Okay here's the next chapter. For the guest What the hell, lol only a few things I can say to you buddy, the rest of you, move on. 1: You're right. 2: that's the point. She's a fucking archdemon. 3: Kurama told her long ago, that she would stop thinking like a human, so her first instinct to handle a threat is to destroy it. 4: You're right, Arturia, would not stand for something like that *wink* *wink* and finally 5: it makes a helluva better story if the hero loses themselves at some point or another. It makes the journey back, all the more intriguing, and it adds character.
Now… anyone else who cares so much about Riley's morals, and forgot that she was always meant to be a dark character, please refer to the above post.
Warnings: Language, violence, minor sexual references.
Broken Angel
Chapter 52: Clever Plans Gone Awry
"Itachi, I know of. But you are a mystery, girl. Who are you?" Sasori inquired as he eyed the two intently.
"My name is Arturia Pendragon. And yours?" Arturia replied, as she readied herself for battle with the strange man.
"You may call me Sasori. Or Sasori of the Red Sand, if you prefer." The odd man replied.
Arturia was quiet after that. She just stared at the hunched over figure draped in a black cloak. From what she knew of him so far, she could tell he was an assassin.
"Why is the Akatsuki here? Surely you wouldn't risk angering Riley?" Itachi stated as he eyed the S-Ranked Missing Suna Nin.
"You truly believe that girl is such a great threat, don't you? She's not even on our radar. The Akatsuki, does not fear her." Sasori replied with a chuckle.
His response earned a chuckle from Itachi, which drew a curious stare from Sasori.
"The Akatsuki is lead by a foolish man, whom fancies himself a god. But I didn't ask if the Akatsuki was that foolish, I already know they are. I was asking why it is, that you are that foolish? You are a master spy. Ever since Riley defeated two of your members almost a year ago, I know you've been looking into her. So tell me, Sasori, are you really that bad at your job as a spy, or are you truly foolish enough to think that you and your partner can stand up to her?" Itachi inquired with an amused chuckle. He knew that he could probably take Sasori on his own. It would be, by no means easy, but he believed that at full power he could triumph. However, he now had this woman with her strange sword, standing to fight as well. He didn't know of her powers, but if she was at least competent, then it would raise his chances of victory. Now though, he needed to throw Sasori off his game, anger him or distract him.
He decided to go with anger, which earned a dark chuckle from Sasori.
"You're very right, Itachi Uchiha. I'm not dumb enough to confront the Kage Killer, head on. Her sheer raw power is greater than even a bijuu's. I wouldn't be surprised if she has more chakra than Kisame, the Tailless Tailed Beast. I don't expect to defeat her in battle, that's not why I'm here." Sasori stated as he removed his cloak, showing off his full puppet-like body.
"Then why are you here, Sasori? To anger her? Or is it me, you seek to anger?" Itachi inquired. His tone was completely passive. Though it carried just the smallest hint of condescension, just enough for Sasori to feel it, and for it to irritate him.
"While your death would surely benefit us, I'm not here for you either." Sasori replied.
"Then is it the Nine Tails you seek? Do you intend to use this attack to slip into the country, and hunt the beast down?" Itachi continued with his questioning. He didn't know exactly how well he was doing since, Sasori's face was that a puppet's, it gave nothing of his emotions away.
Meanwhile, Sasori was trying to figure out just how Itachi seemed to know so much about the Akatsuki. It was possible Itachi had spies in the Elemental Nations, Sasori wouldn't rule that out, but his information was a bit too spot on.
"You know quite a lot about us, Itachi. I can imagine, had your eradication of the traitorous Uchiha been done for different reasons, you would have ended up a rogue. And if that were true, you probably would have ended up on our side." Sasori stated as he eyed Itachi and the woman, not underestimating either of them.
"You're probably right. But things aren't different. Here I stand. Against you." Itachi replied in a very stoic tone.
"Indeed." Sasori stated. There was a moment of silence, before Sasori's tail launched forward. It shot through the air, straight at Itachi. Right before it struck, a windmill shuriken shot out of one of the side alleys and sliced through the tail.
'A trap! When did he have time to set that up?' Sasori thought to himself.
At that moment Itachi dashed forward. He quickly sent a barrage of kunai straight at Sasori. In response, Sasori's mouth shot open and Senbon shot out, deflecting each of the kunai.
Sasori then focused fire on Itachi whom easily deflected the hail of senbon, his Sharingan eyes being more then keen enough to see the thin needles.
While that was going on, Arturia decided to launch an attack of her own. She quickly got out of the line of fire by hopping up on top of one of the buildings that lined the street. She then raced across the roofs, intent on attacking Sasori's flank. Right as she was about close enough to dive down towards him. He raised one of his arms and fired it at her. She rolled right to avoid the flying hand, only to hear it explode in the air behind her. Suddenly the air filled with the sound of metal cutting through air.
Arturia immediately dashed back across the rooftop she was on and dove into one of the alley ways below, to avoid the rain of needles, she was sure were doused with poison.
Itachi quickly charged at Sasori but had to back pedal when his tail whipped out. Even without it's pointed end, Sasori's tail was still bathed in poison, one nick, and the fight would be over.
Taking this moment to launch her attack, Arturia charged out of the alley and straight at Sasori. He turned to her, even as his tail kept Itachi at a distance. His mouth opened and larger, heavier kunai began to fire out at her. She was forced to stall her advance as she utilized her sword and armor to deflect the kunai. Sasori was surprised by her speed. She was by no means the fastest opponent he had ever faced, but she did move at descent speeds. One would think in that armor she'd be slower, but they would be wrong. Obviously she had put many hours of training into fighting while encumbered by heavy armor.
Suddenly in a burst of Mana, Arturia shot out of the way. Then dashed forward.
Thinking quickly, Sasori charged up his next shot. With nearly five times the speed and force, a single kunai shot out.
For a single moment, Arturia contemplated the requirement of another mana burst to dodge the projectile that shot towards her head. Much to her own surprise, she found herself moving fast enough to dodge. Arturia was always very in tune with her own abilities, she understood her strengths, she knew she shouldn't be able to naturally move this fast. As she moved to side step the flying blade her eyes spotted a piece of paper attached to the kunai. Remembering what had happened the last time she saw a piece of paper like that, she quickly batted the speedy projectile into a nearby building and then rolled the opposite direction to avoid the explosion that quickly followed.
Arturia quickly shot to her feet from the roll, and began to rush forward only to be stalled as she blocked Sasori's tail strikes. Each one hammered against her sword, but none managed to pass through.
In that moment, Itachi appeared right next to Sasori.
Faster then she would have thought possible, Arturia saw Sasori's head rotate almost a full 180 degrees, it's mouth sprung open and a kunai fired right into Itachi's throat.
For the briefest moment, it looked like her battle companion had been killed, but then, to her surprise, Itachi's body exploded violently, sending Sasori, flying into a nearby building.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Stream!" Arturia heard Itachi's voice, state.
From atop a building across from where Sarori had been sent, Itachi stood on the roof. He flashed through hand signs and then breathed out a large stream of fire that shot forth into the building where Sasori had been sent.
The building was quickly consumed in flames, no living thing could normally survive. Suddenly Arturia heard movement in the building next to where the fire now raged, she raised her sword just in time to block Sasori whom dove out one of the windows. The cloth on his puppet body was burning and the wood, was singed. But being a puppet, meant that he was relatively unharmed.
"Need, to get rid of you first, then I can focus on Itachi." Sasori stated as a blade burst out of one of his palms and shot straight at Arturia's face.
Thinking quickly, she tilted her head, avoiding the strike by millimeters. She then quickly channeled energy into Excalibur, causing the sword to ignite in a burst of golden energy. With a battle cry and a single upward slash she released a massive shockwave of raw power. This blast, collapsed the building behind Sasori and sent his body flying back into the debris.
A loud rumbling noise filled the air, as the buildings nearby collapsed from the power of Arturia's strike. Even she looked mildly surprised that her attack had been so strong. Usually she needed to charge up her strike much more then that, to get the same results. Perhaps it had something to do with the mild connection she had to her new master?
Itachi quickly appeared next to her and offered an approving nod. Sasori's broken body was now laying amongst the ruins of the collapsed building, having been shattered and sent flying by Arturia's attack.
They could see that it was broken and shattered. Unable to do anymore damage.
However, before either could celebrate their victory, something shot out from the broken shell. Nearby, a man landed. This man had red hair, and brown eyes. He looked young, probably in his late teens, early twenties.
"You managed to break one of my favorite puppets. Impressive. I thought Itachi was the major threat, but I guess I was wrong. It seems the two of you are equal when it comes to the danger you pose." Sasori stated with an intrigued look in his eyes.
"Who is that? Is that the same man we just fought?" Artoria asked.
"He was hiding within the puppet's body. I've heard that Suna's puppeteer corp could do some amazing things, but this is all new to me." Itachi replied as he eyed Sasori intently.
Sasori stared down at them for a moment when suddenly he glanced above them. He smirked and then stated while drawing a scroll.
"Looks like playtime is over." Out of the scroll came a vial, within it was a thick viscous liquid. Sasori tossed it into the air and quickly cut through the vial with a kunai. That Kunai was coated in the liquid. Strangely, none of the liquid got on the ground, when shattered, all of the liquid wrapped around the kunai, forming a black liquid outer layer.
"More poison." Arturia noted, earning a nod of agreement from Itachi.
"Oh… this is more then normal poison. This is one of my most ingenious creations. Normally, I enjoy things that take a while to kill. Things that cause my opponent to suffer before they die. But this was a special case. I've tested this poison on some of the largest animals in the world. It was capable of killing one of the giant snakes that live near Konoha, in under five minutes. Against a person… death is measured in a manner of seconds, depending on the location of administration. Two Milliliters is enough to stop a raging bull in under a minute." Sasori explained to them.
"Translation… don't let that get on you." Itachi stated. Arturia nodded in agreement.
Sasori just smiled. Then suddenly he threw the kunai. Not at them, but above them.
The two spun around, right as the kunai sailed over a nearby building. They saw Deidara pass right over the building and duck expertly under the kunai. Right behind him was Riley. Deimos was very near to biting Deidara in half, so Riley was very close. The kunai, struck her in the face earning a howl of pain from Riley.
Deimos quickly came to a stop, as Riley growled out in pain. She quickly tore the kunai from her cheek and dropped down onto the roof of the nearest building.
"You see Itachi… you asked why I was here, and well… there's your reason. I have no intention of facing the Kage Killer in battle, after all, ninja are rarely so honorable. Poison works just fine, and I had to make sure I went with something that would assure death. Her chakra is highly caustic, so I went with something purely physical. That poison is quickly turning her blood into more of itself. Thickening her blood in the process. When it reaches her heart, she'll die." Sasori explained as Deidara hovered next to his partner, on his flying bird.
Arturia was instantly worried. Riley was on her knees, clutching her face. Deidara and Sasori were both smirking, though Itachi remained impassive.
"Five." Itachi stated.
"Four." He continued earning confused looks from everyone present.
"Three." He stated as he began to smirk.
"What the fuck is he doing?" Deidara asked.
"Two." Itachi started to chuckle.
"One." He finished. And right as he did. Deidara was ripped off of his clay bird. He flew right up to where Riley was now standing, her face mask pulled down to reveal a vicious smirk.
"Hello little birdie." Riley stated, then with unimaginable speed she drove her fist into Deidara's gut. He went flying back right into a building which then collapsed around him.
"How?" Sasori asked as he saw the wound on Riley's face, quickly sealing itself shut.
"My Chakra is death itself. My blood is hellfire. You think something like this… could kill me?" Riley inquired with a mad grin. Her eyes suddenly turned red and she vanished from sight.
She instantly appeared in front of Sasori. He tried to jump back, just as an Odama Rasengan appeared in Riley's hand. She instantly used Bansho Ten'in, to pull the puppeteer right into her hand. The force of the attack shattered Sasori's true puppet body. It splintered into thousands of pieces that rained down around her.
"Die!" She heard Deidara shout, as a giant Centipede made of clay wrapped around her body and detonated violently.
"How does it feel… to perish in the brilliance of my art?" Deidara yelled as he pulled himself out of the rubble of the building he was in. He had blood dripping from his mouth, and he was wobbling from lack of balance.
"Boring." Came a reply from right behind him. Deidara spun around right as a hand clasped his throat. To his shock, he found Riley standing there. She was completely unharmed, and by now, her cheek was fully healed.
"Time to..." Riley began only to hear Itachi call out her name in warning. Right as he did, a blade pierced her chest, right through her heart.
"I don't know how you survived my poison… but you wont survive this." Came Sasori's voice. It seems he had another puppet of himself waiting in the wings. What Riley didn't know was that when she obliterated Sasori's body, the capsule that was where his heart was kept, shot out into another puppet body, that he always kept nearby whenever he was forced to leave his puppet Hiruko.
Then Sasori gave a quick twist of the sword, ensuring that her heart was destroyed by the attack.
Meanwhile, Arturia looked on in shock. The speed at which these three warriors moved was unbelievable. She could move at such speeds, but only with intense use of her mana burst ability. They were able to move that fast without any noticeable signs of magical power. And on top of all of this, her future master had just been struck in the heart. A killing blow for anyone. But one glance at her fellow compatriot and the amused look in his eyes, told her that this fight was far from over.
"You, puppet dick, are really starting to piss me off." Riley muttered as she drove one of her feet back at incredible speeds. The force of her move, broke Sasori's leg and cracked the ground.
She then delivered an intensely powerful right cross to Deidara's face, sending him flying a hundred feet down the street to crash into another building.
Sasori quickly jumped back to avoid her follow up strike, leaving his broken leg behind in the process.
Then, to his shock, Riley broke the blade in two and pulled in out. She then tossed it to the floor as her body began to quickly heal the wound.
"Your heart was completely destroyed by that attack. You shouldn't even still be alive." Sasori stated in disbelief. He knew she was human. She wasn't a puppet like him, and he knew that even fully functioning Jinchuriki couldn't survive without their heart. Yet here she was, her heart obviously rebuilding itself.
Instead of monologue-ing about her abilities like ninja were so keen to do, Riley instead, brought her hands together. Tree roots burst out around Sasori, wrapping around him and pinning him in place.
Then, Riley pulled out her wand, and began to channel earth magic through it. Itachi and Arturia watched in amazement as a thirty foot wide, fifty foot high slab of earth rose out of the street. It floated up into the sky, directed by Riley's earth magic. Once positioned above Sasori, whom was struggling in vein to escape, Riley performed a downward slash motion with her wand, sending the massive slab plummeting right onto Sasori, crushing the puppet master and sending out an earth shaking shockwave, that rattled the whole city.
Not wasting even a moment Riley spun around and fired several Blasting curses at a few dozen incoming clay birds. Each one exploded from the spells.
At the end of the street was Deidara. He was bleeding from the eye, and one of his eyes was blood red from broken blood vessels. His Jaw was swollen and hanging open, obviously broken.
Riley stared at him with a smirk. After a moment she dashed forward. Deidara started to mold more clay, but one of his arms was twisted at a weird angle, probably dislocated or something.
Before he could finish molding more clay, Riley was on him. She drove her fist into his gut, forcing him to double over, then she followed up with a knee to the face, breaking his nose and cracking his jaw even further. As he reeled back from the hit, Riley drove her foot into his knee cap shattering it to pieces and breaking his leg back. She then caught him by the front of his cloak and pulled him forward. Using this forward momentum, Riley shifted to the side, grabbed the back of his head and slammed it down onto her knee.
There was a loud cracking noise as her knee collapsed the front of his skull. Deidara was a tough fighter, even after the beating started, he hadn't screamed in pain. But tough or not, having a knee driven into your brains is always fatal.
Riley held him there for several moments as she watched blood and gray matter drip out of his broken skull. Finally she pulled him back up and readied to devour his soul when suddenly, his body was surrounded by seal markings and then it vanished in a poof of smoke.
Riley stared, dumbfounded for several moments when she heard a second poof from behind her. She quickly surmised that it was Sasori's body.
Unable to take their souls, Riley knew it wouldn't be wise to believe that those two were dead. They were both tough fighters, whom had been so sure of their plan, that when it went tits up, they didn't really have a back up. Whatever that poison was… it must have been something insanely virulent. Riley guessed that no living thing could survive such poison. Luckily… she technically didn't fit the human criteria for living. As while she had a physical body, Demon's were purely magical creatures, and some could take the form of water, or fire, or even air, if they wanted too.
"An impressive fight. I don't think either of them even had time to fully comprehend why their poison didn't work." Itachi mused as he stepped up next to her. Arturia stood a few feet away, eying Riley intently. She had been surprised by Riley's speed and the abilities she possessed. She could manipulate earth without so much as a single ounce of mana, becoming visible. That was something entirely new to the once and future king of Britain.
"Someone sent their bodies away from here. Seal markings crawled across Deidara's body after I killed him. More then likely this is Mito's doing." Riley replied as she stared out over the burning city.
"Do you think she has a way to resurrect them?" Itachi inquired.
"Maybe, maybe not. But Pain does. One of the few abilities that the Rinnegan possesses that I do not yet know, is Gedo Art: Rinne Rebirth. It's a technique that allows you to resurrect those that have 'just' died. After a certain amount of time the cost of the resurrection goes from just chakra, to the user's own life force. But if you use it quick enough after death, then the power can keep your allies from dying." Riley explained.
While Arturia stood in disbelief, over hearing of the ability to resurrect the dead, Itachi merely nodded.
"Why haven't you learned this technique?" Itachi inquired.
"It's immensely difficult to learn. It's a life giving ability, which directly contradicts my whole existence. I'm too busy. And it doesn't really fit in line with my style. I prefer to stop my allies from getting killed. But maybe once I finish up with my current roster of abilities, I'll start on it. Never know when it could come in handy." Riley replied as she made a face.
After a moment of silence she decided to contact Tom over their radio.
"Hey Thomas… how are things going?" Riley inquired.
"Enemy forces have been defeated. We've gathered up all the survivors. What do you think we should do with them?" Tom inquired back over the radio. Just after forming the hidden village, Riley made sure all the magicals knew how to operate a friggin' radio, so they could easily communicate in battle.
"Bring them all to the beach. I'll meet you there. The Akatsuki have withdrawn. Have the Aurors arrived yet?" Riley asked as she started walking towards the edge of town.
"Yes… Madam Bones is leading them personally. Several contingents have just arrived. Should I have her meet us at the beach as well?" Tom inquired.
"That would be best." Riley stated as she continued walking. Itachi and Arturia followed behind. Arturia was busy staring not so subtly at Riley. Itachi meanwhile was busy watching Arturia. Her help had definitely earned her a degree of trust, but she was still an unknown, and unknowns could be dangerous.
They quickly made it to the beach where Deimos landed to greet his master.
"Hello my friend. Were you busy getting into any trouble while I handled some business?" Riley inquired as she pet the dragon's snout.
Deimos growled in reply then turned his head out towards the sea. Riley glanced out and spotted a boat in the distance. Activating her Byakugan she got a good view of magical energy coming from the boat. She could see Shinobi on the deck of the ship, along with a descent number of magicals. All in all, probably another hundred enemy combatants. They looked to be arguing, they could probably see Deimos on the beach next to the piers waiting for them.
"Deimos… go and give them a proper English greeting." Riley told the dragon. With a growl of approval the Dragon shot into the air, and raced towards the boat. Just about then more Legionnaires began to arrive, along with several Aurors including Madam Bones.
It was as the dozen or so prisoners were being escorted onto the beach that Riley finally took notice of Arturia.
"Can I help you?" Riley inquired as she quickly became annoyed with the strange knights' staring.
Arturia hadn't heard her question. She was to mesmerized by Riley's eyes. While Riley herself was a beautiful woman, her eyes were something Arturia had never seen before. The hypnotic mystical pattern of the Rinne Sharingan, was a sight to behold for the Knight. She had never seen such eyes before, they just screamed power, power like she couldn't imagine. If she had doubts about the Shinigami's beliefs in regards to Riley's power, they were quickly fading as she found herself getting lost under the crushing weight of those mighty eyes.
"Oi! Hey! Is anyone home?" Riley asked in a comical fashion as she started to get creeped out by Arturia's staring.
"Her name is Arteria, Arturia… something like that I believe, Pendragon. She helped me fight against Sasori." Itachi informed Riley.
"Oh… Well… … Hm… Pendragon? Like as in King Arthur Pendragon? Are you some sort of descendant?" Riley inquired to Arturia whom was still staring at Riley's eyes.
"Hey! Stop it!" Riley growled out, earning an amused chuckle from Itachi, as she noticed the continued staring.
After a moment Riley sighed and stepped forward. She poked Arturia in the forehead, much the same way Itachi would to Sasuke. The act caused Arturia to blink a few times and then adopt a bit of a blush as she realized she had been staring.
"My apologies. I didn't mean to stare. I just… I've never seen eyes like yours before." Arturia apologized. Mentally kicking herself for staring so rudely and without even introducing herself.
"It's alright. I know my eyes are a bit of an eye catcher, so it's alright. Thanks for your help today." Riley replied with a smile. Then before they could continue Riley's metallic purple eyes turned blood red and she turned to where a group of two ninja and ten magicals were being held on their knees by her forces. Madam Bones was nearby speaking with Thomas. The two quickly turned to Riley as she stepped up in front of the twelve captured individuals.
"What do you intend to do to them?" Madam Bones inquired as they approached where Riley was.
"We'll find out who they are. Those with bounties will have their contracts fulfilled for the best payments. The rest will be put to death, after we figure out where they came from." Riley replied earning a few frightened looks from the magicals, and hated glares from the two Iwa ninja. Far out in the ocean everyone heard a dragon roar, and suddenly a vessel at sea, burst into flames.
"Enemy reinforcements. I sent Deimos to roast them." She then turned to Kakashi whom was standing nearby, also in uniform so Madam Bones didn't recognize him. "Take a squad whom can water walk, and head out there. Make sure no ninja are hiding under the water."
Kakashi nodded and turned to a group nearby. After verifying that they were ninja and could water walk, they raced off.
"What are our casualties like?" Itachi inquired.
"Eighteen. We caught the enemy by surprise, but they were skilled. They managed to kill almost six hundred people though. And that number could still rise." Thomas replied. His response earned a scowl from Madam Bones who glared hatefully at their hostages.
"Those that we collect the bounties on will be dealt with by us. The rest will be publicly executed. Madam Bones. Inform the minister, and ask that he inform British Parliament and the Queen of what is going on. We'll let you take over, now that the threat has been handled." Riley Informed Madam Bones. The woman nodded and began issuing orders to her forces. Meanwhile Itachi began ordering the Legionnaires to prep their prisoners for transport to the village where they would be detained.
While Riley just stared out over the ocean, Itachi took a moment to speak to Arturia, whom was back to staring at Riley. "Thank you for your help this night. You've earned yourself a bit of trust. However… where we're going, you can't follow, so if you wish to say something to her, do it now."
She glanced at Itachi and after a moment, she offered a nod and stepped up next to Riley.
"So miss Pendragon… what can I do for you?" Riley inquired as she turned to face the strange knight.
Arturia was quiet for a moment before she pierced her sword into the sand and rested her hands on the hilt.
"My name is Arturia Pendragon. King of Britain. The Shinigami brought me here from the moment of my death to serve you. I, Arturia Pendragon, do so swear on my life, my blood, and my honor, to faithfully serve you from this day, until the end of days. I will stand as your sword, and your shield until such a day as you release me from my service. This oath I swear." Arturia stated. The Shinigami hadn't been specific when he said that she needed to swear an oath to fulfill the bond, so she hoped that was sufficient.
Riley stared at her in confusion for several moments when she felt something connect to her being. It was so sudden and jarring that she actually felt it happen. A bond was formed, nearly instantly. She could feel her own power surge through it. Arturia's eyes widened as magic coursed through her being. She actually fell to her knees as the weight of Riley's raw power slammed into her.
It took a few moments before the rush of power finally stopped. When it did… it was nothing like Arturia had ever felt before. She felt stronger now then she ever had. She felt power coursing through every cell in her body. Her core was absolutely full to bursting with this much power. The Shinigami hadn't lied when he said that she would feel stronger then she ever had… but this… this was totally different.
Arturia had expected to feel stronger… but not this much stronger. She felt like she could do anything. Like she could topple the world if she wanted to. The thoughts that coursed through her mind were rapid and many, she couldn't believe how powerful she felt now. She was at least ten times stronger then she had been before.
The multitude of thoughts was cut off when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Riley inquired, she was surprised by what just happened. But it began to make sense in her mind. This was the weapon the Shinigami had sent. A woman… a knight… she said she was king of Britain…
"Yes… Master…. I'm alright. That… was just the bond forming between us. I… didn't expect to feel that much power..." Arturia replied as she allowed her head to clear. She took several deep breaths and then rose to her feet. Riley was giving her this scrutinizing look.
"I am your weapon… master… command, and I will obey." Arturia stated after a moment.
Riley just continued to stare at her. By now everyone on the beach was staring over at the two.
"So… King Arthur was a woman?" Riley stated as she put the pieces together. Arturia… Arthur. Pendragon, was a line that died out after Arthur, so she couldn't be a descendant. Then there was the sword she carried. The blade was Holy. Riley could see it with her eyes. It's presence made her uneasy. Yet once the bond was formed, that uneasiness faded.
"Yes… Master. I was once called King Arthur. But please, don't allow my gender to fool you. I am a Knight before I am a woman, and a king before that. I am more then capable of serving as your sword and shield." Arturia replied.
Riley just stared at her for another moment or two before offering her hand in greeting.
"Hi, my names Riley. Riley Slytherin Gryffindor Uchiwa Black." Arturia stared at her hand for several moments she remembered this being a form of greeting from her time in the last Grail war. She extended her own hand to take Riley's, and the two shook in greeting.
"Arturia Pendragon… if the Shinigami has sent you to be my weapon, then I will accept but only under a certain condition." Riley stated as both their hands remained held.
"And what would that be?" Arturia inquired.
"Don't call me master. My name's Riley. Call me that. Or 'hey you'… I'm no ones master. I train some of my friends but I have no apprentices. Only students. The only title I'll accept is Sensei, and you're not one of my students so stick with Riley. Okay?" Riley stated.
Arturia was quiet for a moment but she offered a nod.
"I'd like to know more about you Arturia. To learn that King Arthur was really a woman, is intriguing. However… now is not the time. Let's go." Riley stated as she turned and headed over to her forces.
"Is this everyone?" Riley inquired.
"Yes. We've collected our dead as well." Itachi replied. By now, Kakashi was back along with several more prisoners that had tried to swim away when Deimos scorched the boat.
"Alright. Let's go." Riley stated, and from their she began to bring them all into Kamui. As she did, she couldn't help but wonder about the strange turn of events this night had taken. The 'weapon' the Shinigami had sent, was actually a person. A woman, King Arthur… Riley could only wonder how much weirder things would get from this point on.
-Meanwhile-
"Gedo Art: Rinne Rebirth!" Pain intoned. With that the king of hell rose from the earth and two souls shot out of it. They both rushed into two corpses that sat before Pain. These were the bodies of Deidara and Sasori.
Both of their bodies, quickly healed, with Sasori growing a full new human body in the process.
In the darkness nearby Obito sat and watched. It seems, that Madara's wife had been correct when she said that Sasori's poison wouldn't work. If not for her seals, they would be down two members. It had only been a few hours, but the drain on Pain was obvious. Obito could only let out a sigh. Facing Riley was becoming more and more difficult. Madara's wife… she knew something. Something she couldn't, or wouldn't tell them. Riley wasn't a normal opponent. Hell she wasn't even an extraordinary opponent… she was something more. And Obito, intended to figure out what.
-Back in Britain-
Arturia stood in amazement as she stared out over the massive forest of trees. Riley had just pulled her army into Kamui, and then sent them to the Hidden Village. Riley and Arturia remained in Kamui however so that Riley could have a chat with her.
Arturia just continued to stare around herself, the immense field, the mountains that stood higher then she had ever seen, the trees that were thousand's of feet high…. This strange place was utterly amazing.
"So… not a gardening tool." Came Madara's voice as he approached Riley.
Arturia quickly shook off her amazement and refocused on Riley and the dark haired man that now stood next to her. It took Arturia a moment to get back to her original source of amazement, getting here in the first place. Just a few moments ago they had been standing on the beach, and it was night out, then Riley placed a hand on her shoulder and she was pulled into something. Then all of a sudden it was day time and she was in this field.
"Nope… not a gardening tool." Riley agreed.
"Well it could still be. Depending on your point of view." Came Kurama's reply as Riley summoned him from her mindscape. Arturia's eyes widened in amazement as the three hundred foot tall fox, sat on his haunches and stared down at her.
"That's sexist Kurama." Riley countered
"So? Not really… I don't have a gender, thus I cannot be sexist… so fuck you." Kurama replied.
Riley made a face at him, but decided to not get into it right now, with the big furry asshole.
"So… Now you've got an ancient king… Knight… Woman… to stand as your personal bodyguard. Gotta say, you've got the weirdest luck." Madara stated as he gave Arturia an appraising look.
Arturia stared back, and both warrior immediately began to analyze the other. Both immediately took note that the other had the eyes of a warrior, and both instinctively drew themselves larger and taller, as a sign of dominance.
"She's got some fight in her. Hmph… well as least the Shinigami didn't screw you." Madara stated as he smirked over at his granddaughter.
"The Shinigami didn't screw her… but he sent someone who could." Kurama stated with a chuckle.
"Yes, how long till you bed this one Riley?" Madara asked with a chuckle.
Kurama and Madara both started to chuckle, but they were both silenced when Riley sent a skin peeling glare there way, and knocked the two down a peg. Massive tentacles burst out of a gaping black hole behind Kurama. They quickly wrapped around his torso and began to drag him into the hole.
"AH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? AH! FUCK! I'M SORRY! AHHHH!" Kurama wailed in terror as the Gravemind pulled him into the deep. Meanwhile Madara was laughing his ass off, only for a tree branch to wrap around his ankle and send him flying into the gaping hole.
"Sorry about them, your grace. They're both assholes." Riley apologized.
Arturia had been busy staring at Kurama, and was now focused on the massive black hole in the ground where Kurama's girly screams of terror could still be heard. It took her a moment to catch up with the conversation and when she did, she offered a nod.
"It's alright. I know it was only a jest. Though I should iterate that I am a woman, even if I don't really look like one." Arturia replied. Though she had no clue why, Riley instantly saw a mask slam up. The curiosity and amazement were natural, but then this happened and suddenly things didn't feel natural.
"Well… if I'm not being too presumptuous, I do recognize that you're a woman… and I think you're quite beautiful. I assume they did as well… otherwise they wouldn't have made such a joke." Riley replied while shooting a glare off towards the giant hole that housed the Gravemind.
"Thank you for your kind words, but you don't need to worry. I've made peace with my appearance long ago. However… I don't think I quite understand… if those two recognized that I was female then why did they say you would bed me? And if I may inquire… where are we? And what was that giant Fox?" Arturia stated, at first stoically, but toward the end of her reply the mask slipped once again and curiosity flooded her features.
"Well… firstly I'm a lesbian. Secondly, we're in Kamui, my own personal pocket dimension. And thirdly, that was Kurama, one of the ten tailed beasts." Riley replied as she eyed Arturia curiously.
Arturia held a look of amazement. To think that Riley could create her own pocket dimension, like her own reality marble, but… different. Again, her doubts about this deal were slipping away. If this was what Riley could do… then time travel was certainly not an impossibility.
"Um… What's a tailed beast? And what's a… lesbian?" Arturia inquired after a moment. Riley just stared at her for a moment. Trying not to giggle, and failing miserably at it.
"Okay… a tailed beast is one of the fragments of an ancient demon, that once roamed the earth about three thousand years ago. Kurama is one of those fragments. He was created by a powerful sage, to serve as a guardian of our world against demonic invasion. He was sealed into me when I was a baby. As you can see… he's not so bad once you get to know him… though he occasionally lacks manners. And well… a lesbian is a woman, whom… prefers fucking other women." Riley explained as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Arturia was very intrigued to learn about these tailed beasts creatures. Demon's sealed into humans for whatever reason, though her thought process on the matter was cut short when she learned of what a lesbian was. Arturia found herself staring off, blushing lightly, fighting as hard as she could to keep the red off her face.
"So when they said that you would bed me..." Arturia began, but Riley cut her off.
"They were just being assholes. I don't bed people I've just met. And I certainly would never order anyone to sleep with me. They were just trying to get a rise out of me… and it worked. But don't worry… I don't need nor want to force anyone into my bed, I have four loving mates, that already provide all the comfort and pleasure I need. So… let's just focus on being friends, alright?" Riley explained to her.
Arturia let of a sigh of relief. If she had to, she would, but she hoped that Riley wasn't the kind of person to order such things. Though… to learn that her new master was attracted to women… was an odd occurrence to say the least for the ancient king.
Arturia would have continued her questions if not for a loud growling sound filling the air. She found herself raising Excalibur to fight off whatever enemy was making the growling noise, when she heard it again. This time she realized where the loud growling was coming from and a blush spread across her face. This time she had no hope of fighting it off.
"Well… I'd love to learn more about you, but it seems that'll have to wait some more. Let's get to the village and we can get you some food. You must be hungry." Riley stated with a smile.
Arturia merely blushed redder and nodded as her stomach growled again. She was cursing under her breath as her stomach let out another much louder growl, which probably could have been heard from across the field.
"I know that pain… let's go." Riley stated with a chuckle as she placed her hand on Arturia's shoulder and the two departed. Meanwhile Kurama and Madara were busy fighting to keep from barfing as they were twisted and turned by the Gravemind's massive tentacles.
"Let us go dammit!" Madara ordered.
"Gods this fucking thing is so creepy… gah!" Kurama whined.
"Now that I have you… I shall ask… and you shall answer." The Gravemind intoned as it's head rose up to greet them.
"Um… when did it learn to talk?" Madara asked as his eyes widened.
"AHHH! IT'S GAINED SENTIENCE! KILL IT WITH FIRE!" Kurama howled in fear.
-Ten minutes later-
"And so you made a deal with the Shinigami, and now you have King Arthur… who is a woman… to serve you?" Daphne finished reiterating the story Riley had just finished telling her mates, along with Itachi and Thomas.
"How long till she joins the harem?" Luna inquired.
"Why do people keep asking me that? I don't fuck every girl I know." Riley whined.
"You fuck most of them." Katie countered.
"I don't fuck Tracy." Riley replied.
"Yeah but Daphne does, so you do by extension. Plus have you ever seen your training? Literal or not, you screw us all in the end." Katie stated.
"I 'ave never seen a woman eat so much in my life." Fleur stated, causing everyone to glance over at Arturia whom was sitting at a nearby table gobbling down food like it was her first meal in ages… well it was.
"I promise… I'm not going to have her fuck me." Riley told her mates.
They all shared a look before smirking.
"How long before she's in?" Katie inquired.
"A year..." Daphne replied.
"I'll take that bet. I say a year and a half." Luna wagered.
"Well… if Luna said it… then we know what it's going to be." Katie stated as the girl giggled.
Riley simply stared at her mates, not a single ounce of amusement in her eyes. Meanwhile Itachi and Voldemort were glancing over at Arturia. King Arthur. The once and future king of Britain. Both wondered just how this would affect their plans in the future.
-To Be Continued-
Alright… here's this chapter. Hope you enjoy. Poll on the bodyguard will close next chapter so keep voting. I hope I illustrated Arturia well in this chapter. Stern and focused in battle, awkward around people. She'll explain her story in the next chapter, and I will begin to focus more on certain darker aspects. Yes pain can and will resurrect the dead members of Akatsuki when he can. And as I've stated Rinne Rebirth only take you're life force, after the person has been dead for a certain amount of time, like say a few hours. Before that, and it only take chakra, so he wouldn't die from using it. Oh and Riley is going to be undergoing a major realization next chapter, so don't miss it. JA NE!
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