A/N: At the request of a particular reviewer, a certain Exorcist by the name of Higurashi Hiten will be having points in the story where his romance with Uchiha Mikoto will be revived. I wonder how Tenten is going to take having the Uchiha twins as stepsisters. Give thanks to TrixBella for joining in my team of beta-readers. I feel like we're becoming CLAMP already. Do read and review would you kindly?
…
[Higurashi Arsenal, Living Space…]
The morning had started for Higurashi Hiten as any regular day would—with that big blazing bag of feathers pecking at him gently. Now don't get him wrong, he loved that bird, but sometimes she was annoying…and he knew what exactly she wanted at this hour; although he would've preferred that she leave him be so that he could sleep some more. With a loud yawn and a stretch that exposed his massive and well-defined muscles, Hiten got up from the futon after stretching his neck and then scratching his sideburns. She wasn't an ordinary bird—she resembled a red secretary bird with large flaming wings and tail feathers, short legs, a flaming plume on the back of her head, and blue eyes…she was a phoenix. "You do realize that you have projects to complete today don't you?" asked the bird, as she perched on his shoulder, looking into his groggy eye with her own sapphire-colored ones.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Hiten, a hoarse tone in his voice trying to shake the sleepiness away, "although if you wanted me to get you breakfast, you could've just asked me Hiko."
"Nah, it's more fun to bug you while you're sleeping. But all joking aside, maybe you really need to get something to eat…maybe even a mug of black tea," she quipped.
Hiten grunted, "Who do you think you are, my mother?"
"Why don't you think of me as a permanent wife instead?" the bird asked, looking at him with an amused expression, "We are after all bonded together by that summoning contract upon completion of your schooling as an exorcist."
A drawn out sigh escaped his lips, "Whatever…"
As he got up, he stretched his back, resulting in loud satisfying cracks, while he looked around the den. Eventually, Hiten's eyes had found the gigantic rosary he had worn when he was still being schooled as a priest in the nearby temple. The beads were so large that they were each roughly the size of a baby's head (which was already small enough in his hands); and the reason for that was because with such large hands, it was very hard to chant sutras when the rosary breaks with every chant. Ah, those were the days…when his colleagues in the temple were intimidated by his size and he had a good laugh with some of them. The only man that was not afraid of him and was capable of hurting him was the abbot himself; the man was no taller than his waist, was almost eighty years old at the time he studied under him, and he was still capable of hitting him over the head with that fucking cane of his…and he learned the hard way that the old man hit hard! He could've sworn that wooden stick had an iron core in it! While he respected that old geezer (heavens rest his soul) and loved him like a father, he hated when that man threatened him with the cane—and he especially didn't like when he brandished it in both hands while saying "Somebody gonna get a hurt REAL BAD…" in a dark and ominous voice.
With a small chuckle, he simply started walking towards the closet, and put on his fireproof clothes with Hiko on his shoulder. Once he was dressed up properly, he walked downstairs and into the kitchen, and saw a sight that made his day brighter as she was sitting at the table enjoying a bowl of cereal.
His daughter smiled at him and waved at the both of them, "Hi Daddy! Hi Hiko!"
Oh yes, the one good things in his life so far. Whenever he looked at Tenten's pretty little face, he always thought back to her mother…while Mina only had her hair tied up in one bun, it was clear that his little princess had inherited the makings of her mother's lithe and graceful body type and her good looks if her tan were any indication; maybe a bit of his strength to add to the combination.
"Hey princess, did you sleep well?" Hiten asked.
Before she could answer, the chime had sounded off. As his daughter ran to the counter with a shout of "I'll get it!" Hiten could only grumble to himself while walking to the refrigerator and pulled out an airtight box from the bottom shelves. Low curses escaped his mouth as he placed it on the counter and opened it with a hiss, allowing the phoenix to jump off her friend's shoulder to start eating away at the contents of the box—which happened to be large mice.
"I don't know what your problem with that thing is," began Hiko, as she swallowed a mouse in her beak while looking at him, "I happen to like the sound of it."
Hiten found his way to the coffee machine, and started pouring himself a mug of that rich Tea Country-grown drink, while starting to pour the cream and some syrup in. Once he was satisfied with the combination, he started lifting the mug to his lips. "Yeah, but you're not the one working with a hammer and an anvil all day long—something that I prefer the sound of whenever I'm working. That fu…"
"Daddy, I have a…"
The second he heard Tenten speak, Hiten jolted as he was startled, causing the hot coffee to splash all over his face. As he howled in pain from the burning coffee, he cursed whatever deity it was that had plagued him with things that constantly interrupted him as he was in the middle of his thoughts! First it was a hungry Hiko, then it was that god-forsaken chime, and now it was his sweet and precious little girl…who had currently gotten him settled down on a seat, and started wiping the coffee off his face. "Kami! I'm sorry Daddy! I'm sorry!"
Waving his hands to dismiss her concern, while trying to find the cold water to sooth his face, "No, that's okay…you didn't mean to…"
All the while, Hiko was trying to stifle her laughter by turning her head and hiding her beak behind her wing. Tenten leveled a glare at the blazing bag of feathers before turning her attention back to her father. "You okay?"
"I'll be fine after a bit. Now what did you want to tell me?" Hiten asked.
Tenten's concern was momentarily put aside as she remembered what she was thinking about beforehand, "Oh yeah, I have a customer that wants to see you personally," she said plainly.
Hiten looked at his daughter with the obvious question marks written across his face.
"She insisted that you might know of it," she explained.
That said, he heaved a sigh while getting up from the table. "Okay then. I'll handle that customer…you just go on and have a good day Princess."
Tenten couldn't reach her father whenever he stood up to his full height of 244 centimeters, and so she tugged on his arm—that gesture was enough to tell him that she wanted him to get closer. Once he was low enough, she gave him a peck on the cheek before she started running away. "Bye Daddy! I love you!"
…
[Higurashi Arsenal, Store…]
She didn't know what brought her here—she was pretty sure that she was stocked full up on scalpels, she was up to the nines in eye-opening clamps, and she was very certain that she didn't need a weapon save for a few kunai. What the hell was she doing here? And then she realized her reason for being here in the first place—the excuse to bring her here was in her hands…she'd not been using it in a while, but that did not mean she shouldn't take care of it.
Before she could go any further into her thoughts, she saw Hiten's little girl walk up to her. "He'll be out in a moment Mikoto-san," she said with a sincere grin on her face, "I've got to get to my team!"
Mikoto could not help but grin with that little girl…and yet she could not help but feel that she was hiding something in that smile as she practically skipped away. "You have a nice day Tenten!" At that point, she began to wonder…if she had not married that bastard, would things have been any different between her and Hiten? Would she still have married him, much less proposed to him? Would they have gotten past the kissing-and-cuddling stage?
"Beautiful isn't she?"
Ah, speak of the devil…the very person she was thinking about, had just appeared. "She looks like her mother, but I can see your strength in her…if her ability to throw weapons of any size were any indication."
"Of that I know…sometimes if I know I'm in the wrong, I find myself on the receiving end of those swords in her scroll. But all joking aside Mikoto, what can I do for you today?"
"I was wondering if you could help me," said Mikoto, putting her hand in the bag and pulling out the contents, "I need this blade sharpened."
Now this blade he knew—it was the sword that saved his life, and started the relationship he had with Mikoto. It was a little shorter than the standard katana, but it was also durable without sacrificing drawing speed, had an electric blue finish, and had an indigo lacquer sheath and handgrip with brass fittings. This weapon fit its name as "Shin Ikazuchi", because of its light weight, near-unbreakable construction, and the fact that it aided with Raiton chakra-based attacks. This was a hand-me-down from her father. He looked back and forth at the woman in front of him and the blade in her hands with a raised eyebrow, "I know you're more than capable of sharpening this sword Mikoto, and I'm pretty sure you don't need it, so why come to me?"
As she spoke, Mikoto had to resort to the one trick that managed to get him to do anything for her…she looked up to him with big, watery eyes that threatened to cry. Self-degrading, but it usually worked with him. "I don't have the time, and because I need to take care of it—if only for sentimental reasons…and besides, I can't sharpen it like you can." And to her joy, it still worked like a charm.
Hiten sighed, "Okay then, I'll sharpen your sword for you. If you'd like, you can follow me into the forge so that you can inspect it for yourself."
Her spirits lifted, Mikoto almost jumped for joy…this was indeed a good step to repairing their relationship as lovers! Little did the two of them know that someone was listening in from outside the doorway with hands up in prayer to any gods listening…
…
[Meanwhile, at Training Ground 3, one hour later…]
The twins simply looked at their slave with dark grins on their face. Sakura currently had her hands tied up behind her and her ankles were tied together as she sat on her knees—practically hogtied. She just knew that she was in trouble…she just didn't know how deep though. "We let you get away with what you called Naruto-kun yesterday because we have something far more important to do today," began Satsuki, "so thank whatever bodhisattva you pray to for the fact that Kakashi-sensei gave us this test…"
"…and to make sure you learn your lesson about badmouthing Naruto-kun," continued Tsukiko, taking out a scroll, "we're going to punish you in a new way." It was then that she pulled the scroll open, bit her thumb, and ran it over one line…causing an odd-looking dildo to appear.
Satsuki then turned to face Sakura with that dark grin still on her face while Tsukiko turned a dial at the base of the sex toy, causing it to vibrate even faster as she turned it before she started brandishing it with her hand, tapping the other end in her other hand in a threatening gesture. "We're going to put this inside of you if you say something stupid about Naruto-kun again…"
"…and if you so much as moan at any time before we pull it out of you, your punishment will be even worse!" finished Tsukiko, pushing up their slave's face from beneath the chin with the dildo. Once done, they both started speaking at the same time. "If you help us pass this test, then you can consider your little offense yesterday water under the bridge; but if we fail this test because of you, then we'll make you wish we shoved this dildo into your pussy. Do you understand?"
She could only nod in acknowledgement frantically—while BDSM turned her on to a degree, Sakura really did not enjoy the prospect of being tortured to get a high from her mistresses. She knew where to draw the line…especially since the both of them could torture her in such a manner that only they would be able to enjoy any of it. With an assurance that she would choose her words carefully when regarding Naruto in the future, the twins nodded to each other, and started untying her before pulling the gag off.
"Now that we have an understanding," began Tsukiko as she turned off the dildo, and then sealing it back in the scroll, "I think we have some time left on our hands. And remember what you said Sakura—you make that mistake again, and a riding crop in each of our hands will be the least of your worries."
"Well now, this is interesting," said Kakashi as he was walking in, "I've heard that Mikoto was about the only Uchiha that didn't take slaves…I guess being widowed for so long does things to you."
The three genin turned to face their sensei with glares in their eyes. Unfortunately, it was Sakura who was the first to speak…and her screech had hurt everyone's ears. "YOU'RE LATE!"
"I'm sorry; a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way around."
The dirty looks given by the Uchiha twins towards Sakura instantly told the pink-haired banshee that she was already on thin ice for screaming in their ears, and so she wisely stayed quiet. After putting their slave back in her place, the two of them faced each other with analytical looks on their faces. "What do you think? Is he lying, Satsuki?"
The girl that was mentioned simply grinned. "I may not have Naruto-kun's nose or ears, but even I can tell he's lying…that is, assuming that orange book that's sticking out of his bag is what I think it is."
The silver-haired jounin's eye widened upon hearing that…as if he felt an arrow piercing his heart. Once he heard that line, started to hide the incriminating evidence quickly. This action was not lost to both twins who simply grinned wider—the younger of the two wanted to press the attack. "Judging by his actions right now, I can guess what happened—he spent the last four or so hours wha…"
"Okay, that's enough," interrupted Kakashi, with his face redder than a tomato with his terse answer, "let's get down to business. I have two bells here…your mission is to take these bells from me by the time the timer runs out. The student that doesn't have a bell by the time the timer runs out not be eating lunch."
"But Kakashi-sensei…there's three of us, and only two bells. Care to explain that to us?
Kakashi's eye-smile had been found on his masked face. "Very good Sakura, as it just so happens, there are two bells because one of you is going to be sent back to the academy…my only advice to you here is this: come at me with the intent to kill!"
Once that sentence was finished, all three genin vanished. "Well, at least they conceal themselves well. Now who will be my first victim?"
As if on cue, Kakashi heard weapons being drawn…two short swords if the sound were any indication. Before long, he found himself dodging as he saw one of the Uchiha twins wielding a pair of gladii in a reverse grip dropping upon him with both blades ready to stab into his shoulders. It was then that he stepped away and watched as the Uchiha got back up from her landing, and change the grips on her blades, an evil grin on her face. He said to come at him with the intent to kill, he never thought that someone would take him literally—nor did he expect her to come armed, and as a swordswoman to boot. After a moment's analysis, Kakashi found that he could take this foolish girl…and so he reached into his pouch to bring out the book he was reading—a book titled 'Icha-Icha Paradise', much to the anger of the Uchiha girl.
The angry sneer on Tsukiko's face was clear as she started grinding her teeth together. "What the hell are you doing reading at a time like this?"
His response was simple: "Well if I don't read, then how am I going to get to the ending?"
"Your funeral!" that said, Tsukiko charged in with one short sword held in an under-handed grip beginning her assault with a horizontal slash that was barely dodged by Kakashi before he had to dodge a vertical slash. Her next move was to change reverse-gripped sword to a regular grip and began swinging her blades quickly…her goal was to destroy the offending book. Unfortunately for her, she found herself knocked by a bit when the sensei grabbed her by the face, and pushed quickly. Once she was a good distance away, Tsukiko held one sword in a reverse-grip and threw it like a small javelin at the perverted jounin—this time, she had a new target, as Kakashi stepped aside to grab the blade by the handle only to watch as the young genin took this opportunity to perform a roundhouse kick followed by a back kick aimed for his groin which he had managed to spin away from as he slid into a crouch with his hands in the 'Tora' position…nobody saw the evil and perverted smile under his mask as he waited. "So you're a dirty fighter eh?" he questioned, "Oh I think I know how I am going to train you; with your speed, I can obviously see the potential…but first, I'm going to punish you for your failed attempt at making low blows! Konoha Taijutsu Ougi: Sennen Goroshi!" It was then that he drove both of his index and middle fingers up and quickly—and at the very second the Uchiha-girl landed on both feet with her back to him. The result was that Tsukiko dropped her swords in surprise as she turned beet red from both anger embarrassment, before being launched away from her sensei screaming in pain—needless to say, she soon found herself at the bottom of a lake fuming at him as she managed to spike her chakra out. The bastard took her anal virginity, and now he was going to pay!
Using chakra to enhance her speed, Tsukiko leaped out of the water, landed on the sands of the lake, grabbed both of her gladii, and started making high-speed slashes at Kakashi…who had found himself putting his book away to dodge the rage-fueled girl that was not aiming simply to kill, but to castrate! Once he saw that Tsukiko had her blades set for a heavier killing blow, he allowed her to stab at him…and with a 'poof', he was replaced with a thick log, and one of her gladii stuck in the middle as it penetrated the log and was sticking out at the other end. The asshole just got away with stealing her virginity with a fucking Kawarimi! Oh this did not sit well with her, as she started letting out a string of curses under her breath before roaring them out in rage…one could swear that she looked like Shinigami himself when she was angry. It was a good thing that her mother was not around to hear the words uttered from her mouth. After freeing her sword and sheathing both, she then looked towards the branches…and at her sister's hiding place. Satsuki had heard that anger in her younger sister's voice that caused her to shout. "You caught all that?"
The older Uchiha twin knew the anger was not directed at her, and it just so happened that she too was angry at that sexually-harassing jounin! "Actually, I did—and I'm pretty sure Sakura-chan caught it too…am I right Sakura?"
A loud shriek pierced their ears as they heard the Haruno girl screamed in terror. The twins then looked to each other before they started running towards the source of the scream. Once they found themselves looking through a bush, they both slammed their palms into their foreheads—as they had found their slave with a look of utter terror on her face; and at the hands of a low-level genjutsu if the traces of chakra they sensed were any indication.
Tsukiko's dislike for that man was clear in her voice. "If that pervert keeps on doing that to all our slaves…"
As she finished her younger sister's sentence, Satsuki could only agree. "…then we'll be up to our armpits in replacement slaves who could be just as incompetent!"
"Oh well, if she continues to prove an incompetent slave, we could always sell her off. But all joking aside, what are we going to do Satsuki? We can't exactly let that asshole get away with taking my anal virginity!"
What the younger Uchiha twin had said was true about her first time; so far, the two of them only settled for kissing, caressing, and fondling in front of their slave to moisten her. Save for giving each other their first kisses, and fingering each other, there was no serious penetration front or back—they wanted to save themselves for Naruto-kun. "I know…it looks like we've got ourselves a difficult fight ahead of us—but our first priority would be to find the bastard. He's a jounin ninja, so teamwork is a must when going against him…I doubt our slave will be helpful here at this point, but we've got to try."
Tsukiko nodded at that statement—that son of a bitch was going to pay for this! "Agreed," she said, "but how are we going to get to him?"
With a sigh, Satsuki let her depression at the situation be known. "If only Naruto-kun were here, we'd be able to track him easily."
"Then it seems your prayers have been answered," said a voice from above, "because it seems we share a common goal."
The twins instantly knew whose voice that was, and they grinned as they looked up…
…
[Meanwhile, at Otogakure…]
This was not supposed to happen, but he guessed it would have been inevitable—the meeting that he had with Orochimaru moments ago had gone south. He'd tried to convince the foolish man to stop using the Curse Mark…tried to make him see reason. The deluded fool simply laughed in his face, and called him a fool in return while having the gall to try and recruit him. That greedy idiot! The nerve!
Needless to say, GSD was not happy that his words fell on deaf ears. With his refusal to join Orochimaru, the bastard sent the only other two people in the room. It wasn't much a challenge as he managed to cut down that four-eyed brat he had under his control and spilling his blood all over the room in the process, while the last Kaguya found himself pinned to the wall by his wrists and ankles. The foolish snake had both his arms cut off, both legs broken, and his legendary blade 'Kusanagi no Tsurugi' being held in his right arm…all the while, the older man had held the greedy monster by his throat to ensure that none of his snakes could leave through his mouth with his other hand holding an energy sword threatening his neck. The hatred laced his voice as he gritted his teeth at the foolish Sannin. "How does it feel Orochimaru, to finally be the one held at sword-point? I could drive the edge of my sword through the frontal bone of your skull and cauterize the frontal, temporal, and occipital lobes of your brain in one cut! I could summon the God of Violence himself to devour this wretched place, and all your souls with it to ensure that none of you could come back to life using any of the fouler jutsu you have in your repertoire! My wish to see balance in this word dictates that I should kill you here and now!
At this point he started to calm down as he let his victim go and deactivated his energy sword, but the venom in his voice was still there. "But I won't…it's not my place to kill you. For now, I will allow you to enjoy the dream that you are the one ultimately in control of your minions under the power of the Curse Mark. You'll see in due time who it is that will end you…and when you see who it is that will finally kill you, I will laugh on your grave at what your foolishness and greed has brought you!"
Once he holstered his energy sword, GSD turned towards the last Kaguya, and started collecting his weapons. The second he sheathed his last weapon, he turned to the boy that was glaring at him. "As for you young Kaguya, everything I have said so far was true—I know more about the Curse Mark than you think, and thus I know Orochimaru will not always be your master. You will meet your true master in due time—you and the other poor souls marked by that pathetic fool of a master of yours…and I guarantee that you will all know who he is the moment you see him."
That said and done, the old man used his senses to find the door to the room. Once he opened it, he found that there were many Oto ninja trembling in fear at the sight of him…making way for him like a king walking towards his throne. Nobody was foolish enough to mess with the man who could take down their master this easily!
…
[Training Ground 3, approximately two hours fifty minutes later…]
The infamous orange book was open in Kakashi's hands—in about ten minutes, those three lovely ladies would be tied to the three posts while he ate their lunches in front of them. Serves them right if they can't get the meaning behind the test; but then again, if this keeps up then he'd have all the time in the world to get started on Icha-Icha Violence! The perverted grin on his face made it easy to see that he enjoyed the prospect of finishing the book that Jiraya-sama wrote. And what was better, he could enjoy it hidden away in this very…
"Oi! Kakashi-hentai!"
The jounin looked up and saw that the Uchiha with short swords was charging him again. Seriously, didn't that girl learn anything about variety? Although he found that he had to admire her persistence—that girl didn't seem to know how or even when to quit! It was then that he put down his book in order to hold two kunai at the ready. Before long, he found himself dodging a horizontal swing directed at his torso—and then realizing his mistake as it forced him to jump forward and right into Tsukiko who started attacking him with high-speed slashes which he was barely able to keep up with! At the same time, he watched as the older Uchiha twin rushed him with her katana as he blocked the second strike. That proved to be a mistake as he watched that blade cut through his kunai like a hot knife through butter.
After he was forced to drop his kunai, Kakashi managed to get out of the stranglehold the twins put him under only to see something he never thought he'd see: the last Baihe was running after him with a golden aura surrounding her, then jumping into the air as she attempted a flying roundhouse kick. Once he managed to duck under her kick and back-flip away from several of her punches, he felt a massive amount of killing intent directed at him from behind…he turned around just in time to see that demon-bitch charging at him with a Kirigakure-standard zanbato ready for a downwards slash. It didn't take long for him to dodge the slash, but he found himself jumping away from arrows that were aimed at his calves…and judging by the size of those arrows, they had a sniper somewhere further away. When he tried to run a different direction, he then noted that all four combatants were then joined by the Haruno girl as she was throwing kunai and shuriken to aid in pinning him down.
It was then that he looked back at the four close-quarters combat fighters that he realized that he would have to get serious! With that thought on mind he unveiled his Sharingan eye, and then he charged!
…
They fall in line
One at a time
Ready to play
(I can't see them anyway)
No time to lose
We've got to move
Steady your hand
(I am losing sight again)
Fire your gun,
It's time to run,
Blow me away.
(I will stay, in the mess I made)
After the fall,
We'll shake it off,
Show me the way.
Only the strongest will survive,
Leave me in heaven when we die,
I am the shadow on the wall,
I'll be the one to save us all
…
What was thought to have been an easy victory turned out to be anything but; and this was shown throughout the battle as all four combatants attacked him in a synchronized fashion—as if all four of them were in the middle of a dance. And it would seem that the choreographer was the one dealing the heavier blows with the zanbato, while everyone else tried to push Kakashi in that direction. To make things worse, he was still pinned down in this area by Sakura and the unknown archer who had stopped firing arrows for some reason.
…
There's nothing left,
So save your breath,
Lying in wait.
(Caught inside this tidal wave)
Your cover's blown,
Nowhere to go,
Holding your fate.
(Loaded I will walk alone)
…
"You're good Kakashi," said the demon-brat, in the lull of battle, "it looks like we're going to have to step it up a bit." It was then that it raised its red arm into the air with a grin on its face. "So-mei-na Kazan!"
…
Fire your guns,
It's time to run,
Blow me away.
(I will stay, in the mess I made)
After the fall,
We'll shake it off,
Show me the way.
…
It wasn't long until Kakashi saw something appear before his eyes—at first, it started off as an orange blob, and then its form became more defined! The form that appeared before him had the face of a fish with sharp teeth, with a sort of cap on top of its head. At its sides were spindly claw-tipped arms protected by a pair of pauldrons. The demon was grinning at him with an evil look, while all the people nearby seemed to gain a more bloodthirsty look on their faces. As a result, Kakashi found himself blocking stronger slashes, and dodging punches and kicks aimed at his head that were powered up by whatever that demon had conjured up!
…
Only the strongest will survive,
Leave me in heaven when we die,
I am the shadow on the wall,
I'll be the one to save us all.
Wanting it back
(Don't make me mad! )
…
It was a mistake to have let that evil slut get proper shinobi training after all! As he ducked under a ball of Raiton chakra fired by the last Baihe from behind, before he found himself flipping forward just in time to avoid getting bear-hugged by the girl. Once he found another lull in the battle, he noted that all four close-combat specialists had started slowing down for some reason—and then he noted that the summoned demon had just disappeared…this was his chance to counterattack! Before he could set his hands up to prepare for a jutsu, he found his knees being threatened by a pair of blades, another blade poking at his kidney from behind with a hand against his stomach prepared to push him into it, and a large cleaver-like sword on his shoulder with the blade facing his neck—and if that weren't enough, that ominous-sounding creaking he heard from behind him told him the very thing he didn't want to know.
"One wrong move and I turn you into a pincushion."
He was about to retort and fight his way out when he felt the blade of that massive cleaver press closer against the neck guards of his flak jacket, and the demon opening her mouth to speak. "Go ahead…make my day."
Kakashi knew that he was captured. This was exactly what he had wanted to see from the Uchiha twins…and to a lesser extent, Sakura. But to see this all being coordinated by the demon-brat of all people was an insult! He would not let that hussy get away with her murders! He absolutely refused to let that slut get away with not only impersonating sensei's son, but mocking him with his face!
…
Only the strongest will survive,
Leave me in heaven when we die,
I am the shadow on the wall,
I'll be the one to save us all...
…
Before he could continue on with his vengeful thoughts, the bell had rung!
…
Save us all!
…
"Well, it seems we've overstayed our welcome," began the Kyuubi-brat, with a bit of a mocking tone in her voice, "let's do this again some other time Kakashi!" With that, the slut escaped with her teammates into the woods, leaving only the jounin and his three students behind. Oh he'll get that bitch for this! But for now, he had some students to punish…
"It seems that time's up," he said, watching the direction in which the demon and her team left as he covered his Sharingan eye, "and while I applaud the three of you making it this far against me, neither of you have gotten a…bell?"
As he turned to face his team, his eye had widened from seeing the triumphant looks on two of his students' faces. Each Uchiha twin had a bell while Sakura had a downtrodden look on her face…until the two of them gave her the bell—they passed! Somehow, during that little scuffle he had, one of them had picked off the bells. He really needed to read his book now. "I'm impressed that you managed to get a bell, but…"
To his horror, as Kakashi reached into his bag, he found that he was robbed of his infamous orange book…yet again! With a cry of anguish, he simply wilted at the idea…it looked like the bells weren't the only thing that was stolen from him. He was so depressed that he did not notice the Uchiha twins feeding their slave the bento he bought. He didn't care—the day had just gone from bad to worse!
…
[Meanwhile, Higurashi Arsenal's Workshop…]
Hiko had been observing everything from her perch in the workshop. She'd been stealing glances at the Uchiha matriarch and her master for the past few hours or so, and listening in. Granted, she knew about his relationship with Uchiha Mikoto (having met her and all), and how it ended, but it didn't take a phoenix like her to know that there was still something between them. She'd also been paying attention to the looks of longing on the Uchiha woman's face while her big brute was sharpening that sword of hers.
"Looks like we're almost done," said Hiten, grinding the naked blade of Shin Ikazuchi against the whetstone, "so tell me Mikoto, how's life so far with a slave?"
The blush on Mikoto's face had amused the smith to no end. And yet somehow, he could tell that she had fun in one way or another. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Hiten paused to inspect the blade to ensure it had a razor-sharp edge like any katana should. "Mikoto, I know you…I can tell when you're lying. Besides, I heard it on the grapevine that you and your daughters got yourselves a slave. You know I won't tell a soul…who is the slave by the way?"
With a heavy sigh, Mikoto knew that she could never hide anything from Hiten—the man was not all brawn if his priestly education were anything to go by. "It's Haruno Sakura."
Upon hearing that name, Hiten flinched before he moved the blade away from the whetstone and looked to his ex-girlfriend with surprise in his eyes. "Haruno Sakuya's daughter? You enslaved her daughter?"
"No, the twins did—and only because Inoichi-san was out on a mission. Besides, you and I both know I don't take slaves."
"Oh yeah…but still, I'm pretty sure you still had fun."
Mikoto so wanted to make Hiten pay for making that blush return to her face with a vengeance…it wasn't what he said that embarrassed her—it was the truth in it. She did in fact have fun helping her daughters get their first slave; a fact that she was too embarrassed to admit. "I hate to admit it Hiten, but you're right. I felt like my younger days have returned to me that night…"
As Hiten spoke, he focused his attention back to the whetstone, and sharpening the blade on it. "What was your title among the Uchiha clan? The one that made them call you up whenever a stubborn subject needed to be broken in the T&I Department?"
Her feeling of embarrassment was slathered with a tincture of pride. "They called me the 'Dominatrix Queen'. In any case, I liked the look of hope on her face when she saw me come—she was about to be flipped over so that they could use the special candles on her when I got there. I said to the twins, 'Girls, you shouldn't be doing that!' Now of course the twins were about to argue, until they saw me working my charms on the Haruno brat. When I was done and assured that their slave was broken, I turned to both of them saying 'Now that's how you it!'
"After that incident, I was asked to pass on my seduction arts to them in addition to what I am teaching them in kenjutsu. I simply told them that what I knew was based on experience and experimentation—and so they left it at that. I'm guessing that they took that message to heart, because they are currently using the Haruno girl as practice for seducing Naruto-kun."
After he inspected the blade one last time, and found himself satisfied with how sharp it was, he started reassembling the blade by placing handle on, then the fittings, and then the hand guards before finally putting the sword back in its sheath. "Well, at least that girl is getting that lesson in humility that's been coming. Okay then, let's go outside…I've some practice targets for you to cut."
As the two of them walked outside with Hiko on Hiten's shoulder, they saw a bamboo training dummy set up, in addition to tatami wrappings used to test swords. Mikoto walked up to the dummy, and drew her sword and slashed upwards before bringing it back downward, and sheathing the sword again…it wasn't until a 'click' was heard that the dummy fell apart into six pieces, leaving the core on the base standing. Yep, it was just as fast as she remembered; once she was satisfied with the draw speed, she then walked towards the twelve wrapped tatami rolls on cinder blocks, drew her sword, and then cut downwards…all twelve rolls were cut in half! As she sheathed the blade of Shin Ikazushi, Mikoto knew that this was the kind of quality she wanted! "How much do I owe you?"
"5 ryo per sharpening."
She smiled as she faced Hiten. "Hmm, seems fair enough—although given that this is your work, I think a little bonus is in order…"
Upon hearing that, Hiten raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what she meant when Mikoto slung her sword around her shoulder before jumping up, grabbing him by the neck, and planting a very much passionate kiss on his mouth. Fortunately for her, he was quick to grab her around the waist before she fell down by reflex…but the man's eyes had widened…and then his mind began to have jumbled thoughts the second she broke the kiss. Once his thoughts became a little more coherent as to what just happened, he lowered his ex-girlfriend and looked at her in confusion; she simply turned beet red upon seeing all 244 centimeters and 140 kilograms of him facing her. "I-I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…I was…"
With one massive finger, he managed to hush her. "Don't. I understand…I was just…do you still have feelings for me?"
That one moment where she blushed and avoided eye contact with him told him all that he needed to know. That response then prompted the million-ryo question that the both of them had on their minds. "What are we going to do?"
At this, Mikoto was holding back tears…for her confusion, and at the fact that she was still in love with this man. "I don't know…I don't know what we're going to do…I don't even know what I'm doing or thinking for that matter; I have two daughters to take care of and you have yours, we're both in our forties…I just…"
She was interrupted when Hiten knelt down and started pulling her closer and hugging her lovingly as he felt her petite form squeezing against his upper pectoral muscles. From there, she let it all out as she returned the hug around his neck while Hiko moved her perch to her boss's head. "There, there, it's okay. I just didn't expect this. To be honest, I'm in the same position—I…look, let's keep seeing each other, and see what happens. If the both of us can admit openly that this is true love returning for us, then we'll work from there."
"Why does love have to be so hard?" the Uchiha matriarch whined.
Hiten had a lopsided grin as he stated, "I'll give you the answer when I find it."
After a moment, Mikoto had started to calm down. Her voice of sadness and confusion had turned into playfulness. "We're going to have to keep this a secret from the girls won't we?"
A small chuckle had come from Hiten as he hugged her tighter. "Until we're ready to come clean with them about it."
As she watched this touching scene before her from her position on Hiten's head, Hiko could only think to herself that the world needed more of what she was seeing now. And now that this was happening, she made a vow not to tell anyone except her partner in crime of what she saw—not to Mikoto, and especially not to Hiten…
…
[Training Ground 18, two hours later…]
She was eating away at an onigiri when they arrived. Yuugao had savored the salty, chicken-filled goodness of her second helping—and this was to be expected as while the Ichiraku family specialized in ramen, they were also excellent makers of onigiri. She looked to her three students that had arrived with triumphant looks on their faces as she sat next to a barbecue grill. "I trust that you've got it?"
Kikyo grinned, as she produced the book she wanted them to steal. "Everyone did well, but Naruto and I had come up with the plan…I'd say that we're the only ones who did any serious work!"
The look on Meilan's face made it clear that she was offended by the comment. "Hey! I helped too Ms. Savage!"
"Oh you helped…as one of the distractions!"
"Well you could've…"
Having enough of what he was hearing, Naruto subtly moved between the girls and pushed them away before things got too violent. "That's enough! Kikyo, I appreciate that you aided me in formulating the plan and that you contributed to pinning down the idiot, and for that I will applaud you for your tactical insight (especially with making Sakura pick his pockets), your mastery in tracking, and your skill at mid- to long-range combat…"
Upon hearing this, Kikyo made every attempt to not blush. "Meilan, while you were not part of the planning process, I did in fact think you were fighting at your best while I was aiding in distracting the moron with the Uchiha twins (to whom I also give credit for). As a side note, I think you're getting better with the aim for your Nen Shot—a lot better. Now let it go, you both rule in this team!"
Once he was satisfied that the two girls had calmed down, he let them both go only to hear clapping from the direction of their sensei. "Bravo…you have the makings of a good leader Naruto. But all that aside, hand it to me."
Kikyo handed Yuugao the copy of "Icha-Icha Paradise", and watched as the jounin threw the book into the fire before covering it with charcoal and a grate. If one were quiet enough, they'd hear the sound of a thousand perverts in the book screaming in pain. "Since you kids did so well, especially with aiding Kakashi's team against him, I think you deserve a treat…" as she said this, she reached into a box, and pulled out a plastic bag filled with pieces of chicken on skewers, and placing the pieces on the grate.
After waiting a moment, and placing the skewered chicken on a plate, she looked to her students with a proud grin on her face. Kikyo picked up one stick for herself, and a second stick she gave to Naruto—only to see Meilan doing the exact same thing. The lightning bolt between their eyes had made their direct rivalry clear, and would have escalated into outright violence had Yuugao not moved in with her yakitori. "I want the three of you to savor this—to remember the flavor of victory…"
That said, Naruto took both yakitori sticks from their hands, and raised the one in his right hand up in a cheering gesture. "To victory." At that, Kikyo and Meilan could only follow…with Yuugao taking part. But before anyone could get to their treats, Naruto had one question on his mind: "Sensei, I hate to ask now, but what are you going to do with the other copies of the book?"
Yuugao only chuckled. "Oh don't worry that, a friend of mine has already taken care of it…"
…
[T&I Department Offices…]
Anko sneezed…damn, somebody must have been talking about her. Must've been a certain delicious little fox she'd been setting her sights on…nah, he doesn't even know her name yet! But all in all, she felt pride in that sneeze for some reason—and she had good reason! She had done all women in Konoha a favor when she had blackmailed all the bookstore owners in Konoha to never sell a single "Icha-Icha" book to Kakashi; and if they even told him why, they would have had…certain pictures exposed…
Yep, today was a good day for all women in Konoha!
…
A/N: Oh dear, who is praying for Hiten and Mikoto to get together? All in all, I hope this chapter has not suffered in quality after I made it longer…
Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:
Kazan—Soul Bender
Nen Shot—Nen Master
…
Songs Used:
"Comedy" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue Song Accord 2": Hiten's morning
"Lakeside" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue Song Accord 2": Hiten meeting Mikoto
"Sneak Chamber" by Forces of Nature from "Samurai Champloo": Tsukiko vs Kakashi, round 1
"Rebellion" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue": Tsukiko vs Kakashi, round 2
"Blow Me Away" by Breaking Benjamin from "Halo 2": Team Yuugao and Team Kakashi vs. Kakashi
"Stardust Memory" by Daisuke Ishiwatari from "Blazblue Song Accord": Hiten and Mikoto
…
Vocabulary/Culture Notes:
Hiko—the phoenix's name, her name means 'Child of Fire'
Shin Ikazuchi—Mikoto's sword, it means 'Thunder God'
Bodhisattva—Buddhist saints that forego Nirvana to help save people from going to hell
Oi—the Japanese equivalent of 'hey!', usually a rude form of getting someone's attention
-hentai—this simply means 'pervert'.