The Guardian's Kitsune
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Naruto x ?
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Story Start
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Hay Lin clutched the bus pole so hard her knuckles went white. She glanced at Will whose face was pale with worry, sadness, and fear. When the guardian of Air had initially met the red head, she was quite guarded and unsure. Eventually she started opening up to the group. Hay Lin had always been a free spirited and creative girl growing up.
She was bright when it came to things like music, art, and other projects that used creativity instead of just regurgitating fed facts that had been a practice of education for well over a century now. As she was now, she was a cheerful girl, confident, and optimistic.
Though, when she was younger she was a bit insecure when she first moved to Heatherfield. Being one of the few Chinese descent citizens of Heatherfield she stood out because of her fascination with comics and aliens. She had only started coming out of her shell after the move when she befriended Irma, who shared a sense of humor similar to her own. It was because she found a friend that the insecurity she held when she first arrived vanished and she became more like herself.
It was those memories of being an outsider, of being different that made her want to reach out and befriend Will when the future guardian of Quintessence entered the Silver Dragon.
Seeing Will sad made her sad as well. When they first learned they had magical powers, it was supposed to add some spice to their lives. Now since it began it only seemed to put people in harm's way.
Draining the life, the color out of them.
And if Hay Lin needed anything in her life, it was color, in the paint she splashed on her art projects, the Magic Markers she used to scrawl impromptu ideas on her palm, and the kooky outfits she devised every morning to wear. Today, for instance, Hay Lin was a vision of purple...purple leg warmers bunched around her ankles; lavender goggles cocked jauntily on top of her glossy, dark hair; a swishy, eggplant miniskirt; and a bright fuchsia book bag.
Then there was the 'other' color in Hay Lin's life...the silvery swirls that burst from her palms every time she unleashed her magic. The element of air that she controlled at her very finger tips could make the heaviest of objects fly like a dandelion in the gentle breeze. Such power in the hand of once ordinary school girls. Not so much ordinary now if one wanted to be factual. They were guardians of the veil now.
The Veil, a mystical barrier placed by an even more mystical being separated the earth and the evil world of Metamoor. In Metamoor a snakelike creature, his lumpish, blue henchmen, and a mysterious and definitely evil prince named Phobos resigned.
At the end of every millennium, the veil underwent a nasty change. It thinned and weakened, and even suffered from some damage...tears in the supernatural fabric. Those tears had turned into a series of cosmic doorways; twelve portals. And those portals...all located somewhere in the guardians' seaside of Heatherfiled...where direct routes to earth for the dark inhabitants of Metamoor.
That all changed when Elyon, a wispy, boy-crazy, sweet Sheffileder had taken up residence in metamoor and tried to bring them over to the dark side. Even now, as a result Will's friend had been captured leaving their once confident de facto leader an unnerved rest.
When the bus shuttered to halt on a rather familiar corner, the solemn quintet got off in silence. Hay Lin was amazed at the sight of the large and rather lavish property. It looked like it had five, no six floors.
''Wow...and here I thought Corny was rolling in the money,'' Irma joked, trying to add some humor to the situation.
Though no one laughed. Will took a step forward and found herself trembling. Fears of what Karmine would say or do once he found out his ward had been captured. She couldn't bear the thought of one of the few people that knew her, that really knew her would hate her.
Would he no longer welcome her with open arms and a smile. Would be no longer be the friendly big brother/uncle figure that teased her and Naruto about their friendship/relationship? Would he break off all ties? Including with her mother?
What if no one else would want her mother? The Vandom family would be sure to use their money and influence to spread their events of things. Her mother had been accused more than once of having an affair. She had been accused of a lot of things, that night; the horrible last night in Heatherfield, Thomas; that man had accused Susan of being a conniving gold digger that got pregnant so she could get her hands on his family money.
That she was stealing his life away from him. That more than anything was almost as painful as being beaten. Her father basically admitted that she was a mistake and didn't want her. That one statement completely shattered any hopes that Thomas could ever had of reconciling with his wife or daughter. Would she essentially be ruining her mother's only chance at happiness if Karmine no longer wanted either of them in their lives?
It was too much...in tears Will collapsed to her knees.
''Will!'' They all cried out, rushing to her. They crowded around her, Taranee putting her arms around the girl in a comforting gesture. ''Will? What's wrong? Are you hurt? What happened?''
''It's...all...my...fault...he's...going...to...hate...me.'' She cried out in-between sobs.
''It's not your fault Will. All of us were there and none of us could do anything.'' Taranee tried to comfort.
It took Will a few minutes to calm down before she began explaining. ''I...My mother and I moved here from Fadden Hills. There was a reason why I don't like talking about it.'' She started, taking a deep breath.
''I've heard of that place. It's actually quite well off and mainly nice families lived there. Not to mention the fashion.'' Cornelia listed off as she went into a slight daydream about the different brands and styles of clothing.
''Nice? Hah, nice my ass.'' Will said bitterly as her trembling stopped and her face twisted into an angry scowl.
The other four girls recoiled in shock. Never had they heard Will sound so bitter or swear before.
''People aren't as nice as they appear on the outside. Take my fa...no not my father. That man Thomas Vandom. Business man at day, Wife and Child abuser at night,'' Her tone still bitter and hateful.
The girls gasped, a mixture of feelings between them. Hay Lin looked like she was close to tears. Irma was shocked silence; there was no comment or joke that could shake off this situation. Taranee responded by only hugger Will tighter and Cornelia looked like she wanted to say a comforting word, but something held her back.
''There at Fadden Hills they're not too accommodating to outsiders or those who aren't in their class. They made it clear to me and my mother that we were second class, only accepting us as Thomas's wife and daughter with fake smiles. Whenever either one of us did something he considered out of line he would discipline us as he called it. It didn't help that his family had major pull and often made contributions to the Police and Hospital to make things go away.
My so called friends at school, they hated me because I was different. I was my own individual. Naruto...he was the only one that saw me for me and cared about me. Karmine, despite his wealth and status treated me like I was family as well.
That didn't go to well with my father who insisted my mother was having an affair with him when they were just good friends. Recently he had lost his job, one of the family businesses had gone under and he was drinking heavier than usual.
He had tried to kill my mom then went after me. I can't remember too much of what happened. Naruto showed up...I woke up at the hospital and shortly after that here my mom and I end up in Heatherfield. Karmine, sent us money and refurbished our apartment seeing as between my mom and I we hardly had enough money for gas money. I thought things were finally going to get better once we moved here you know. Now I've ruined the lives of the three people that meant the most to me.''
At the end of Will's statements none of them felt more ashamed then Cornelia did. She couldn't remember all the times she had put down the others for not having the right tastes or a sense of fashion. She was beginning to feel a little sick. All that time and Will had been holding in that? Not saying a thing at her sniping comments. Is that why she seemed so guarded when they first met. Did she think she was going to hurt her like the people at Fadden Hills did.
''Will...I...''
''A week would have been nice...'' A voice said startling them. They turned around and saw the dark skinned owner of the lavish mansion.
''Mister Jones...I...''
''Will!'' He interrupted her sternly causing her to flinch. 'Here it comes', She thought waiting for those terrible words.
''I told you not to be so formal with me didn't I? Just call me Karmine.''
The looks of confusion on the girl's faces were priceless. 'Why? Why is he being so nice to me?'
''You and your friends come on in.'' He said lifting up four bags of groceries. I just stopped at the store so my refreshments will have an expanded variety of choices. The girls found themselves in a living room that was bigger than most houses. There was a Pool table, Air Hockey Table, Large Plasma Screen TV, and possibly the richest looking Chess Table set and pieces known to man. One was made out of Crystal while the other was Gold. Which one was white and the other black was unknown.
Will sipped from her bottle of Mountain Dew, avoided making eye contact with Karmine.
''I hope you girls haven't been having too much trouble with your duty. You're all probably filled with questions.''
Hay Lin was to first to speak up, ''You knew my grandmother right? Naruto mentioned it.''
''Aah yes... I knew her quite well. It's been a few years since I last seen her. Those were good times.'' Karmine chuckled as he noticed their faces. "Where's that idiot at? Don't tell me he get lost or something."
Will fidgeted a bit. ''Karmine..I...Uum. It's all my...''
''Don't you dare!"' He interrupted her rather fiercely causing her to jump back. ''If you're taking the blame then do so on your own time. With the others here I assume its business. My time is quite valuable you know so speak.''
Will whimpered, her fears seemed to be coming true. 'You Bastard!' She looked up in shock.
''T-Taranee...''
''You two-faced bastard! Will is torn up inside. She thinks it's her fault that Naruto chose to stay behind and now she thinks you hate her. You're supposed to be her friend aren't you? Where do you get off saying those things?''
Will found her face heating up.
''Yeah. I can't believe someone who was friends with my grandmother could be so mean!''
''H-Hay Lin...''
''Will doesn't need someone like you who is going to tear that her self-confidence.''
''Irma...''
''You're horrible! If you're just going to attack Will were leaving. Her real friends are what she needs. Not some poser.''
''Cornelia!'' Will started tearing up. They really cared about her.
Karmine clapped, ''Bravo Will, Bravo; you've picked some amazing friends. They passed the test though your lack of faith in me hurts me a bit.'' He said with a pout.
''Wha?'' she stammered out, confused by what just happened.
Karmine shook his head and smiled at her, ''How could I ever hate you? You're like a daughter to me and I hope we can be family one day.'' He then made a shushing noise.
''Don't tell your mother though. I want to surprise her.' He said grinning.
''That was a test!'' Cornelia cried out in disbelief.
''It's what my associates and I refer to as a Test of Character. I needed to access what kind of bond you girls have. Anyway, Will you should talk to your mother about these feelings you keep bottling up inside. She's really worried about you. We knew the move wasn't going to be a magical fix that would cure everything, but we were hoping that some of these insecurities have passed.'' He sighed as he took a sip of his Sprite. ''I have questions as well. Do any of you girls play Chess?'' He waited for them to answer when Taranee stepped forward. ''Join me...will you?'' He asked with a kindly hand.
''What about your brother? Do we really have time for this?'' Taranee was confused by how casual the man was being about his brother being kidnapped and held hostage.
''That Knucklehead will be ok. Just have some faith in him.'' Karmine said leading the girls over to the Chess Table. He sat on the side with the gold pieces. ''A simple game of chess...here how this will go. Each time a piece is taken the person who takes the piece can ask one question. No matter how personal the question must be answered to the best of the ability unless this question will harm the speaker or others involved. The one who wins by Checkmate can ask five questions. In my case I can ask one of you five or each of you one question or each of you can ask me a question.''
And with that the game began.
Hesitantly, she had moved a pawn. And he had moved a pawn. And the game was on.
For a while they played in silence, and as the game progressed each accumulated a pile a captured pieces. Taranee still had her king, queen, one bishop, both rooks, and three pawns. Karmine was playing with his king, both bishops, a knight, and two pawns.
Karmine had asked them minor questions, about when their powers first manifested and the incident with the portals.
Taranee's questions were more productive to the Guardian's cause. Like what Kandrakar was at which Naruto explained was a place created to house those who watch over worlds and dimensions. About the Heart, which he explained was 'unique' among other hearts though it did merge with its holder's body when not in use. He also explained some of the abilities to wield Absolute Energy (With the Heart), which used a pinkish energy and could also use in conjunction with the element of Quintessence which manifested in Lightning like energy.
Now Taranee has sitting with her chin in her hands. It was her turn, and she was trying to decide between two moves. One would leave her queen open but would capture one of his bishops, and the other one would keep her pieces safe but only remove one of his pawns from the board.
''You seem to be stuck.''
She moved a bishop and captured one of his bishops, then looked up at him. ''Just contemplating my question. Does Naruto sincerely care for Will?'' Said girl and the blond's bother were both surprised.
''Aah...something in a different category. He's gonna be pretty pissed, but yeah; Naruto does care for Will. You see it goes beyond that. In order to understand Naruto's feelings you have to understand him exactly. And in order to understand him you need to learn who he was. You need to know his story. That's something you need to ask him yourselves."
Karmine picked up his knight and swept Taranee's queen off the board. ''I do no one thing. I think the two of them are good for each other." Taranee knocked away one of Karmine's pawn. ''What about you? Can we consider you an ally?''
''A mentor if I'm truly needed. I have no reason to torment you five. If you girls are going to hope to survive you're going to have to get serious and start training. About learning everything you can about this situation."
Glancing down, Taranee noticed that her king was in danger of being taken by KarmineKarmineKarmine's bishop. She smiled when she saw his king sitting all alone on the other side of the board, a clear path between it and her rook. Picking up the rook, Taranee placed it on the square right next to his king. "Well Chess Master it looks like things are in my favor.''
Karmine shook his head and chuckled. ''I'm afraid you're far too young to beat me Fire Guardian." Karmine picked up his own bishop and knocked Taranee's king away. "Good game...I can see you're the intelligent one, no offense to the others. You might want to look into strategy.'' Setting back up the pieces he continued speaking. '' Chess Masters are my best yet my worst. Foes I have an easy time against and the hardest time again. There is no such thing as a stupid Chess Master. Just one that's not as smart as others. A word of advice. Don't be quick to betray those you've known for so long all because a fresh new face tells you lies about that person. Confirm with that person before you decide to be foolish and break ties. That and certain people like my little brother in particular; he doesn't take being betrayed too well and is quick to flash a false smile. That is all I wanted to say.'' Karmine placed a comforting hand on Will's shoulder. ''You're stronger then you believe you are.''
''We will!'' Will stated, her confidence starting to come back. 'Just wait for me Naruto. I'm coming!'