Warnings: Yaoi/ Shonen ai. You don't like don't read. Flames aren't welcomed only constructive criticism.
Author's Note: Reviews are still welcomed. And you might want to set up the cue music before you start reading to be able to stay with the mood of the moment. All my music can be found on Youtube (.com) Just a helpful suggestion. And I'm really sorry for the late update. Life happened
I REVISED THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS YET AGAIN DUE TO A SERIOUS PLOT CHANGE ON MY BEHALF. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO RE-READ THEN SKIM THEM OTHERWISE SOME THINGS HERE WILL SEEM VERY DISJOINTED!
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Not Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, or GetBackers, or the songs I will be using, but I do own the plot.
Cue Music:
Sora was a pretty easygoing person. At least he thought so. It took a lot to get him truly riled or angered. He believed everyone had a right to their own beliefs and opinions, and if he didn't agree with them he tended to distance himself to avoid conflict.
Unless of course, those opinionated individuals tried to push their views or enforce their beliefs on him and his family. That did the trick every time.
For that exact reason, he couldn't understand his annoyance at the moment. There had been no great incident in which warranted the emotion. He sighed as he thought over the day's events yet again in an attempt to pinpoint 'where' exactly things started to go awry.
It was now Friday afternoon and class had let out a while ago, which left only the afterschool training session before they all took a trip to the city for the weekend.
The thought of spending the weekend away from this place was a little bit of a relief if he was being honest with himself. It wasn't that he disliked the Manor; it was simply that a lot had been thrown at him in a short period of time. Perhaps a breather would help them ease into the strange new lifestyle they all found themselves in.
As he rounded the corner the light haired brunet (maybe it was more of an auburn color now?) almost ran into the tall imposing figure of the resident pyro Axel.
"Woops sorry Axe didn't see you there!"
"No worries short stuff, no harm no foul as they say. Where are you in such a rush to go to anyway? And why are you alone?" The inquiry was made as Axel steadied the teen who'd stopped short in order to avoid the collision.
"Ah I was on my way to the gym dome for training. And I told everyone to go ahead because I forgot to put my books in my locker. It's no big deal."
"Still someone's supposed to be with you at all times. Com'mon I'll walk you there." Axel grinned as he threw a friendly arm over the now notably taller boy. And just like that all thoughts on annoyance took a backseat to present company.
"Oh, okay then thanks I guess." Sora grinned in return before a thought that'd been bugging him for a while came to him.
"Can I ask you a question Axel?"
"Sure you can ask it, but I won't know if I can answer it or not unless I know what it is I'm being asked now can I?"
"Urk my brain no logic please!" Sora gripped his head in mock pain as he exaggerated the motion of shaking it out.
"Haha not a chance Shorty! Mentally torturing people is what I live for. It keeps things interesting."
"Okay fair enough I suppose. What I wanted to know was, if the normal students don't know about us then how on god's green earth do they not realize that we're completely different from when they met us?
I mean I know our hair can be chalked up to hair dye. And I'm pretty sure nobody paid close enough attention, or could even see for that matter, Naru-nii or Aniki's eyes to know that the color changed. But people just don't grow up over night! How do they not realize that Naru-nii and I are huge compared to how we were?" Sora whined as he tried to make sense of his confusing thought process.
Grinning Axel used the large hand that was already slung over the boy's shoulder to bring his head closer to his torso before roughly messing with his hair.
"Jeez slow down! You're just like your brothers they asked the same question already. Do you all share the same though process or somethin'?
First off our people don't believe in the traditional 'god'. Our deity of worship is 'Hyne'. I know that that's going to be really hard to swallow or accept but god turned his back on the creatures born of shadow a long time ago, 'damning us' as it were. Secondly you have Naminé to thank for the massive overwrite of memories. She's altered the memory of everyone you or you brothers have ever come across in this school so that they only remember you as you are now and not as you were. Got it memorized?"
"Y-yeah I think so. Demo, is Naminé really that great? I thought only Ino had that ability." Sora halted as they reached the breezeway doors in favor of hearing more answers.
"Yeesh kid you're just chock full 'o questions aren't ya? You're gonna have to save that one for later. I have a feeling that your brothers are probably on your wave length, no point explaining it more than once. Now com'mon before we're late. Kakashi may always be late but Leon's always early. He'll have us running laps from now until our legs fall off if we're late without good reason. Trust me on that."
Axel abruptly ended their conversation using the arm still wrapped around Sora to pull the other though the doorway. Sora pouted and unwillingly relented seeing as no more answers would be forthcoming at the moment.
As the duo entered the gym they were greeted with the welcoming faces of their friends and families.
"What took you so long So-chan?" Ginji questioned as the red head released the younger from his hold.
"Oh I was just talking with Axe he was filling me in on a few things." Sora smiled brightly as he turned to his newly made friend.
"Thanks for that by the way."
"Anytime chibi." Axel grinned back knowing full well that Sora was no longer one.
"So to begin today's lesson we'll start with a bit of a refresher course, or another history lesson, whichever one you prefer to call it, for the new students." Leon interrupted with his no nonsense tone drawing all undivided attention. The students dare not breathe a word of protest as they gathered around and took seats on the floor or bracing against the wall.
Ginji, Naruto, Kazuki, and Sora found themselves seated between Axel, Roxas, and Kiba's group and the rest of the Hebi members that seemed to always be where they were. The animosity had almost all but disappeared so they no longer dreaded being within their vicinity. It was a welcomed change considering how they started out.
"So when you say history lesson you mean…" Naruto trailed off waiting for an elaboration.
"Well I guess it'd be more accurate to call it a lesson on social structure with a bit of history for clarification purposes." Leon explained leaning up against a wall while crossing his arm and legs to put himself in a more comfortable position.
Just as he prepared himself to speak again the gym doors opened once more and allowed the entrance of seven more familiar figures. Kakashi in lead of Akabane, Seifer, Zell, Lee, Cloud, and Iruka made his way over to the large group.
"Story time already?" He questioned never once removing his face from his little orange book. "I've brought some new students, not to mention retrieved some old ones." He motioned to the group in back of him.
Ginji looked at them all in wonder. "What are you all doing here? Aren't you all just regular students from Gai's class? And Otousan-tachi as well…"
The side of Riku's mouth quirked up the slightest bit but in an amused fashion, "Oh those four weren't fighting you on even playing fields to begin with. You see every so often Kakashi and Leon, to keep us on our toes, randomly selects students and have their abilities temporarily suppressed by will power. It's in order to see how they fare without them as well as give them an opportunity to train the physical body. I would like to say that it's a coincidence that you all chose one of your own people during those mock battles, but I think it's something a little simpler than that. You most likely felt the pull of your own kind and were drawn to it. Like a moth to a flame."
"Make no mistake they didn't throw their matches with you. But had they've used their abilities like you had there's no way you would've had a victory to boast of.' Sasuke added softly from his spot next to Sora. It wasn't a condescending tone thankfully; it was only an observation being made.
"Okay assuming what you say is true, then why are our fathers here?" Kazuki added suspicions high ever since that encounter in the hallway.
"I believe we can answer that," Iruka spoke for the first time since entering.
"We've known this for a while but didn't think it was in your best interest to let you know the truth at the time. We are what you are. But our knowledge on them is almost as limited as yours is." Cloud was very soft spoken in his nervousness as he approached his boys.
The eldest blonde fidgeted for a second, "We're sorry for not telling you earlier-"
"Cloud- tousan stop. There's no need for any of that. You were just doing what you though was best for us. 'Sides it's not like we would have been able to understand or accept half the things we do now." Ginji calmly stated with a gentle smile on his face. Cloud almost wished Ginji and Naruto would get rid of their overgrown hair and coke-bottle glasses so he could see their faces unobstructed.
"Arigatou mina," Iruka was grateful that there wasn't any anger or resentment harbored by the boys. Although somewhat deserved, he would've been at a loss of what to do in that situation. They both took seats near Naruto and Riku seeing as there was space made for them. The others followed suit and sat around the Hebi members. Naruto wondered briefly if all of them belonged to the same group, or if it was done out of convenience because they were closest.
Kakashi watched the scene with sharp eyes. When Leon told him about the caretakers of the boys he couldn't say that he was surprised. It made sense but still the circumstances were a little hard to swallow. He suspected that there was much more going on, in fact he felt that they barely even scratched the surface of this mystery. So for now he was content with just collecting the facts and storing them away for later analysis.
The sound of the harsh rain drummed on the glass dome as if trying to lull its occupants into a state of heedless sleep. As a quiet spell washed over them it was Leon who broke it with his soothing voice and wistful tales.
"Our people are one of mixed breeds, talents, and powers but it was not always so. When the world was still young at the dawn of time before this generation of 'man-kind' existed… we populated the world by the millions and were divided by clans and nations.
In the olden times when people had little knowledge, survival was but a game. The deities watched as we struggled to live day after day never once lending their aid. We battled the weather and ever changing environments until we were almost wiped out of existence.
That was when a young immortal shadow god named Hyne decided to intervene. He bestowed upon the remaining individuals across the world his gifts to bare. Born from shadow itself, every nation had its unique clans who were gifted with abilities that developed in order to adapt to the environment. In other words our people came to be."
"'Our people' is that what we address ourselves as?" Kazuki interrupted softly.
"Eternus. That is the name of our kind. There are 'humans' which are limited by their lifespans. And then there are the 'Eternus' which are everlasting as the name indicates. I suppose we refer to ourselves as 'our people' because we've become a bit bias and secluded over the years." Ban answered trying to keep thing simplified as best he could.
"I see." Sora replied soaking all the information in like a child with a hunger for knowledge. "Wait no actually I don't. Are you trying to tell me that Eternus existed before even cave men?"
"Much much longer than that I'm afraid. Eternus are as old as the earth itself. We were here before the celestial beings decided to try their hand with dinosaurs. After their failed attempt at keeping humankind alive the first time around the bastards decided to mess around with creatures a little less intelligent. When they grew bored of them they tried to wipe 'em almost clean off the face of the earth before they decided to give mankind another go. Bunch 'a pompous asshats the lot of 'em if you ask me." The blonde with the mirroring scar to Leon retorted annoyed as if he remembered the whole miserable fiasco.
Strange, the others couldn't put a name to the attractive stranger though they were certain they'd heard it before during their sparring match.
"You've got to be shitting me…." Naruto muttered hard pressed to believe any of this.
"If that's the case then how come there's no evidence of Eturnus throughout history? And why weren't you wiped out during any of the natural disasters like the great flood or the ice age?" Kazuki was taking all the information in stride.
"Seriously Kazu of course we couldn't clean up all our messes. How do you think the alien theory came about? And the dinosaurs weren't wiped out either just, evolved remember?" Riku smiled that all knowing smile and the words of protest died on Kazuki's lips.
There was this subtle 'world wary' look reflected in aqua orbs that was only there for a moment and the string user was hard pressed to question them any further as his nature oft made him do.
"Now you're really fucking with me! Come on man seriously?" The expression on the blonde's face was one of disbelief. But his eyes couldn't hide his excitement and thrill at the idea.
Roxas snorted calling on Naruto's bluff, "Greatest cover up in history. And as for how we survived those disasters know better as 'heaven cleaning up there cosmic fuck up's'… Let's just say that Hyne adores his children. And like the over protective father that he is he doesn't appreciate the divine beings intervening with us. "
"Okay back on board the train now. Leon when you say different abilities is that how we're classified?" Naruto looked to Leon for his answer completely enraptured at this point.
"Yeah this is where things get a bit confusing so pay attention. There are special characteristics that each clan has unique to only them and then there are powers which one can develop over time despite being from different clans.
The more common abilities are the elemental manipulation of fire, lightning, wind, water, and earth. Again the amount of people who have the affinity to more than one of these is a pretty rare sight. Energy users are also common to all clans." He paused to let the information sink in before beginning again.
"At present there are several different clans, and there are only a handful within each clan who are considered 'pureblood'. The members who are pureblood are mated within their respective clans in order to reassure that their abilities will survive the generations to come.
However mixing the bloodlines in some cases will produce an off spring more powerful than their forefathers. There are few known abilities that clans are recognized to share due to the mixing of the blood lines. Most times a child sired will take the abilities from the dominant parent. There are rare occasions where a child will bear the burden of both."
"Alright I think I'm following so far. But what kind of clans are there?" Ginji questioned starting to get a bit confused at all the information being tossed at him.
"Let's see there are the elves, giants, titan's, dwarfs, witches, sorcerers, seers, dreamwalkers, ghost, fairies, metamorph's, were-wolfs, were-cats, Kitsune's, wraiths, vampires, incubus', succubus', necromancers, summoner's, sirens, harpies, sylphs, mermaids, fishmen, dragons, phoenixes, Seraphim's, banshee's, golems, nymphs-"
"Holy hell alright already! Mother of a- you mean to tell me that every crack pot that ever wrote a fairy-tale wasn't high, drunk, or off his rocke-? Wait a minute did you just say 'ghost'? As in g-h-o-s-t ghost?" Naruto looked a bit pale.
"Well yes. That's an interesting way to put it. A lot of those aren't very factual seeing as humans rarely if ever discover Eternus. But there is some truth to others. We took the liberty of removing ourselves from history after the humans began to revolt against us out of fear.
We may have long lifespans but that doesn't mean that we're completely invulnerable to dying, just particularly sturdy. We all have one weakness or another. And not 'ghost' as in 'spirits' but an extremely rare breed of ability-users even amongst our people." Kakashi finally had that annoying book tucked away in his pocket as he contributed to the education of his newbies.
"Sugoi I wonder what we are?" Sora was the epitome of excitement.
"That's what we'd like to know, you all show elemental affinities but not much else. We can't accurately pinpoint your clan because clans have more than one elemental affinity associated with it. Not to mention that it's still too early to tell if you all have any more affinities or abilities that has yet to surface. There are also no particular physical traits surfacing that would place your heritage." Leon uncrossed his arms as he made his way over to those in question.
"So the most we can do at the moment is try to awaken what has been dormant for a very very long time apparently." Kakashi added joining Leon as he gauged their reactions.
"Something tells me we're in over our heads…" muttering under his breath Naruto hid his eyes behind his fringe. The others couldn't help but silently agree as the training from hell commenced.
Ginji stood outside the main door with his younger brothers, overnight bag in hand and itching to leave the Manor for the first time in what seemed like months. He wasn't sure exactly who was tagging along or how they were getting to where they were going in the first place. All he knew was that they were supposed to report at the main entrance at seven o'clock ready to go.
The rain had halted for the time being and for that they were grateful. It gave them a time frame to leave when the light was still out and the road was still visible without the rain making things hazardous.
The boys were having a light conversation when they were joined by Cloud, Iruka, Roxas, Ino, Sakura, Neiji and another blonde Eternus they'd only recently been acquainted to, Hayner.
"Ah if you're going then that means Leon is bringing Seifer along for the ride." Roxas observed as they all gathered around.
"I'm glad you're coming Hay it's been a while since we hung out in the city huh?"
"Yeah Rox it has been a while. We're gonna have a blast!" Hayner enthusiastically replied with a wide grin on his face. Though he'd only just met the Mystic transfers they all took a liking to him immediately. He was friendly but with a spitfire personality that took bullshit from no one, basically he fit right in. They'd only just found out that he shared a lot of their classes when he began hanging around with Roxas's group more often than not. Ginji was glad for the company but was surprised when Cloud spoke up.
"Who's Seifer?" Completely pokerfaced, the younger students couldn't figure out the motive behind the question. It wasn't until Sakura started giggling that made everyone else even more confused.
"You have nothing to worry about Cloud-sensei. Seifer is Leon's essentially adopted brother and best friend though sometimes they get along like a house on fire. They practically grew up together with Kakashi so the three of them are as thick as thieves." Sakura was grinning as if she'd just won the lottery and it only took Ino a moment to catch on.
"Oh wow, who would'a thunk?" She murmured just loud enough to catch the attention of those closest to her.
"Who 'would'a thunk' what?" Sora asked cutely.
"It's nothing." Cloud was a bit too quick to respond and that got a few heads tuning.
The light bulb went off over Iruka's head first. "You don't mean?...Maji, honto ni?"
"Iruka it's not what you…"
"Oooohhh I see! Nice catch Cloud-tousan he's gorgeous!" Kazuki winked.
"Now wait a min-"
"Is that what this is about? Woah that's a bit intense I thought for sure Kakashi was going to get to Iruka-touchan first!"
"NARUTO!" Two simultaneous horrified shouts rang out.
"Oo-ho so he's your 'eh'?" Ginji's pinky was lifted with a sly grin on his face. (1)
"You've got this all wron-"
"REALLY? Oh my god I thought Cloud-tousan was asexual!"
"Holy Hyne I just can't win with them!" Cloud buried his flaming face in his hands trying to disappear from the amused laughter as everyone else caught on. There really was no denying it because they'd just find out latter.
"Damn all of that from two words? They're pretty good."
If possible Cloud wanted the earth to open and swallow him whole now please. Why did Leon choose now to show up out of all times?
"Hey now none of that, there's nothing to be ashamed of…is there?" The confident and amused voice quickly turned to uncertain. Cloud didn't like it one bit. He wasn't ashamed of Leon and the brunette had nothing to worry about. So when Leon pried his hands from his face he gave up without too much of a struggle.
As his eyes locked with the blue speckled grey eyes in front of him he found the courage to speak. "They're my kids, of course it's going to be a little embarrassing!"
"Don't worry you've got nothing to worry about Seifer's already spoken for." Hayner had a shit eating grin on his face as he winked at Cloud. He instantly relaxed himself feeling a bit foolish for jumping to conclusions.
"Oh come on we totally approve now can we get going?" Naruto was grinning like the Cheshire cat now more pumped to go than ever. It only took him a minute to realize that not everyone was present.
"Hey where are the rest of them?"
"Oh they went to go get the bikes and cars. Actually I was just supposed to check and see if you were all ready to go. I'll be back with them in a second. " As Leon walked off he left a single question on almost everyone's mind.
"Bikes?"
Before Ginji could get a reply the unmistakable rumble of motorbike exhausts flooded the air. The Sleek contraptions rounded the corner as the onlookers watched in awe.
Each bike was as individual as its owner and they all screamed speed. Ban was perched atop a navy blue with black and chrome accents, Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird. Sasuke was sporting a white with red, black and silver decal, Suzuki Hyabusa. Riku's was very befitting of its name, a custom white with black accents, Ghost Concept Bike. Shido's red and black Suzuki B-King was nothing to laugh at either. Sleek burnt orange-red, with black and chrome decal, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 fit Axel to a T. Finally Leon and Seifer pulled up alongside the rest with their black and chrome, and white and chrome respectively, Yamaha YZF R1.
And as if the bikes weren't enough Kakashi brought up the rear with a fierce looking futuristic chrome Pininfarina Sintesi, with Garra tailing him in his burnt red chrome finish, Infinity Essence. When they pulled to a halt and the scissor doors opened, blue led lights flooded the interiors. (2)
Everyone with the exception of the Hebi members, were absolutely floored.
"Holy Hyne I think I've died and gone to heaven…" Ginji whispered breaking everyone out of their reviver. Simultaneous nods were the only indication that everyone was even remotely paying attention.
"Che figures that they'd have bikes." Naruto grumbled.
"Naru- niichan is that jealously I hear?" Kazuki teased finally forcefully tearing his eyes off the leather, chrome, and beauty induced fantasies that he never even knew he had until that moment. Somewhere in the back of him he heard the shutters of cameras going off like photography was going out of style. Sakura and Ino had produced their slim highly advanced cannon cameras out of their bags to immortalize the moment. (3) Kazuki made a note in the back of his head somewhere to bribe every last one of those photos from them later.
Sora was the first one to take tentative step forward. "Is that how we're all going?"
Riku answered in kind with a smile and holding his fingerless-glove incased hand out to the suddenly shy and timid teen. "Ride with me Sora?"
"Y-yeah sure." If his red face wasn't enough of an indication, then his adorable stutter gave away exactly how nervous Sora was as he took hold of the silverette's out stretched hand. Riku gently guided him into swinging his foot around the bike to straddle behind him.
"You better hold on tight and make sure if we're going around turns to keep yourself upright okay? It'll help to not over balance the bike."
Sora wrapped his arms tightly around Riku's waist and pressed his face between his shoulder blades almost muffling out his answer, "You got it."
Roxas and Hayner made their way without any prompting to their significant others. Shido was the next to take the initiative and held a hand out similarly to Kazuki.
"If you wouldn't mind you can ride with me?"
Though not nearly as red as his little brother, a light dusting of pink settled on his shapely cheek bones as he smiled and made his way forward. "I'd love to Shido."
Neji, thoroughly pleased that they all seemed to be sorting themselves out made his way over to Gaara. "This is going to be an interesting weekend don't you think?"
"It's not going to be nearly as uneventful as they'd hope if this is how they're all going to act." Gaara observed with a small smile curving at the corner of his mouth. This was either going to be a really troublesome weekend or a really fun one. When you travel with such a big crowd there's only two ways that things could either go.
As everyone was still deciding their seating arrangement there were becoming less options to choose from. Cloud had found himself behind Leon which was a little strange because he couldn't remember the last time he'd been the passenger on a bike. He owned his own little dream machine, and while it wasn't anything special it was what he could afford with his current lifestyle and responsibilities at the moment. Though if asked, he couldn't honestly say that being around all of those god crafted contraptions wasn't making him green with envy.
Vaguely as blue eyes scanned the group they landed on a familiar yet unnamed face on the bike next to him. The blonde was as handsome as the company he kept. He was the same as squall in some regard, the only visible mark on his otherwise flawless skin was the faded mirrored scar between his frosty ice blue eyes. It could be no one other than Seifer Almasy.
Iruka being too terrified of the bikes…no thanks to Cloud… make a beeline towards Kakashi's car. "Do you mind if I join you?"
"Aww there's always room for my Dolphin-chan!" Kakashi looked like the cat that ate the canary and had a dish of cream to wash it down with too. Red sputtering and indignant Iruka had no words in response.
Chibi Ginji looked longingly at the Blackbird before making his way past it to the Pininfarina Sintesi. What he didn't expect was the fingers latching onto the collar of his tee-shirt hoisting him in the air. It took him a moment to realize that although his little feet were moving they weren't actually taking him anywhere.
"And where do you think you're going?" Ban's partial amusement was almost hidden behind the flat look he was giving the blonde.
"The car." Ginji was pressing his pointer fingers together in a dejected manner unable to look into those piercing eyes. His coke-bottle frames sufficiently hiding more than half his face in his current state.
What Ginji wasn't expecting was to be unceremoniously dropped on the back of the bike. In his confusion he popped up to his normal size looking into Ban's eyes for the first time since the whole spectacle began.
"You might wanna hold on I can't guarantee that you'll still be there when we arrive if you don't. Oh and while you're at it you should lose the glasses they probably won't stay there either."
"Ban- chan you're the best!"
Without a second thought Ginji glomped him while smiling at him for all he was worth. The brunet haired hebi leader was completely unprepared for the action and was uncertain how to react. Slowly he wrapped an arm around the blonde. The hug was made only slightly awkward by his twisted torso on the bike.
If he had to take a wild guess he could admit to himself that it was their free, honest display of emotions (that even some of their horrendous appearance couldn't hide) that drew him to this odd mismatched family.
Had Ginji been paying attention he might have noticed that as Ban slowly pulled his coke-bottle frames off he failed to remove his own purple shades.
"There that's better."
"But now I can't see that well…"
"If you let your eyes heal without these then you'd have better than perfect vision. In fact…."
CRRAAACCKK!
Ginji looked in horror as his frames were squashed under a heavy booted foot.
"Hey!" Naruto made to go forward to confront the bastard but was roughly stopped from a harsh grab to the back of his clothes. He almost forgot that Sasuke was in the back of him since he had to pass next to him in order to get to the car.
It didn't take very long at all before his glasses were ripped off unsuspectedly, not at all like Ginji's were. Naruto turned just in time to see his glasses suffer the same fate as his big brother's. The jerk obviously took great pleasure in doing so if his blurry looking smirk was any indication.
"Damn I've been itching to do that."
"You Asshole! How am I supposed to see now?"
"Weren't you paying attention?" Sasuke's bored tone cut into his anger rather swiftly.
"Your glasses are nothing more than crutches. Your eyes needed them before, but now you're forcing your eyes to need them now."
"Nani? What do you mean?" It was as if all the fight had been sucked out of Naruto.
"Our senses are advanced. You've been relying on those things to see so your vision didn't get a chance to naturally correct itself yet."
"How do we know you're telling the truth and you're not just doing this for shits and giggles?"
"Well if we were doing this for 'shits and giggles' as you so eloquently put it then we sure as hell wouldn't do it so you could stumble around our home and break crap."
Naruto had no comeback but that didn't meant he had to be happy about it. Pouting he turned his back to the current bane of his existence intent on giving him the cold shoulder.
"You better not let go because if you fly off I'm pretty sure my insurance won't cover that. That and it'd probably hurt like a mother."
"Wha-oof" Being spun around and physically lifted on a bike would cause anyone to become disoriented enough to not put up a fight. Really! It wouldn't have anything to do with a secret deep burning desire to ride the sinfully beautiful contraption with the equally attractive rider.
Ban seeing that everyone seem to be settled was quick to take charge. "If we're all ready to go then let's haul ass we don't have much daylight left to burn."
"Yeaaahhh…. how 'bout no?" Sakura and Ino were fuming mad and blocking their respective partners.
"They're in our seats where the hell are we supposed to sit?" Ino's glare could curdle milk.
"Come on you guys don't be immature. It's obvious they've never ridden like this before cut them some slack and ride with Kakashi." Being called immature by Riku stung that much more considering he was the one that put up with their antics usually without complaint. It meant that he was in a no nonsense mood and 'no' was not an answer that would be tolerated. Riku when angered was truly a terrifying sight to behold.
Sakura looked at the downcast faces the blonde's wore and instantly backed off. She could see how much they wanted it even though they didn't voice their objections to relocating. Plus she really didn't want to try Riku's patience.
"Come on Ino let's go, the car won't mess up our hair."
Naruto and Ginji smiled in gratitude while tightening their hold on their riders. Their excitement was almost a palpable thing. They'd ridden on their blonde father's bike before but they had a feeling this was going to be an out of this world experience.
"Alright move your asses already people! What the hell are you waiting for?" And just like that they were off like a bullet.
It wasn't until after they were racing down the roads that Naruto realized belatedly that absolutely no one wore their helmets. He didn't mind all that much though because the wind in his hair was an amazing feeling and the thrill of weaving in and out of a semi-densely populated traffic was causing adrenaline to rush pleasantly through his veins. The scenery blurred passed him as Sasuke decided to race Riku for the front of the line. Turning his head slightly he noticed that nobody wanted to be left behind so they joined the fun of trying to outdo one and other.
They were amazing, slightly reckless but the control they all exuded in close call encounters was enough to let the passengers know that the riders knew exactly that they were doing.
The blood pounded furiously in Naruto's ears as his eyesight sharpened drastically. It was as if someone had finally lifted the fog from his eyes, a clarity that he could never even dream of. His excitement swelled within his chest threatening to escape in any way possible. The blonde gripped tighter on his rider and hid his ridiculously huge smile in Sasuke's back, failing to notice a small upward curve of the ravens lips as he did so.
Naruto wouldn't even admit it on the pain of death but the bastard had been right. And for once in his life he was thrilled to be wrong because the flip side was so much more than he could hope for.
Garra whipped passed everyone when they least expected it causing them all to up their ante. The kid gloves were off and the demons were out to play.
Sora's arms trembled for a moment as the fear of smashing into a truck was narrowly avoided by Riku's split second reaction time. He didn't dare distract the silver hair rider. Vaguely he thought that Riku's riding style was true to the name of his bike. He was like a ghost, one minute he was there and the next he vanished without so much as a whisper.
He couldn't help but look around him and take in what he could of the people surrounding him. His brothers especially, the brief glimpses of enthrallment on their faces were worth all the grief they put up with from this particular bunch.
Sora could safety say that they had earned his forgiveness simply because they'd done what those before them had failed to do. They made an effort to get to know his brothers and make them happy. Neither of which they had to do. They could have continued to make their lives hell but they chose not to. The brunet couldn't be more grateful.
In the end it was Leon, Riku, Seifer, Ban, and Sasuke duking it out for the front. The cars deciding to hang back for a bit and let the bikes have at it. None of them would give an inch without taking a mile. The city loomed in front of them in all its glittering magnificent glory.
By the time they reached their destination pulling up to a rather daunting skyscraper Seifer had tied Leon for first place with Riku and Sasuke pulling in for a close second. Ban literally inches behind them. Sasuke knew that if his brother had been taking this seriously then there was no one that would have made it here in one piece. Their competitive edge was a scary thing no exclusions and they wanted everyone to have fun not hate the ride. The rest of them pulled in not moments after. As they all dismounted their rides the valet rushed to service the penthouse owners of the building.
"Man that was the most fun I can remember having in a long time!" Ginji piped up bouncing on the balls of his feet, endorphins clearly on a high.
When Ban turned to address him he was stopped dead in his tracks. It wasn't until a few moments before Ginji tilted his head to the side, "Nani, Daijoubu?"
Ban was still staring and now so was everyone else. In fact Naruto and him were receiving more attention than they were comfortable with.
"Wow…" Sora's gentle whisper broke the atmosphere.
The wind had completely swept their hair back allowing for a complete unobstructed view of their face for the first time. It left everyone with a lack of words to properly describe their shock. The word 'hansom' didn't seem to fit, and 'beautiful' didn't really seem to cut it either.
"Aniki your hair!" Naruto laughed while pointing to the ridiculous 'doo' on top of his brothers head.
"Yours too Otouto!" Within seconds the long spikes were smoothed back into place and all was right in the world. Err well, depending on whose world you were in in any case.
Ban blinked trying his hardest to burn the image of both blondes into his mind. It would probably be a while before he had the pleasure of viewing either one again.
"Come on guys lets show you around." Shido took point shaking off the shock first and lead them around the many luxuries of the facilities. By the time they all made it to the top floor they were engaged in a very opinionated discussion on business politics. Leon being the voice of reason was the only thing that kept the discussions from becoming too heated or out of control.
As the brunet brought up the rear end he couldn't help it as a little smirk painted its way across his face. For all their differences it seemed as if the group was more complete now. The stong, bold, cocky, and sometimes bordering overbearing personalities that made up Hebi needed their new friends to put them in their place.
It wasn't that the Hebi members didn't have a reason for their confidence, but if there was one thing that Leon knew without fail it was that for always there will be someone better or worse than you. You never truly stopped learning so there was no reason to ever be complacent in life. The moment you stopped striving for better it was all over. It was precisely for this reason why he constantly trained and pushed himself to his limits. He wanted to keep raising the bar so that the others would constantly try to surpass him. And eventually when they did then they would all have to set their goals higher and try harder to surpass the next challenge together.
"You know if I didn't know you as well as I did Leonhart then I would say that smirk is pretty damn disturbing. But seeing as I do know that straight forward brain of yours as well as I do I'm going to have to agree with you on this one. They needed to be challenged and pushed for a while now. I just hope those kids can handle the shit that those brats try to shovel their way." Seifer's piercing icy blue eyes studied the group with intrigue.
"Oh they can handle it alright, and soon enough they're going to give it as good as they get. They're a tenacious bunch after all." Surprisingly it was Hayner with a wicked gleam in his doe eyes who added his two cents. When he fell back to join the older males who brought up the rear nobody knew.
"Ahh I have to agree with our little vixen on this one. There hasn't been a dull day since they magically appeared out of nowhere." Kakashi's eyes followed the new additions to his family silently studying them as if he could unlock their secrets if he learnt enough. And knowing the cunning old trickster he probably could and would.
All in due time.
Glancing behind them Naruto noticed the close proximity between his new friend and the 'not so familiar' familiar face of one Seifer Almasy.
"So what's the deal with Hayner?"
"What do you mean?" Neji answered aware now that the blonde had caught everyone's attention.
"He seems pretty close to that Seifer guy."
Gaara almost snorted, "One would assume so since Hayner is his better half."
"Better half?"
"His Sodalis," Riku offered trying to clarify.
"Wait I've heard that term before, Neji said Gaara was his Sodalis… what does that mean?" Ginji looked in query of his present company.
"His Soul-mate or if you want the human bastardize term 'Husband'," Roxas wrinkled his pert nose at the word as if it left a funny taste in his mouth.
"HUSBAND?" Leave it to Sora to overreact. Not that everyone else wasn't equally shocked, they were just less vocal about it.
"But they're only in highschool! And Neji and Gaara!...Isn't that a bit too soon? I-I-I mea-"
Sora's rambling was cut off by a chorus of laughter.
"Oh man I thought for sure you would have put two and two together by now!" Ban's laughter died down to chuckles.
"Don't let Hayner fool you, he's an old bastard." Shido shook his head still grinning from the ridiculousness of it all.
"Huh?" Cloud could have sworn that he had a much more intelligent response than that at one point.
"Yeah he's like 14 hundred years old," Shido added.
"No he's 1,420," Neji corrected.
"You're both wrong he's 1,437," Sasuke remarked giving them odd looks.
Naruto wanted to die laughing…He remembered that not too long ago he thought 30 was old. When he finally wrapped his head around the idea that they were being deathly serious he choked on air.
"Earlier you said that Eternus are as old as the earth itself…so how old would that make you guys like five million years old?"
Later, they would have to forgive Naruto's lapse into stupidity, it wasn't every day that he met breathing walking fossils.
"No you retard we aren't five-bloody-million years old. Holy Hyne, I think I'd off myself if I wasn't batshit crazy by now. The life span of an Eternus can last up until a couple thousand years old if one lives a full life. However our souls get reincarnated, sometimes with memories of a past life and sometimes with a clean slate. Ergo the 'Eternal' reference." Axel pulled a face at the idea of 'Eternal Life'. He'd rather pass thank you very much it sounded pretty damn boring….
A road with no end in sight….. Ever.
"Supposedly our eldest generation is the 'Ancients', and those fuckers are real monsters in terms of strength and ability. Nobody really knows who, what, or where they are but they're always watching and manipulating things from the shadows- Doing outlandish things here and there and having themselves be known to just a few to prove their existence in case any rebels get any smart ideas or anyone doubts their rule. The fact that they remain mostly anonymous is testament alone to their strength.
The second eldest generation is known as 'Anbu'. They may become Ancients or not, only a select few is privy to the knowledge of who actually makes the cut. Generally the younger the generation, the weaker their powers are but that's not always the case. Oh and 'one Generation' consist of 5 hundred years." Ban's slow explanation actually helped things sink in better.
"Okay I think I can handle that as a truth. How about explaining how the marriage thing works." Cloud seemed to be fairly composed all things considered but then again if Leon remembered correctly he and Iruka knew they were old just not 'how old'.
"Our unions are not the same as a humans' own. When we say 'soul mate' we literally mean 'soul-mate'." Gaara paused for a second to reach into his shirt to pull out a beautiful crystalized clawed pendant that contained a sphere with hazy lavender light and gold dust drifting around together.
"These are the symbol of our bonds and the links to our lives." Hayner saw fit to join in the conversation and pulled out his own orb to the shock of the new comers.
"It's like a wedding ring worth the weight of two lives. A piece of our souls are actually sealed in these prisms. And over time they begin to merge. How long it takes differs for everyone, but the end result is the same. The souls will be bonded forever, no matter how many deaths or how many rebirths, once bound the souls will always act as a magnet drawing you to your other half. It goes without saying that these necklaces are more valuable than any treasure an Eternus will ever own in their life."
Hayner gazed at his claw gripped orb swirling with a silvery blue liquid akin to mercury and shimmering forest green mist with such deep affection in his eyes that it almost felt like they were intruding on something rather private. It was only afterword that they noticed it's counterpart proudly displayed for all to see around Seifer's neck. They chalked up missing it the first time around to the excitement of the bikes.
"They also serve several different purposes, like allowing a mental link as well as a physical one. We can be half way around the world and still find our way back to our other half." As Roxas reached into his shirt Naruto groaned.
"You too? With who-"
The question died on his lips as he remembered with sudden clarity the day that was not so long ago when he first met them. "Axel," he murmured with a conviction that the others wondered at. Granted their affectionate relationship hadn't gone unnoticed...
And sure enough identical crimson and gold soul orbs were laid bare for all to see.
"How did you know?" Sora inquired.
"I saw it when I first met them but I had no idea what it was."
"Unlike humans who marry, cheat, and divorce, that's not even an idea our people entertain when entering a bond. Not only do you marry for love but you gain your eternal soul mate. So choose wisely," The warning was clear in Leon's voice who decided to speak since the topic was touched upon.
"So how come all of you guys bonded with males? Isn't it important to carry on your family lines?" Kazuki looked egger to hear the answer.
"I think you forget we were before Adam and Eve the circumstances of birth are completely different for our people. It is neither a man nor a woman's job to sire life but rather a conjoined effort between the bonded couple to nurture it. You'll understand later." Roxas artfully directed the conversation to another topic as Kazuki pondered his answer. It was obvious this conversation had more to do with the 'Birds and the Bee's' and should obviously be asked in more private settings so he settled for his answer.
Before long the group reached the top floor.
"Welcome to our humble abode." Riku welcomed his guest with a graceful flourish of his hand and small bow of his head.
Ginji looked around as he entered and removed his shoes, and smiled to himself. It was artfully decorated but the pieces that randomly lined the walls and shelves seemed to radiate history and some even held a peculiar pull.
"Do these…are these…" The blonde trail off a little frustrated at his lack of words to articulate his question.
"Yes they belong to the Eternus. Some of them are quite old and contain magic, or document certain parts of our history. Be careful with what you touch or you could get stuck in a memory that's less then desirable to witness."
Ban looked over the particular painting of a battle front that his new friend had been drawn to and frowned at it. If it were up to him he'd lock some of these away and keep them that way. But the chances of them being stolen or misused were high hence the reason for keeping them at home.
He paused a moment before adding, "The past is riddled with questionable choices and events."
Ginji was left to puzzle out the meaning of that on his own as everyone began to get acquainted with their surroundings.
Without any further delay as if the sky had been waiting for them to reach home, it opened and poured down once more.
"Dem can't you do something about this rain?"
"Sure can boss man!" The voice answered in jest.
"Don't call dana that un! You know he doesn't like it."
"He doesn't like either name, now if you two imbecils don't mind getting back to work the crowd is coming in."
The second one grumbled before making his way through the slowly gathering crowed.
"Aww babe you're no fun!" Getting distracted once again by the angry sky, turquoise-blue eyes grew distant as the foreign tumultuous feelings grew within him as was oft to happen as of late. If the weather was any indication something big was brewing. And if nothing was done about the rain the biggest flood disaster of the century would be upon them. A warm hand on his cheek broke him from his unpleasant thoughts.
"What's wrong love?" The concern in blue eyes forced him back into the present.
"I'm not sure… I- something's coming but I don't…" For the first time in a long while words failed him.
His silence spoke volumes to his lover though and a second pair of eyes studied the sky as if it would speak to him in the same way. Fingers twined together as the odd emotion filtered through one to the other via their bond.
"Come on we need to get back to work."
Turquoise-blue eyes blinked away the heavy feeling and grinned a wide careless smile.
"Oh yeah time to bring the house down!" Guitar firmly in hand the man made his way to the well-lit stage following his friend and missing the brief frown on his lovers face.
Something was coming and if he was being honest with himself it invoked a fear in the back of his mind.
Side notes
Sorry this chapter is so slow the next one all the fun stuff starts once again. With more relationship builders and breakdowns (yes look forward to that hint hint!) Everything needed to be explained before I start throwing crap at you. Need more incentive to read on? I'll start reveling races, ages, and some long awaited memories that take will start to unravel the mystery. Sounds exciting no? What do you think everyone is in terms of race? Wanna drop me a review? Anyone who's right will get the next chapter dedicated to them.
THANK YOU ALL FOR STICKING WITH ME AND PUTTING UP WITH MY SLOW UPDATES! AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO ENCOURAGED ME NOT TO GIVE UP BECAUSE THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE WAITING ON THIS! I LOVE YOU GUYS! AND I HOPE THIS WAS WORTH SOME OF THE WAIT
1) The Japanese youths use the raised pinky digit, (similar to how we make pinky promises) as a means of saying significant other. At least that's how it was explained to me by my Japanese friend.
2) If we can't tell by my other stories I have a deep passionate love for fast and future innovative cars and bikes. When I get rich I'm gonna buy one before my house! Oh and the bikes and cars in this story are all modified to be around the same general speed level. No one's getting left in the dust but there will be a marginal difference to make it more realistic.
3) Sadly Cannon's 'best' cameras are still huge and bulky. Hey a girl can always dream can't she?