said clearly. There was a pause before the mirrors melted and Haku appeared by Zabuza's side. He took it and disappeared again. Arashi sighed before walking over and picking up the, now heavily damaged, sword. "We'll need to give this to Mei. Proof that he's dead so the real hunter-nin don't continue and waste their time" he said to Kakashi who nodded in agreement.
"Nice timing by the way. I was running out of chakra" he said with an eye smile. Arashi rolled his eyes and saw that Sasuke had finally activated his Sharingan. "I hope you realise that copying a team mates jutsu is against Konoha law" he warned the Uchiha who scowled and deactivated his eyes. There was another interruption as a fat, balding, man wearing a suit walked onto the bridge with about thirty goons. "So kind of you to kill him for me. I wasn't going to pay him anyway. Now, we just need to take care of you" the man said with a slimy grin as his thugs started forwards. Arashi's right hand snapped from his pouch forwards and a brief moment later the man collapsed backwards with blood pouring from his eyes. The two senbon had travelled straight through his eyes into his brain killing him instantly. "Do you really want to try?" Arashi asked the thugs with a smirk. They looked between each other before one shouted "lets loot the village and get out of here". That was met with agreement and they turned back to the village only to find themselves faced by armed villagers that outnumbered them four to one.
After the thugs had been taken care of Tazuna thanked the Konoha ninja. They volunteered to stay and help build the bridge but Arashi had a better idea. "Where's the design?" He asked. Tazuna blinked twice before producing a long scroll that he unrolled. Arashi looked it over before grinning to himself. Kakashi chuckled with Naruto as they saw what was going to happen. A ram symbol later and a burst of chakra and the bridge was complete with the use of Mokuton. Tazuna, and the villagers, stared at Arashi in shock as he waved casually.
A day later and they were back in Konoha. Arashi's guess had been correct as he saw that Mei had returned to Kirigakure. After the situation had been explained to the Hokage he told Arashi of a B-rank mission. It was to gather supplies from Kirigakure and bring them back to Konoha. He would be going alone and could deliver the sword at the same time. Thanking the Hokage he set off again for Kirigakure. Kurenai gave him another kiss and passed him a scroll that she said he was to give to Mei. He didn't understand what it was about but had no intention of prying. He set off again.
Two days of almost flat out running he reached Kirigakure's gates and greeted the chuunin on guard. "How can I help?" He asked with a smile.
"I'd like to speak with the Mizukage. I have proof of the death of a Kiri missing-nin and it has to be presented to her" he explained to the chuunin who nodded
"of course, the Kage tower is in the centre of the village. Tallest one, you can't miss it. Tell the secretary what you told me and she'll send you up" Arashi nodded his thanks and walked through the village.
Upon entering the tower he repeated his case to the secretary who did indeed send him straight up so he knocked on the door. "Enter" came Mei's voice. He pushed the door open and looked inside. Chojuro was stood nearby and waved as he came in. Mei smiled at him "hello again Arashi. I assumed you would be the one to pick up the herbs" she said standing and moving around her desk to kiss him on the cheek. "Hi Mei. Actually, I came for a couple of reasons. One is the herbs but another is this" he hefted the large sword around to show her. The emerald eye widened in shock
"that's Zabuza's sword...you killed him?" She asked. He shook his head
"it was a team effort between me and Kakashi-sensei" he explained. She nodded and ran a hand over the large dent "what caused this?" She asked quietly. Arashi chuckled
"that was me. I hit it" he said. Her eye snapped up to look at him intently
"you're telling me that you are strong enough to do this to this sword?" She asked surprised. He nodded "hai hai, oh. Before I forget" he dug Kurenai's scroll out of his pocket and passed it over "from Kurenai" he told her. She nodded with a strange smile. Then he glanced towards Chojuro before saying quietly "did you catch him?" She nodded
"Chojuro knows...and hai, it was my old secretary. He got a hell of a shock when he tried it the day I came back. Your vaccine worked perfectly" she praised. He nodded
"anything I can do to help" he assured her as they sat down on a comfy sofa. Mei nodded and smiled "im forever in your debt for that Arashi" she said before opening Kurenai's scroll and reading it through.
A few minutes later she had the strange smile on her face again as she rolled the scroll up. "Chojuro, would you give us some privacy for a minute?" The man nodded and left. Mei looked Arashi over "this scroll was Kurenai giving me permission" she said. Arashi raised an eyebrow
"permission? To do what?" He asked confused. She smiled and leant forwards pushing him down onto the sofa "this" she said kissing him. He blinked several times as she let him go with a smile.
"But...but, wait...im confused" he muttered. She smirked and nodded
"hai, Kurenai agreed that we could share. Since you'll be in Konoha a lot and barely in Kirigakure I better get my fill now. Come with me" she said with authority as she stood. He blinked several times before following her out of the office and down the hall to another door which she opened to reveal a bedroom. Arashi suddenly became very nervous as he was pushed inside and the door shut behind them. "Mei...what exactly is..." he got no further as she put a finger over his mouth. The desperate look in her eye worried him "ever since I learnt of what was happening Arashi i've felt dirty. I've tried everything, i've showered, admitted what happened to another med-nin but I still feel unclean. The one time I felt even close to clean again was when I was around you Arashi. I need you to help cleanse me. Please, I need this" she said quietly. He eyed her for a moment
"are you sure?" She nodded so he agreed.
Four hours later a red faced, sweating and panting couple laid down on the bed with Mei laying on Arashi's chest wearing a satisfied smile. "Arigato Arashi. I feel better now" she told him "but now im exhausted so im going to get some rest" she said cuddling a little closer to him. He smiled and put a hand over her shoulder protectively. She smiled some more and soon he could hear the deep breathing of a sleeping person issuing from her. Shaking his head a little he too went to sleep.
He woke the next morning to Mei kissing him. It was definitely his best wake up call to date. He returned it and she said "I don't want you to go but you really should be heading back to Konoha. Promise me you'll write" she told him sternly. He nodded and smiled
"not a problem" he assured her.
Twenty minutes later, after they both showered and dressed, they walked back into Mei's office to see a smirking Chojuro "not a word" the Mizukage warned playfully.
"I wasn't going to say anything Mizukage-sama" he replied in an innocent voice. She rolled her eyes before pulling a scroll from her desk. "There are two crates of herbs sealed in here. Once again I thank you for your work" she said handing it over. He nodded and smiled
"any time Mei" he said with a respectful head inclination. She kissed him lightly on the lips before "Kurenai is a lucky woman" she said letting him go. He chuckled
"Im a lucky guy" he responded as he left with a wave. Mei sat on the edge of her desk with a slight sigh. "He is far too easy to love" she said mostly to herself.
Arashi grinned to himself as he sped through a forest the next day. He had gotten plenty of rest and the genin team that was trailing him from Kumogakure needed some serious training. Their jounin however was quite skilled and he was impressed. They must've caught wind that a single genin would be transporting very rare herbs between the villages. To have some fun he kept his speed down to genin level.
Sure enough though, when he reached a clearing, the jounin appeared in front of him and the genin around him. He didn't pay any attention to them and the jounin smirked. She was a blonde woman about six years older then him with green eyes. Her long hair tied back in a pony tail that was wrapped in bandages. "Ok, hand over the herbs" she said holding her hand out. He smiled innocently "herbs? Im sure I don't know what you mean...?" He trailed off for her name.
"Nii Yugito and don't play dumb. We know that you're transporting herbs from Kirigakure to Konohagakure. Those are exceedingly rare and we want them. Hand them over. You're out numbered" she told him firmly. He glanced around at the genin readying their poses
"huh, well. I'll give you this, they aren't bad but they need more training...and they have no chance against me" he said confidently whilst looking back to the jounin who smirked
"little arrogant aren't you?" She said. He smirked
"ok, if you're so sure of them then let them attack by themselves. A genin team should not always have to rely on their jounin to bail them out" he challenged. She nodded and straight away her genin attacked.
He had a fun twenty minutes easily dodging the attacks from the genin. They utilised taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu pretty well but their chakra management sucked and their actual jutsu's weren't that strong. Their stamina also left something to be desired. Yugito looked less then impressed with her team. "Hey, don't blame it on them. You just had no idea who you're messing with" he said "bad intel is hardly your, or their, fault" he said consolingly. She glared at him and motioned for the genin to move away. She took her own stance and he smirked "oh? Going to take me out and take the herbs for yourself are you?" He asked taking his own stance. She nodded but paused when blue chakra started pulsing around his hands. "This jutsu is called Chakura no Mesu" her eyes narrowed "I see you've heard of it. Then why don't you explain to your genin?" He suggested. She hesitated but did so
"those scalpels can cause injuries through the skin. They slice through muscle easily. Do not let him hit you with them in any way. Especially where there are vital organs because you will be dead if he so much as twitches his hand" she explained. The genin paled
"don't worry. I have no intention of killing any of you but I am going to have to put you down if you continue this folly" he said to Yugito who growled and shot forwards so fast her genin couldn't track her. Obviously she expected the same of Arashi but he not only followed her but out paced her in his own dash forwards. His hands shot under her strike slicing her biceps and triceps of both arms followed by her right hamstring. She stumbled to the ground unable to lift her arms. Her look of shock was quite amusing to Arashi. "Did you not wonder why they sent a single genin?" He questioned. Then he sighed "im a med-nin and I don't like the idea of leaving you in the care of your genin team like this. I have in no way shown my true strengths here Yugito-san so I shall offer you this. I will heal your injuries so long as you call off this mission" he offered to her.
For several minutes she seemed to consider the course of action before she surprised Arashi by lashing out with her fist catching his chin and causing him to have to back flip away to put some distance between them. She got back to her feet with a feral grin. He blinked several times. The only person that ever recovered from a chakra scalpel attack that quickly was Naruto and that was because of the Kyūbi...wait, Kyūbi? He smirked "ah, so that's how it is. Which one?" He asked the jounin who frowned "which one what?" She asked.
"Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi..." he clarified. Her eyes widened
"you figured out im a jinchuuriki from a single punch?" She asked in surprise. He nodded
"hai hai, I spar with another jinchuuriki often. He recovers as fast as you do to the chakra scalpel" he explained briefly. She nodded slowly before smirking
"then you know how dangerous it is to face us. Just give in so I don't have to hurt you" she said arrogantly.
"You didn't answer me. Which one?" He questioned again. She raised an eyebrow
"the Nibi" she told him. He nodded
"Nibi...oh, the Neko" he said realising. She nodded as well. "Impressive...but not good enough im afraid. I can see that im not likely to get away with beating you down in some way so that's what I'll have to do im afraid kitty" he teased. She growled at him
"don't call me that!" She yelled rushing forwards again. He ducked and weaved under her strikes while blocking several as well. He had yet to throw his own punches knowing it would unbalance her if he just defended for now.
A minute later she darted back a little "you're not bad for a genin" she complimented. He smiled
"arigato...you're not bad for a jounin" he replied. She rolled her eyes "but im afraid im going to have to fight back now. What i've learnt from fighting a jinchuuriki is that I don't need to pull my punches that much so this should be fun" he rushed forwards as fast as he could surprising the jounin once again. She barely managed to cross her arms in front of the heavy blow he threw at her. It connected with her forearms with enough force to snap the bones and send her crashing through the thick trunks of several trees in her path. Her genin stared at him wide eyed as she groaned and got to her feet slowly. "Ow" she muttered "how the hell?" She asked looking through the holes she made in the trees as she passed. He grinned at her "and that wasn't a full punch...why are you crying?" He asked as tears rolled down the woman's cheek.
"I can't go back to Kumo a failure. They already hate me for being a jinchuuriki, if they hear I lost to a genin they'll use me as a toy for the shinobi" she explained. Now that he looked he did see hateful glares from her genin. "Even though the Raikage wants to help me he can't do anything as the council wants me dead" she told him walking closer but submissively. He kept his guard up though. "I hate being a helping soul" he muttered whilst sighing. "Take me to Kumogakure and I'll speak with the Raikage" he told her. She blinked several times but nodded. This was going to be a long week.
It took almost four days to travel to Kumogakure from their position but upon their arrival Arashi was accosted by a chuunin. "Halt! What does a Konoha shinobi have to do here?" He demanded.
"I wish to speak with the Raikage" he said confidently before seeing the other chuunin trying to cop a feel of Yugito. "If you don't stop that im going to break your neck" he threatened while releasing a high level killing intent to make the man stop and pale. "Better" he said rescinding it before the genin passed out. "Raikage-sama" Yugito said bowing. Coming towards them was a tall, extremely muscled, man with blonde hair and a white robe. Beside him was a slightly smaller man with the same dark skin tone and blonde hair. He had ox horns tattooed onto his left cheek and seven swords on his back. "Yugito, who is this?" The Raikage demanded.
"Senju Arashi Raikage-sama" she said respectfully. The two men looked around at Arashi curiously. "Oh? And what business do you have with Kumogakure?" He asked. Arashi gave him a flat expression "I have heard that the way your villagers, and ninja" he added with a dark glare towards the chuunin who tried to feel up Yugito "treat jinchuuriki" he ended. The Raikage sighed and nodded "let us go to my office. Yugito, you come with us but your team is dismissed" he said to the genin who left quickly leaving the group of four to walk. The smaller man dropped back beside Arashi "names Kirabi yo!" He introduced holding his fist out. Arashi raised an eyebrow before bumping fists with the man. "Good to meet you Kirabi. You're related?" He gestured to the Raikage "hai hai, my bro" Kirabi told him. "And my cousin" he added indicating Yugito who waved.
They entered the Raikage's office a few minutes later and the large man turned back to Arashi "Yugito is right im afraid. The way our village treats her is not well to say the least. Frankly, I can't stand it but no matter what I try I can't get the villagers to treat her better" he said. Arashi nodded slowly "why not transfer her to Konoha then? Its within your power as Kage and out of the councils hand as it is solely a ninja matter" he reasoned. The Raikage nodded slowly
"I had thought of that but then Konoha would have a much greater military power" he said slowly "plus Yugito is family" he added. Arashi nodded
"and you would have your family living in fear of being used as a toy?" He asked bluntly. The man glared at him "never" he growled
"then transferring Yugito to Konoha makes sense. It would not only improve political ties between the villages but it would also mean she would be safe. I will not say that Konoha is a perfect haven for jinchuuriki but it is better then what i've seen of your village already, no offence meant" he added respectfully. The Raikage waved him off
"I understand your statement. I suppose the decision is ultimately up to you Yugito" he said turning to the woman who blinked several times.
"You say you spar with a jinchuuriki a lot?" She asked Arashi who nodded "which one?" She asked curiously. "The Kyūbi" he said earning shocked expressions.
"Is he, or she, treated well in Konoha?" She asked. Arashi shrugged
"he's treated a little like an outcast but generally accepted by anyone with half a brain to realise that the Kyūbi being sealed in him is not his fault nor within his power to change without releasing the thing" he explained. She nodded once before frowning
"how strong are you?" She asked. He smirked
"lets put it this way, if we had fought and gone all out I still would've won...and I am not being arrogant. I can beat the Kyūbi jinchuuriki if I tried. We were both trained by two of the Legendary Sannin" he told them. The Raikage whistled impressed
"if Yugito does accept this promise me something. That you will look after her to the best of your abilities" the man said. Arashi nodded
"of course" he assured the man who nodded and looked back to Yugito.
For several minutes there was silence until she nodded slowly "fine, I'll go" she replied. The Raikage smiled "arigato. I'll get the paperwork done while you go pack, Kirabi. Go with her to make sure nothing happens" the man nodded and they left. Arashi ran a hand through his hair and the Raikage smirked "busy huh?" The genin let out a single chuckle
"I haven't seen my bed in over two weeks. Im over due back at Konoha by three days and now I'll have to explain why im with a strange woman to my girlfriend...that'll go well" he joked as the Raikage smirked at him.
Before anyone says about the interaction between Mei and Arashi I feel I should mention that, although I'm no psychologist, I do know that there are some cases where rape victims do feel this way. As far as I know it's rare but it does happen. Also, I should mention that this isn't really a harem fic but it's likely that things between Mei and Arashi will continue. Yugito won't be getting with Arashi.
I feel I should also address the fights and the idea that some of you may believe Arashi is over powered. For one, remember that it took Sakura only two and a half years under Tsunade's training before she was said to have surpassed Tsunade as a med-nin and kunoichi by Elder Chiyo, if I recall correctly anyway, so having trained for seven years with both Tsunade and Jiraiya is it that surprising he's so strong? Plus, the two fights in this chapter were against opponents who severely underestimated him due to his rank. Remember, Deception is a ninja's greatest tool. Arashi utilizes this as best he can.
Finally, I know it might have been a little too subtle but I did say that Arashi had his own perverted side, just not much of one, in an earlier chapter. Seven years training and travelling with Jiraiya would make just about anyone perverted, even if only slightly.
I hope that addresses any problems and questions anyone might have but I'm sure there's something I've missed and I'll do my best to explain my reasoning when I can. Thanks, hope you liked the chapter and please, Review :)