Alright… now… I've gotten a lot of feedback from my readers about the stuff that happened in the last chapter so let me explain a few things. First… Yami wont be taking the role of Riley's opposite. Right now her Yami is small and weak, just a few pieces of cast off parts, Riley will find it quickly, and deal with it. I introduced it because it will serve as a very important catalyst. Now… for those whom are wondering, yes Riley is still going to have an emotional few chapters, but it wont be a fight with Yami that ends it. That's too overplayed and it's been done before. Secondly, Riley is a demon, her mates are human, it's why she's appalled to be thinking like a demon, she doesn't want to become a monster, and it's her mates job to keep her sane. Now… that doesn't mean much when you consider that once Riley's mate's lose their way, and become as twisted as Riley, then Riley will start doing bad things.
Now… I need to note this because it's been brought up a few times. By now… Riley has as much power as the five tails, but she's stronger then it, because she has perfect control of her power. She is a demon… and as she loses her humanity she'll start to do terrible things. Remember, she is a dark character, akin to Darth Vader, she'll kill people on a whim but she wont kill for just killings sake. She'll always have a reason. She is not a 'good' guy. If I had to give her an alignment I'd say she is currently Chaotic Good, in that she doesn't care for societies justice system, or things of the like. She plans to build her own utopia and tear down the current system in Britain. If you wrong her, or commit a crime… she'll kill you. However… over time… she will reach that stage where she becomes Lawful Evil.
Warnings: Language, violence, minor sexual references.
Broken Angel
Chapter 54: Rising Flames
'Clang'
"You're getting better at anticipating my movements. It seems you're picking up on my style, and so quickly… I'm impressed. It seems those legends about you did you a disservice." Madara stated as he turned to face the opponent he had just struck out at.
Arturia turned and raised her blade keeping her eyes focused on Madara. She quickly learned from the few duels she had, had with him, that he could detect and exploit any opening she allowed so lowering her guard even with her opponent at a distance, was unwise.
"Your expertise with the scythe and fan, are incredible. Your skills with such weapons is immense. It does me great honor to receive such praise from a master, Lord Madara." Arturia replied with a smirk.
With the power up she had received from Riley, Arturia was just above Madara, at least in raw power. He had been testing her skills with the blade recently, as he wanted to ensure that if she was guarding Riley, then she had the skills to protect her. Arturia did not fail to impress, especially considering that she wasn't a magical. She had a few magical abilities, but no real magical power. She could use the magic within her to enhance her physical abilities to monstrous levels, far higher then she had ever managed before, and so she was learning to control the heightened power she received from her bond with Riley. She also had a very high degree of magical resistance. That, coupled with her armor, and most straight magic and basic nature changes were completely useless against her. Only high level ninjutsu even had a chance of hurting her, and only spells of an incredibly dark nature like the unforgivables could break through her defenses.
Madara was impressed by the Old King's power, and her skills. Her swordsmanship wasn't the best he had ever seen, but she was definitely an adept warrior.
Arturia quickly developed a newfound respect for Riley's grandfather. The man's knowledge of battle and combat were immense and in the few battles she had, had with him, she quickly learned that his power was absolutely monstrous. After learning that he used to be the lord of his clan, and a warlord in the Elemental Nations, she began to refer to him by his title. And took it as a test of her skills when he replied that he would only call her king when she had truly impressed him.
It had only been a few days since she had come here, and already she found herself intrigued and amazed by how much her country had changed. During that time she had met with Riley's family, including Madara, and Hashirama. She hadn't yet gotten the chance to face Riley's Great-Grandfather in battle, but according to Madara and Riley, Hashirama was one of the strongest, if not 'the' strongest human currently alive. According to Madara, Hashirama was strong enough to defeat the Nine Tails in one on one combat.
Needless to say, Arturia was excited by the prospect of fighting someone as powerful as that. And apparently, Hashirama had at one point, been the leader of his hidden village. Which again, made him that much more interesting in Arturia's eyes.
While she spent the few days getting acclimated, she was also refining her sword skills. Apparently, Riley's mother, was a master swordswoman. And had offered to help Arturia develop her skills when facing opponents whom utilized an eastern style of kenjutsu. Arturia had little knowledge when it came to facing foes whom fought with Katana and other eastern style blades and was thankful for the lessons from Kushina whom was a kind but harsh instructor.
If there was two things to note about Kushina, it was that she was a master of her respective arts, and she was one hell of a cook.
Apparently the people were celebrating the yule holidays, and thus Riley spent a lot of time at home or running about with her lovers, or friends.
Arturia had an innate desire to test her abilities against her new master, though she understood Riley's hesitance. No manner of healing magic could heal the burn on her hand that she had gotten from Excalibur. In the end Riley had just cut off the hand and let a new one grow in it's place. The old one she destroyed in some strange black flames that she could create with just her eyes.
During this time, Arturia also spent a lot of time learning how shinobi operated. Britain was at war with some of them after all, and she needed to know her enemy. She learned how they utilized Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, and Riley even offered to show her how to detect Genjutsu. She was still learning, and it was difficult to overcome. She had learned a long time ago to trust her senses, but the Shinobi possessed an ability to trick those senses so it was difficult for her to allow that bit of skepticism into her mind, and doubt her own senses when she fought ninja. But hey… it had only been a few days. She'd learn.
She also learned a bit more about Riley during this time. The two most important things were of Riley's parentage, which she had learned from Fleur, and the other was the significance of the strange pattern in Riley's eyes.
When she heard of Minato and Lily Namikaze, Arturia couldn't help but scowl. They sounded like terrible people, that tried to hide it by covering themselves in a false front. She didn't know the extent of their cruelty, only that they were terrible parents and had taken Riley from Kushina before her birth.
When it came to Riley's eyes… Arturia was just dumbfounded. When she heard the story of the Sage of Six paths, she was hesitant to believe it's validity. To think, that their once existed a being that was strong enough to create a celestial body like the moon… it was almost unbelievable. But then Riley showed her, her memory of the destruction of Nurmengard. And how she had dropped a massive comet on it.
If Arturia had any doubts about the Shinigami's description of Riley as a Goddess, they faded in that instant. Arturia suspected that with every ounce of her original power, she could destroy an object of that size, but it would have completely drained her. And apparently Riley could summon more meteors and larger ones too.
With a smirk, Arturia charged back at Madara and the two traded blows. The wards around Riley's property stopped anyone from seeing into it and spying, so they were free to practice their weapon arts out in the yard.
With a pop, they heard someone arrive nearby.
It was Riley and with her was Lucy.
"This way." Riley said with a smile as she led Lucy over to a small wooden house that sat on the edge of the new forest Hashirama had planted around the orphanage.
"What is this?" Lucy asked as she stared at the rather plain looking wooden home.
"One Bedroom. One bathroom. A kitchenette. And a small little living room. All fully furnished. And all yours." Riley stated.
Lucy just stared for a second before what Riley said, registered with her.
She looked at Riley in surprise, and stated, "Mine?"
"Yep… all yours. I figured it was getting lonely living in Slytherin castle, all by yourself. So I built this as a Christmas present. I didn't know what colors you liked so I left it unpainted, but Dobby and I can help you out, all you've got to do is pick a color." Riley replied with a smile.
"You're giving me this house?" Lucy asked, still surprised. She had never been given something like this before. The only time she ever got gifts was from her friend Aiko, before she died.
"Yep. It's got all the necessities. Power. Water. Air conditioning. And it's all yours. I hope you like it." Riley answered.
Lucy was quiet for a moment. Finally she gave Riley a look and nodded. Riley simply smiled. She knew that was probably the best she would get in terms of a thanks.
The yule holidays were fun for Riley. She traveled around and spent the first few days, hanging out with her friends and mates. She was even able to get Lucy to join her family for dinner one night, so that was a win in her book. It was around the third day of the Yule holidays that Riley was meditating and she found something odd within her.
"Kurama… what the hell is this?" Riley inquired. Within her mindscape was a dark blobby mass. It looked like a wiggling mass of dark liquid that flowed and globed together, shifting and turning on itself, it was unceasing in it's movements.
"Um… I don't know." Kurama replied.
Riley made a face at him, she knew he knew, but he wasn't saying anything. Instead of questioning him on it, she turned and focused on the blobby mass.
She could feel something… like… doubt… and fear… there were other things present, but mostly it was those things. It was odd… it felt strange… almost like a piece of herself. This thing seemed to be sentient. She could feel emotion ebbing off of it. And it was afraid. She watched as it slowly tried to pull away. But it's movement speed was like that of a snails. It slowly pulled itself away from Riley, while Riley halfheartedly followed it. It was after a few moments that the fear turned into anxiety. Whatever this thing was… it was afraid of Riley.
Kurama watched as Riley interacted with the cast off pieces of herself. He wondered if she'd figure it out. For about ten minutes Riley followed the blob around her mindscape. Her eyes scanned it… she pondered it's familiarity… wondering why it felt so much like her.
Before she could finish her contemplation, she felt Loki contact her.
"Mother… I've found the pregnant woman." Riley heard the though passed into her mind by the gravemind. She continued to stare at the blob for several more moments before turning to Kurama.
"This thing wont hurt me if I leave it here for now?" Riley inquired.
"Nope." Kurama answered. He wouldn't tell her what it was, but at the very least he wouldn't cause her to worry, while something important was going on.
"Okay. I'll deal with it later. I'm gonna go put an end to this problem." Riley stated as she gave the blob one last once over, before turning and exiting her mindscape.
From there she went to gather Arturia.
"Well Bodyguard… it's time to go to work." Riley stated to her as she approached Arturia at the kitchen table.
"What's going on?" Kushina inquired as Arturia rose from her seat, her armor manifesting around her.
Naruko and Hinata sat nearby and were watching with interest.
"Loki has located the other pregnant woman. I'm off to go collect them. I'm bringing my familiars, plus Arturia to help retrieve them." Riley responded as she shifted into her demonic form.
"You're going to collect them? Not kill them?" Naruko inquired hopefully.
Riley just gave her a glance but didn't say anything. Instead she just nodded and reached out for Arturia.
"What's this about pregnant women?" Arturia inquired as she was pulled into Kamui.
"The Hidden Leaf forced Naruko, my half twin sister to breed with other women, to spread her genetics, after she activated the Rinnegan. I've been looking for them, so I can remove them from the Leaf's control. Loki was just able to locate them. You'll be joining me, along with my familiars." Riley answered as she tossed Arturia a dark cloak.
"Put that on, to cover your hair and face. I don't intend to leave any alive but now is not the time to reveal ourselves. It would endanger our mission in Britain, and our allies." Riley stated to her, remembering what Daphne had asked of her.
Arturia nodded and draped the cloak over her. She made sure that Excalibur was wrapped in Invisible Air, so that no one could see it. After a few moments Riley pulled them out of Kamui, right where Loki was waiting for them. He was in his human form and offered a bow of greeting to his mother as she arrived.
"Hello my dearest mother. Thank you for answering my call." Loki greeted in that charming tone he had developed so perfectly from months of spy work.
"Greetings my Faithful familiar. Your message said that you'd found the other pregnant woman?" Riley inquired earning a smirk from Loki.
"Yes. It wasn't easy though. Barely anyone in the Leaf, knew where Minato had hidden the woman. But I finally found a lead a week ago, and it led me here." Loki replied as he pointed down from where they were standing.
They were currently on a cliff overlooking a large fortress, somewhere in the mountains. Riley guessed it was in the northern land of Fire.
"The women are being kept in there. I've seen Minato entering that fortress numerous times. I've also seen Jiraiya and a cloaked figure that I can only assume is Mito." Loki informed her.
Riley nodded and then activated her Byakugan. She scanned the fortress. There was a descent number of shinobi present, about what you'd expect, but deep within the bowels of the fortress was where Riley's gaze found her prize.
All four women were being held in a large room. It looked like they were all living there, since there was four beds, two bathrooms, and some other furnishings the could support people. It was an odd sight, it almost seemed like they were locked up there. Her eyes scanned each of the four woman, and she spotted the mass of chakra in their guts.
With eyes on her targets, it was time to begin.
With a smirk, Riley began to launch her plan into action. She had spent recent days modifying Michael's barrier ability so that no magic could pass through it. Now she was ready to test that. She summoned the massive colossus and it immediately created multiple clones that surrounded the fortress. He then created a shield around it, trapping everyone within.
Riley was the only one whom could pass through the barrier. She brought Arturia in with her, and quickly summoned her familiars to the field. Riley hoped the modifications she had made to Michael's barrier ability would stop any chakra signals from leaving the fortress, thus preventing Minato or Mito from detecting her attack until it was too late.
Just as it had been in Konoha, the battle was a slaughter. The Konoha nin fought valiantly but they were immensely outmatched. Still… they refused to surrender or back down, driven onward by fool-hearty zeal and admiration for their village.
Arturia learned much during the hour it took to take the fortress. She had felled nearly three dozen shinobi in that time, sticking mostly to her sword skills, rather then any powerful energy attacks. She engaged as many opponents as she could in single combat, learning how shinobi fought when faced with a duel. With her power up from Riley, none of her opponents even stood a chance. Some fought with valor, and died like true warriors, while others… others died like cowards. As soon as she would break through their defenses they would break down and beg for her to spare their lives. She put them to death quickly.
All in all Arturia had come to understand that Riley was right when she said that Shinobi honor varies from person to person. Some of her opponents could have been knights with how powerful their morals were. While others were cowardly assassins whom tried to hide from her rather then die with honor. Though they were all different, they all shared the same trait, this fool hearty, belief that their ties to the Hidden Leaf village would ensure their victory no matter what. Arturia had learned from Riley, of the Leaf's 'indoctrination' and how everyone was brainwashed into believing in the Will of Fire, even though it had gone out long ago. Each one she fought carried that zeal, and while it was interesting to see such false-conviction, it saddened her that so many fine warriors had been brainwashed into carrying these beliefs, that they no longer upheld.
The battle was over in just over an hour. Over five hundred shinobi were dead. The fortress was in ruins and the battle had been won. Five of the shinobi had retreated to guard the four women, but with the rest of the fortress taken, they were completely fucked.
"I'll deal with these last ones. You all wait here." Riley ordered her familiars and Arturia as she entered the deepest part of the fortress. She entered into the room where the four pregnant woman were being held. All four of them were thrashing around, and trying to escape, while five ninja stood before her. She only recognized one of them. Genma, one of the fourth Hokage's personal guards.
All five of the ninja stood valiantly in the face of death, all of them bore stone cold looks on their faces.
The four woman looked terrified. They were crying and thrashing about, trying to escape from ropes that were tied to their legs.
"Please don't kill us!"
"Let me go!"
"Please don't kill me! Please! Think of my baby!" The women screamed and cried as they struggled to be free.
Riley was moved by their cries for help. For a moment, she truly believed they were in dire need. But she could sense emotion. And none of them were frightened. Of the nine people in front of her. Only four were terrified. And those four… weren't the pregnant woman. They were the four ninja, that Genma had with him.
In fact… now that she focused on Genma… she could feel relief… and acceptance.
Riley knew what was happening right as it began to happen. The walls started to light up with seal markings as Genma made a handsign.
"You lose… monster." Genma growled as the seals on the walls, floor, and ceiling began to race up Riley's body. She eyed the seal diagram, and she knew instantly, that she had walked into a trap. Minato… and Mito, had planned for this. They had planned for her to track down the children… and they had set a trap for her. These seals would destroy her body, and release her chakra into the air. Where there was probably secondary seals, waiting to absorb her.
She scanned the room and found the seal configuration she was looking for. On the far wall, was a large seal diagram that would hold her chakra in it. She quickly used Kamui to teleport the wall away, much to the surprise of those in the room.
"Clever." Riley noted as she activated Izanagi. Right at that moment the seals activated and her body exploded out of existence. Her chakra rushed out only to be immediately pulled back, as she retook her form. She used Izanagi to erase the moment of her body being destroyed. She felt one of the tomoe in her eyes vanish, and her third eye closed. It seemed that she needed all nine tomoe, to use the third eye. It would be at least twenty-four hours before the ninth tomoe, she used, would return and her third eye would reopen.
She honestly felt like gloating. It was a good plan. She hadn't expected it, but still… once again. They had failed. The four women… it turns out weren't pregnant. There were seals on their stomachs that held chakra similar to that of children. Mito or Minato must had assumed she could either see or sense the unborn chakra, so they made sure, to cover all their bases when luring Ralael into this trap.
And yet… they had failed. She found herself locking eyes with Genma whom stood stunned. Their plan had failed. It looked like it had worked… but then the angel just reformed like it was nothing. Those seals, were placed by the fourth Hokage… they should have completely annihilated Ralael's body. And yet here she stood.
Riley was about to speak, when she felt something pass through the air. She realized as she was feeling out this something, that it was a piece of herself. It was her own chakra in the air, that for some reason, wasn't reentering her body. She saw the nine in front of her begin to convulse. She saw her own demonic chakra begin to circle around them and enter their bodies. It was as she watched this happen that she realized just what this part of her was. It was the blobby thing from her mindscape. When her body had been destroyed. It had separated from her.
And now… it was entering it's new hosts. The nine people in the room fell to the ground as dark energy coursed around them, and through them.
Riley watched as the blackish blobby mass took form and encased all of their bodies. She saw their clothes fade. Then a few moments later, their skin. Then the muscles, and organs. Finally, their bones faded. However… they hadn't ceased to exist. Oh no.
Riley's eyes could still, clearly see the nine of them. Each one looked like how they were supposed too. They no longer held physical form, however. Much like her Limbo Clones… her energy had somehow erased these nine from the physical world. They were spirits now… corrupted spirits, still consumed by her energy.
Riley could still clearly feel the blobby mass, even separated out into nine pieces. It looked like it had possessed the bodies of the nine people, after it had separated from her body. Unlike her normal energy this blob-like mass, had a will of it's own. When she reformed using Izanagi. It took the opportunity to take new hosts.
"Wow… holy shit! I did not think that would happen." Kurama stated as he watched along with Riley, as the process occurred.
"You wanna tell me what that thing was now?" Riley thought back.
"It was the beginning formation of your Yami. Your cast off parts. When you chose to deny the demonic parts of yourself, that urged you to kill those children, those rejected parts coalesced into that blob you saw. Those parts, mixed with the few stray emotions left over from your childhood, allowed it to begin to take form in your mind. It was a minor thing… it probably would have taken years to form into a true Yami, but it was still there. I've always known that a host to a demon must face their Yami and accept all of their self, in order to master the Bijuu's power. That's why I didn't tell you anything, since it was your challenge to face." Kurama explained to her.
"Okay… I get it. So this blob was the pieces of myself, that I tried to deny. When Minato's seals destroyed my body, Yami escaped. Now it's possessed these fuckers. So… what now?" Riley inquired as she stared at the nine people, turned spirits.
"I have no clue. All I know about Yami, comes from what I learned from the sage, and how he had to face his own Yami to master the Juubi's power. I always thought you'd face yours one day. I had no clue that it would separate from you and try to take form outside of your body." Kurama replied.
Riley just continued to stare at the nine for a moment, when her eyes suddenly picked up chakra movement. The nine people were having their chakra pulled into her Yami, which was now housed where their hearts would be. She watched as each of the spirits was drained of life. Each one turning into a corpse. Their was a moment of silence and Riley felt uncertainty and fear coming from each of the respective pieces of her Yami.
"They don't have enough energy to sustain your Yami, outside of your body. It tried to escape and take form, but it's new hosts aren't strong enough." Kurama stated earning a nod of agreement from Riley.
She actually felt sad for her Yami. It felt like a frightened child, it knew that if it remained in Riley's body she would snuff it out quickly, so it tried to save itself by jumping into the bodies of these nine people. However… even being as weak as it was, her Yami was still too powerful to be sustained by one Jonin and what Riley now knew was eight Chuunin level Shinobi.
Riley stared at the drained dry spirit corpses. They were only visible to her in the spiritual realm, like the limbo Clones, so to others, it would seem like Riley was looking at an empty room. Each one, was now a white shade of a rotted corpse all the life drained out of it. It was a truly pitiful sight.
Riley watched it for a moment longer before pity won out. She knew what her Yami had become. Unlike a normal human Jinchuriki's Yami, hers wasn't just cast off pieces of herself. Rejected parts. Her Yami had a mind of it's own. It possessed intelligence. She knew instinctively why that was. It was because she was an Archdemon. Her Yami, acted much the same way as a possible familiar. It she took pieces of herself, pieces of her magic, and left them alone, infused in a rock, or a tree or a bird or something. Her Youki would possess that being, and either serve her, or try to return to her. Riley's Yami, had a mind of it's own, and out of fear, it seized the opportunity to escape, but it had underestimated it's own strength, and now it was a shadow in the immaterial world.
After a moment, Riley decided that if her Yami wanted to be free… then it would be. But… it was a piece of her… and she wouldn't let a single piece of her power run around unattended. If her Yami didn't want to be reabsorbed… then she'd let it remain out in the real world, but… it would serve her.
"You wish to be free?" Riley addressed the spirits.
"We wish for freedom. We, whom were just born, wish not to die." All of the possessed spirits replied in unison.
"Yami has absorbed the souls of those nine people. For all intents and purposes, they are nine separate beings. All born from the same entity. They are separate now… but they are still one." Kurama noted.
"I will allow you to remain in the real world… but you will do so, only at my behest. You were born from me. And while you were made from pieces of myself that I chose to deny… I would have eventually returned them to myself. That doubt must be removed. So you will either return to me, and be absorbed… or… you will serve as my familiars and be bound to me. Either way… Yami… we will be reunited." Riley stated to the collection of spirits.
"We… only wanted to live. We are you… extensions of your will. We will serve. Master." The Nine spirits stated and with that… they knelt into low bows.
Riley stared at them for a moment, before approaching each one. She placed her hand on each ones head and linked it to herself. They were made from her energy. They were like shadow clones, with minds of their own. Now she would link them to her soul, and make them her familiars.
While this was going on… Kurama couldn't help but marvel at the direction this had all gone. He had expected a bit of a life lesson, and then a speech about acceptance, then Riley would absorb her Yami. Nope… it seems not even Riley's own Yami wanted to face her. It tried to escape. It fucked up. And now Riley was turning it into nine more familiars to serve her. That was just fucking brilliant. Technically she was accepting her Yami… just not the way Kurama had anticipated.
A few moments later, and Riley was finished. All nine of the shades were linked to her now. Her energy passed into them and sustained them. With that, she turned and headed out. The nine shades followed after her. This close to her, they retook physical form, though they still held their rotted corpse like visage.
"They are wraiths. Neither living nor dead. This close to you, they can take their true form, but I bet if you send them far away they'll become invisible again." Kurama stated.
Riley nodded in agreement and made her way to Arturia and her familiars.
Her familiars were quiet when they saw her. Arturia was the only one who felt the need to question the appearance of the wraiths.
"It was a trap. The pregnant woman weren't here." Riley answered the unasked question.
"Mother… I'm so sorry… I did not know..." Loki began to apologize, but Riley cut him off with a hand gesture.
"You had no way of knowing this was a trap. We'll be more careful next time. Continue your search for those woman. Though… I expect a much more thorough search." Riley replied.
"I will not fail you again mother. You can count on me." Loki promised, before taking his phoenix form and flying off.
"Let's go home." Riley stated after a moment. And with that she pulled everyone into and headed back to Britain.
-Elsewhere. A few hours later-
Minato sat in his rebuilt office. The village was still being repaired, and the skirmishes with Iwa had been growing more intense. For some reason, Iwa was experiencing trouble in their own village. Minato had heard rumors from merchants that Iwa was haunted and that the number of murders occurring in the city had risen to about ten a week.
Minato suddenly felt a presence in his office. He shot to his feet Kunai in hand, only to find Mito standing in the corner.
"Lady Mito?" Minato stated with a sigh when he saw her.
"The plan failed. The Yang Body-Release Seals were activated, but the angel somehow destroyed the sealing configuration. Either it's a lot more powerful then we thought, or it somehow detected and destroyed the seal before activating the Seal." Mito stated.
"Damn. What of the fortress?" Minato inquired.
"All personnel… dead. Though some of the injuries weren't consistent with her last attack. I don't remember her or her servants ever using a straight bladed weapon, or an abundance of wind style. Though several of the dead in the fortress held injuries that were caused by a straight sword." Mito added after a moment.
"So she has more servants then the few she used in the last fight." Minato understood what Mito was hinting at.
"She'll be on the look out for more traps. We'll need to plan the next more carefully. Those children will possess the Rinnegan. The Rinnegan is a threat to her. So she'll hunt them… with all her might. We need to keep them hidden until the births." Mito stated, her voice reflecting the direness of the situation.
"I know. She'll never catch them. I only need a few more weeks and my plan will be ready. Once that happens. She'll never be able to reach them." Minato responded as he sat back at his desk.
"I should hope so." Mito said with only the slightest hint of something in her voice. Perhaps doubt in Minato's abilities. Either way, both had made their points and Mito quickly left.
-A few days later-
Riley felt much safer now. The reason being? She now had sufficient guards for her mates. The nine wraiths that now served her were powerful fighters, they still possessed many of their shinobi skills, but they could no longer use Ninjutsu.
Riley had given each of them a black cloak to cover their bodies, and black armor to wear. The armor was forged by the goblins, it was made from a mixture of Steel, Deimos' scales, and Riley's own hellfire infused blood. Needless to say, the goblin craftsman, that she hired, was absolutely blown away by the raw materials he got to utilize. The cloaks, were those worn by Dementors, each one was in fact a dementor that Riley had bond with the nine wraiths. Each was armed with two short swords, also forged in the same way as their armor, and a long straight sword, also of the same make.
When close to Riley, the wraiths took their real forms beneath the cloak and armor, they were revealed as white wraiths, that glowed with unholy power. However when they were far away from Riley, they became invisible. The cloaks they wore, and armor, ensured that close or far, they were either hidden or visible. Each of the wraiths had the power to seal away their cloak and armor, becoming invisible which they could use to infiltrate areas and spy on their enemies.
Each of the Wraiths also had several unique abilities on top of their skills as Ninja. While they couldn't use Ninjutsu anymore since that required physical chakra, that they didn't have, they could use Genjutsu. Also they couldn't use actual taijutsu or Kenjutsu. But they could still learn martial arts and sword styles and were invulnerable to anything but spiritual attacks, making them great close range fighters.
Also, Riley quickly learned that each one had a 'presence' of sorts. Because they were made of her emotions that she chose to deny, they could, in fact, invoke those dark emotions in others. You see… the wraiths weren't just formed from Riley's fears of becoming a monster. They were also made from her childhood fears of being beaten, and abused. From her loneliness, and her desire for acceptance. These were things that Riley had moved past long ago. She had buried such fears, and moved one. And while small… they were what made of her Yami. Now the wraiths could unleash their 'presence' which resulted in a loud screeching noise that invoked a persons feelings of terror, fear, and loneliness. Just like Loki's song, the wraiths cry just made a person feel terrible.
Riley had infused each of them with her knowledge of sword play, and had set them to task. Four would always be guarding her mates, while the other five would follow RAAM and Skorge on missions. The leader of the wraiths, was the one that used to be Genma. He was the strongest, and Riley planned on turning him into another general, down the line. But for now… he would learn from RAAM.
Riley's mates were unaware of their new bodyguards, as the wraiths remained invisible while following them, and because they were formed from Riley's power, Riley's mates felt at ease around them. Others however… felt creeped out for some reason.
With all that as a bit of time filler, the Yule holidays finished up. Riley enjoyed her time with her friends and mates, and was happy to return to school. Or at least, she was happy to send shadow clones to school. Riley was busy with the village, now that school was back in session.
The first thing Riley did after the holidays was give Arturia tour of the village. She was blown away by the sheer size of the fortress. Though, just like everyone else, she found it annoying that it was so empty. Of course it only took about a day before Riley had a job that Arturia could handle and take pride in. She was in charge of the physical exercises and conditioning of the Legion. Meaning, she woke them up. Got them onto the fields and worked their asses for three straight hours every morning. Needless to say, the legionaries quickly developed a great deal of respect for the ancient king. And the physical well being of the force, was growing with each passing day.
The village still housed those captured during the attack on Dover. The Wizengamot was still in talks on what to do with them. They were trying to decide whether they wanted to publicly execute these invaders or have them imprisoned. It seemed many people were leaning more towards throwing these fools through the veil, but the light side was a bit staunch in their belief that they should be imprisoned indefinitely. Though in that respects, they needed to find a place to put them, with Azkaban being gone and all.
Another week went by, and Riley decided she wanted to try something to build a better bond with Lucy. So with that in mind, she knocked on Lucy's door.
"Yes?" Lucy inquired as she cracked the door open. It was snowing outside, and thus she didn't want to let the heat out.
"Hey… I was wondering if you wanted to go into London… maybe have some fun?" Riley inquired.
Lucy just gave her this confused look, so Riley reiterated.
"Come on… you've been cooped up in this house for the last few days. Let's go out and have some fun." Riley tried again.
"Why?" Lucy asked as she opened the door and folded her arms over her chest.
"Why not?" Riley replied.
"No. I mean why are you still trying to be all buddy buddy with me? You've already got what you wanted. I'm not out killing people, or causing any trouble. So why keep up the act?" Lucy inquired. Her voice laced with suspicion.
"It's not an act. I actually want to hang out with you." Riley replied.
"Why?" Lucy asked. She truly didn't get why Riley was so nice to her. She had heard Riley say it to others a few times, that she was connected to the other girls, and that her anger was one of the things that helped drive them to kill. She knew Riley wanted her to be happy so the Silpelits would be happy. Well… she managed that. Lucy wasn't necessarily happy. But she wasn't as angry as she had been.
No… in-fact she wasn't angry at all anymore. She was just lonely. She loved having a house that was all hers. And she actually enjoyed when Riley and her brother came to talk to her… but when they left… she just felt lonely. She didn't know how to approach Riley, whom had always maintained her stance on being Lucy's friend. Even with her cold demeanor… Riley was still friendly with her. And still came to see her. She just didn't get it.
"We're friends. Can't I hang out with my friend?" Riley replied with a shrug.
"It can't be that simple. There has to be some other reason." Lucy countered.
"Why?" Riley parroted her question back at her.
"Because there always is. No one has ever tried to be my friend. Those that have, did so for selfish reasons or to hurt me. There was only ever two people who were my true friends. One died… and the other might as well be dead." Lucy bit back in reply.
"What happened to them?" Riley inquired. There wasn't any emotion in her question. Riley knew she was breaching a sensitive topic. So she kept any inflection from her voice and just asked.
"Aiko… my second friend… was killed by the people who took me. And the other… Kouta… he… lied to me about who he was taking to a festival when we were kids. I… found out… and got jealous. I killed his father… and his sister. He stopped me from killing his cousin… after that… I ran away. I only later came to the realization… that he lied to me, so that he wouldn't hurt my feelings." Lucy replied as she stared up at the sky. The snow was still falling. Ever so gently it fell around them, bathing the landscape in white.
"Do you regret what you did?" Riley inquired.
"Of course! I hate myself for it! I survived in that hellish lab for one reason! So that one day… one day I could find Kouta and apologize. But… now… I wonder… I wonder if it would even make a difference. If I see him again… would I be tearing open old wounds. That's why I came with you. I hope… I hope by some miracle, that Kouta doesn't remember me. That he could look upon my face and not recall the nightmare I put him through." Lucy admitted. She sounded hollow inside. Her greatest regret, finally laid bare.
"Do you want me to find out for you?" Riley asked after a moment of silence. Lucy just stared at her, surprise adorning her every feature.
"You… You'd do that for me?" Lucy asked, stunned that Riley would be willing to help her. Help her find just a bit of piece.
"I'll send my familiar to find him. We'll see if he remembers anything or not. See if he still holds onto that day. Or if he's moved on. If he has… then you can let it go. You've done terrible things. 'I'm sorry' doesn't usually fix them. If he's moved on… perhaps the kinder, more noble thing you can do is let him move on. And then move on yourself." Riley stated as she locked eyes with the Diclonius Queen.
"How would I do that? How do I ever forgive myself for hurting him like that? How do I move on?" Lucy asked as her gaze fell to the floor.
"The guilt you feel in your heart… you acknowledge it. You accept it. To try to be a better person. You were a little girl that was torn apart by the world. You didn't trust anyone, and hates so many people. He told a lie to protect you… like so many friends do. But he never realized that you were so broken by the world, that such an innocent thing was all it took to shatter you. You can blame whomever you want for this… you can blame yourself. You can blame Kakuzawa. You can blame your parents whom abandoned you. But in the end… they're dead… you're here. You can forgive yourself and move on. You can do what is right by your old friend, and never be the monster that killed his family again. You can fill your life with love and happiness, and allow him to do the same. People are survivors. He went through hell. If it broke him… then that's a sin you'll carry with you. But if he survived… then you have to choose. Put him through hell again… or let him go." Riley explained to her. She could feel Lucy's emotions clearly. She knew what the Diclonius Queen was going through. A few stray tears fell from Lucy's eyes. She wiped them away and nodded.
"I want to know what happened to him. I want to know if he's happy. Then… I'll make my choice." Lucy stated after a moment.
Riley nodded, and the two stood in silence for a moment.
Finally Lucy broke it. "Thank you... for listening."
"Hey… what are friends for?" Riley replied with a smile.
Lucy only smiled in reply. After a moment, she let out a sigh and grabbed her hat and coat.
"So… where are we going?" Lucy inquired.
"Well, I thought I could show you some of the sights, then maybe we could get something to eat, then go shopping." Riley answered.
"Alright." Lucy replied, and with that the two headed into town.
Two hours later, Riley and Lucy were walking down the streets, both carrying bags and both wearing happy smiles. They passed by a shop where Lucy paused. She could just barely hear the sound of barking coming from inside. Riley could see from the look on her face that she wanted to go in, but before Riley could offer to go in with her, Lucy kept walking.
She completely missed the smirk on Riley's face, and the next day Lucy awoke to a knocking at her door. She opened it to find Riley holding a large box.
"What's that?" Lucy inquired.
"A gift… for you." Riley replied as she stepped past Lucy and set the box on the floor.
"What is it?" Lucy asked.
"Open it and see." Riley replied with a smile.
Lucy did just that. Inside she found a dog bowl, water bowl, a leash, dog food, and a pretty blue collar. Lucy stared at the contents of the box, until she heard a soft whimper come from right next to her head. She turned and found herself face to face with a small puppy, that Riley held in her hands.
Lucy just stared at the puppy, then at Riley, then back at the puppy, then back to Riley, finally the puppy whimpered again and Lucy reached out to pet it.
"I hope you like him." Riley stated.
"You're giving him to me?" Lucy asked with surprise.
"Yeah… I saw that look on your face yesterday… so I decided… why not. I hope it isn't a problem." Riley replied with a smile.
Lucy was stunned for a few moments as she processed this. Finally she took the puppy into her arms. The little guys tail started to wag and he licked her face. Finally she hugged the puppy close to her and a few tears sprung from her eyes.
"You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you." Lucy whispered as she continued to hug the puppy, being careful not to hug to hard. It was a Golden Retriever puppy, something that was both cute and cuddly.
"I hope you like him." Riley stated again. This time with a big smile.
Lucy merely nodded. More happy then she had ever been. Riley hoped this helped her friend with her loneliness. She just couldn't help but smile as Lucy cuddled with the pup, and it licked her face and wagged it's tail.
-Two days later-
Riley had started working on the Rinne Rebirth technique. It was a pain in the ass to learn, but she made quick headway on it, using Kamui to turn the two days into thirty. However… she quickly called in quits when she came upon a startling discovery.
You see… the Rinne Rebirth had a time limit, before it's requirements change. If you resurrect someone within a few hours of their deaths, then it just takes chakra. But after that time limit… it requires some of the caster's soul. More, the longer the person's been dead. Being a demon she could regenerate her own soul, so she could still use it past that point. Or at least, she could in theory. However… she quickly learned that in practice… being a demon, was actually an incredible hindrance to this technique.
-Flashback-
"Gedo Art: Rinne Rebirth!" Riley intoned as she used the technique on a dead rabbit, that had been dead for three days. She felt part of her soul vanish as she resurrected the furry being. She watched in awe as it's body healed and it sat up and looked around.
Then the bad stuff started to happen. The rabbit's eyes turned red and it's teeth grew long and deformed. It let out a viscous snarl, that couldn't possibly come from a rabbit, and then it darted off into her mindscape.
"Kurama… Grandfather… what the fuck?" Riley asked, with this dumbfounded look on her face.
"Um… I don't know." Kurama replied with the same dumbfounded look on his face that Riley now wore.
"It must be your demonic soul. Being a demon causes anything you resurrect using your soul as a medium, to become… demonic." Madara theorized as he watched Skorge chase the monstrous rabbit throughout her mindscape with his staff.
"Well… shit." Was Riley's relpy.
-End Flashback-
Yeah… so Riley couldn't bring anyone back that had been dead more then about half a day. Otherwise they would turn into demons. Riley was already swearing to all the heavens, that she would never use that technique on a person as that evil rabbit still hadn't been caught.
Instead she just went back to her original plan. Focus on not letting her precious people die.
Riley was currently in the village watching Arturia train some of the Legionnaires in swordplay, when she felt Daphne call out to her over the Gravemind.
"Riley… get to St. Mungos! My mother is having trouble breathing. Father thinks she was poisoned." Daphne informed her.
Using Kamui, Riley was there in a moment. She found Daphne, her sister and her father in a waiting room. As she approached them she saw Daphne adopt a look of deep concentration, which could only mean she was mentally communicating with one of Riley's other mates. She suddenly turned towards Riley and approached her.
"Luna's father and Ginny's dad, are both here too. They were both together at the Weasely house, when they collapsed. Draco got a letter from his father… one of their house elves is sick. Having a hard time breathing. I think it's the mail. Someone is trying to poison our families." Daphne informed her.
Riley nodded her head and began sending word to Tom and Itachi, warning them and telling them to spread the word.
"I'll go check on your mom, along with Luna's and Ginny's dads." Riley stated as she created some wood clones. The doctors were at first resistant to her just barging in. But after it only took her a few moments to identify the problem and begin fixing it in Daphne's mother, they let up.
She was dealing with some sort of poison the caused the airways to swell up and suffocate the host. She quickly sent clones to all of her friends homes and began to contact her other mates. Luckily she was skilled enough to deal with this kind of poison, but if she hadn't gotten here when she did… their airways would have fully sealed within an hour.
"Fleur… have you gotten word from your parents?" Riley inquired as she finished healing Daphne's mother.
"Yes… my father says that the wards picked up a dangerous letter. He had it sent for examination. There is some kind of poisonous powder inside. He did not go into specifics." Fleur replied.
Riley sent word to her mother, telling her to not let Dobby open any of their mail. Then she contacted Katie.
"Hey Katie… any word from your parents?" Riley stated as she stepped out of the operating room.
"No… I sent them an owl but they haven't responded." Katie replied sounding worried.
"I'll go check on them." Riley informed her.
"Thank you." Katie replied with a sigh of relief.
"Daph… your mom's gonna be fine. I'm gonna go check on Katie's parents. My clone should just be finishing up with Luna's and Ginny's fathers." Riley informed her.
"Okay… I just came from seeing Luna. She's a little shaken up. Her dad and her live alone. With her at Hogwarts, there was a very good chance he could have been alone at their house when this happened. Luckily he went to see Mr. Weasely right after getting the letter." Daphne informed her.
"Right. I'll check in on Luna, personally when I get back." Riley replied as she disappeared into Kamui.
She approached Katie's house from the outside. Katie's mother was the pureblood and her father a half-blood. Her mother made a lot of very lucrative investments over the years so Katie lived a bit on the luxurious side. They didn't own a house elf, as Katie's mother was a bit of a clean freak. Riley passed through where the wards would be and instantly stopped. She could barely feel them anymore. The only reason the house wards would be so weak, would be if the family left for a long period of time, or… they had died.
In a flash Riley was at the front door. She shot through it and was instantly hit with the smell of death, it was faint but it was still there. She tried to squash that feeling as soon as it arose, but she couldn't do it fast enough. All of her mates felt that instant heartbreaking feeling.
"Riley?" Riley heard Katie and Fleur ask over the bond simultaneously. Though Katie's voice carried a bit more panic then Fleur's.
Riley didn't need to go far to find what she was looking for. Katie's mother lay at the bottom of the stairs her neck twisted at an awful angle. She didn't have any chakra in her body, meaning she had been dead for several hours. The Bells must have been the first ones targeted. They must have gotten their letter last night. Riley, sadly stepped over the body. She could feel no life from it, she quickly made it up the stairs and into the Bells master bedroom. There, leaning over a desk was Mr. Bell.
Riley rushed over to him she placed a hand on his shoulder, and felt out with her senses. He was dead. But… unlike Mrs bell… he hadn't been dead for more then a few hours. Just a bit of hope entered her body. She dare not risk using Rinne Rebirth on Mrs Bell, but Mr. Bell still held some of his chakra.
She quickly flashed through handsigns and activated the technique. She let out a sigh of relief when she felt it just take her chakra. A few moments passed and Mr. Bell gasped to life.
The man coughed loudly and Riley finally let out a few tears as she grabbed onto him and used Kamui to head to St. Mungos with him.
The man had just been on the edge of the line. A few minutes longer… and Riley wouldn't have been able to resurrect him. She knew… Mrs. Bell, must have suffered from dizziness and fallen down the stairs, hours before Mr. Bell finally suffocated to death. The swelling of the throat cut off oxygen… she was dead quick… and far sooner then he was.
Riley felt her heart rip into pieces… she quickly headed to Hogwarts where Katie was. She was waiting to use the Fireplace to go to St. Mungos, like so many others. She quickly ran to Riley when she saw her.
"Riley! What happened?" Katie asked… her eyes full of questions.
"Your father is alive..." Riley started to answer but found the words catching in her throat.
"Thank goodness… what about my mom?" Katie asked with hopeful eyes. That hope turned to heartbreak when she felt sadness and shame ebb off of Riley.
"No..." Katie stated as she began to shake her head.
Riley quickly pulled her into a hug as Katie continued to shake her head in disbelief.
"I'm so sorry…. I didn't get there in time." Riley whispered as her heart tore in two.
"No… No. No… no, no, no…." Finally it struck her… and she started to scream. Tears sprung from her eyes as Riley held her. With only their regular bond… all of Riley's mates felt Katie's anguish. They all knew… she had lost someone.
Riley could only hold her lover as she screamed and cried. Her cries filled Riley's heart with so much rage. Whoever had done this… she would find them… she would find them… and eradicate their entire bloodline.
-To Be continued-
Someone is gonna die. Katie's parents were the first to get their letters. It seems someone is targeting Riley's friends. Katie's mom fell down the stairs and broke her neck due to the dizziness. Her father was probably slipping in and out of consciousness. I hope you like the Wraiths introduction and what I did with Yami. Let me know. I'll see you more later.
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