K, so here's the next chapter for you guys. Hope you all enjoy it. :)
I'd like to apologize for it taking so fucking long, my family just got finished moving to our new house and I've been spending most of my time driving back and forth for the last month, it's been taxing. I also had a bit of computer trouble that erased most of this chapter when I was almost done a week ago, so I had to rewrite it. So please, accept my most sincere of apologies, and I will try to get the next chapter out within two weeks. my plan is to get on that schedule of one every two weeks instead of one every month. Again sorry it took so long, hope this chapter makes up for it.
Broken Angel
Chapter 73
Riley emerged from Kamui at the gates of Suna. She was greeted by a full battle-ready contingent of about fifteen shinobi. Their sudden appearance and immediate aggression did nothing to lessen her suspicions on who the Akatsuki had gone after. If in fact that was the reason for Zetsu's attempted contact.
"Halt! Who are you?" The lead shinobi demanded as his comrades spread out around him and took battle positions.
"My name is Riley Uchiwa. I am a friend of the Kazekage and one of the commanders of the Cysgodol Legion." Riley answered.
"Wow, I didn't think lady Temari's message would reach you so fast." The lead shinobi stated with surprise as he motioned for the others to stand down.
"What? I didn't get a message. I got a tip off that the Akatsuki had made a move on one of the Jinchuriki, so I came here to see if something had happened to Gaia." Riley replied. Some of the Suna nin bristled at Riley's knowledge of their leader's status as a Jinchuriki but the head ninja simply shook his head and sighed.
"We were attacked late last night. Two Akatsuki members. One was Deidara the Mad Bomber. We think they had inside help. They managed to capture the Kazekage and disappeared. We think it was a portkey. Lady Temari thought that you might be able to help so she dispatched a messenger hawk too you a few hours ago." The lead shinobi replied.
Riley let out an angry snarl when she heard that Gaia had been taken. The Suna shinobi took a few, fearful steps back when they saw her face twist into an enraged snarl. She then locked eyes with the lead ninja.
"Take me to Temari. I'll need to know everything." She ordered. Earning a nod the lead ninja ordered two of his comrades to escort her to Temari.
With a nod the two men began leading Riley into Suna. They passed by the remains of a collapse in the stony pass that led into the hidden village. It was obvious that a trap had been left to kill those that attempted to flee the village or launch a rescue.
Riley was quickly escorted through the village. She could tell from the ruined buildings and injured people that the attack had been quite severe. Several buildings had been toppled over and the number of casualties was in the hundreds. There were also quite a few people suffering from deafness, partial blindness and burns. This was obviously the work of the Mad Bomber and his explosives.
Riley was eventually led to council chambers where a meeting was already underway. One of the men quickly entered, and for a moment Riley was left standing in the hallway. After a few moments he exited and motioned her inside.
Suna's council chambers was much smaller then Konoha's. Unlike Konoha, which had several dozen council members, Suna had eighteen. All Shinobi. Nine handled ninja matters, Nine handles civilian matters, all worked to advise and assist the Kazekage in keeping the village running. It wasn't a perfect system but in Riley's opinion it was at least better then Konoha.
"Thank goodness, you arrived so quickly." Temari stated as soon as she spotted Riley.
"I didn't get your message. I got a tip off from one of my own, that the Akatsuki had launched another attack. Gaia is one of my friends so I came to check on her first." Riley answered earning a nod of understanding from Temari.
Kankuro was also present, along with his Sensei, Baki, whom seemed to be sitting as interim Kazekage. Both of the Suna elders were there as well, though Lady Chiyo looked exhausted. If Riley's memory served her correctly, Chiyo was the best medical ninja in the village, so she was probably tired from healing those injured in the fighting.
"Alright, let's get you up to speed." Temari stated, earning a nod from her her brother and sensei. Some of the other councilman looked uncertain having Riley there but they held their tongues. It was obvious that they had already had this argument so no one said anything more.
Riley stood silently as she was given a basic rundown.
One of the their own councilman was suspected of aiding the Akatsuki in infiltrating the village. He was currently missing, and presumed to have fled during the attack. Deidara had battled Gaia and attempted to destroy the village. In an act of sacrifice, Gaia chose to shield Suna from Deidara's attack, and left herself exhausted and open to an attack that left her unconscious. It was then that Deidara collected her and disappeared in a pop. Presumably with a portkey.
While that was going on, the other Akatsuki member, presumably set traps along all of the exits from Suna to slow down pursuers, even though they would have no clue where to start looking due to the portkey.
This had all happened before dawn, so the Akatsuki had a few hour lead on them.
"Is there anything you can do to help us?" Temari asked as the explanation was finished.
Riley was silent for several moments as she listened to the explanation of what had happened. Her eyes had been closed and head slightly bowed as the whole scenario played out in her mind. It was after several long moments that Riley's eyes snapped open revealing them to be a crimson red. The sudden change in color caused many in the room to shift nervously.
"Thanks for the information." Riley stated as she turned and started walking towards the exit.
"Wait. What are you gonna do?" Temari demanded as everyone shared surprised looks when Riley chose to suddenly depart.
"I'm gonna go find my friend and bring her home." Riley answered over her shoulder. Then before anyone could stop her, she vanished in a flash.
In a burst of speed, she was outside of Suna and racing away from it. Her Byakugan was blazing and her emotions running high.
"Can you feel her?" Kurama inquired.
"No… I can't sense her anywhere. It's almost like she's gone. Even if she were dead, I'd still be able to sense her." Riley noted as she headed away from the hidden village.
"Head East. I can sense Shukaku's insanity coming from that direction. It's weak, but it's there." Kurama ordered.
"Right." Riley stated as she picked up speed and vanished in a powerful sonicboom.
It only took her an hour to cross the desert at the speeds she was moving. As she did, she began to feel more and more of the one tails' emotions. The feeling was extremely weak. It was almost like it was dying. That worried Riley greatly, so she sped up her pursuit. Using Kurama's negative emotion sensing, she was able to trace the one tails to a cave alongside a watery valley in the Land of Rivers.
The first thing she noticed when she made it to the cave were the seals that had been placed around it, along with the massive rock blocking the entrance.
-Meanwhile-
"Boss… we've got a problem." Zetsu noted.
"I know. She appeared here, and so fast. Suna must've had a way to contact her, much quicker then we thought." Pain replied, they were still performing the sealing of the one tails, but he could easily detect, Riley's energy, outside of the cave.
"How much did we get?" Kakuzu inquired.
"Over half. We still have a day and half in here, to finish the sealing." Pain replied, sounding irritated.
"How long is that on the outside?" Kisame asked.
"Five more hours. Though I doubt it'll take her that long to breach the barrier." Pain replied as he canceled the sealing technique.
"So what do you want us to do?" Deidara asked, as a grin slowly spread across his face. He was hoping to get a rematch with Riley and get revenge for her killing him.
"Retreat. We have a large portion of the One Tails, and we can easily supplement it, or collect it again later. We need to figure out how she was able to sense the One Tails, even within the barrier." Pain noted. He and the other Akatsuki were unaware of Kurama's ability to sense emotions.
"Sure thing boss." Deidara said with a grin as the statue poofed out of existence and the two Akatsuki members in the cave, fell to the ground.
"You ready for this, partner?" Deidara asked.
"Yes. Let's see if she's ready for round two." Sasori answered with a nod.
The two stood in silence for a few moments before Deidara and Sasori shared a look and smirked at one another. Deidara then walked over to where Gaia lay and sat on her stomach and just waited. Neither Akatsuki had the intention of running. Both had scores to settle with Riley.
-Back outside-
After scanning the seal configuration, and making sure that there weren't any traps, Riley activated Kamui and passed through the rock barrier. She found herself inside a massive dark cavern. There was very little in the room, the only noteworthy things being Deidara, and Sasori waiting in the center of the cave, and an un-moving Gaia.
"Well, looks like you made it. I didn't think you'd get here so quickly." Sasori noted.
"Yeah… I thought for sure your friend here would have the opportunity to get cold before you showed up. Heh… I guess you beat my expectations." Deidara added. He was currently sitting on Gaia's body, the mere sight of which caused Riley to snarl.
"They should still be in the middle of the sealing process… but they're just waiting here for us. If they could sense us coming then why didn't they run. Riley, something is wrong, I'd watch out if I were you." Kurama noted.
Riley didn't reply, her focus was entirely on Deidara. He was sitting on Gaia, like she was nothing more then a pile of garbage. The thought caused a feral growl to escape her throat as she felt her veins ignite with fire and lightning.
"Oh… she looks a little upset. I'm curious how you found us so quickly?" Sasori noted as Deidara let out a laugh and rose to his feet.
"She looks more then a little upset. She looks positively pissed." Deidara added as he dropped a small clay object and made a hand sign, causing a large rush of smoke to fill the cave.
When it cleared, A massive clay dragon stood before Riley. It was nearly forty feet long and nearly half as tall. Sasori and Deidara now stood on it's back, with Deidara holding Gaia over his shoulder.
"So… let me tell you how this is gonna work." Deidara began, with a cruel grin.
Riley was glaring at him, her eye's alight with rage and fury. Had he been a weaker man, Deidara would have been forced to his knees with the level of hate pouring from her gaze.
"I've implanted a bomb into your friend here. It activated as soon as I touched her. The only thing keeping it from blowing, is a steady stream of my chakra. If I let go of her, she dies. If you manage to kill me, she dies. If you so much as move from that spot, I'll stop the flow of chakra, and this pretty little Jinchuriki will paint the walls red." Deidara explained with a sadistic grin.
As soon as that first sentence left his mouth, Riley felt her whole body tense. It took every ounce of her very being, not to rip him to pieces. Even now, she was calling heavily upon images of her mate's in restful slumber, to calm herself. She felt anger bubbling inside of her. She had never dealt with someone so casually threatening her friends before. The worst Riley had, ever dealt with in regards to someone threatening her friends, in her presence, had been bullies. People whom had no real stock to back it up.
This was different then all the other times. This man was a murderer. Deidara of Iwa had killed thousands when he left his village. The man fucking blew up an entire market place, and probably laughed while he'd done it. There was a very good reason, that Iwa named him, Deidara the mad Bomber.
"One chance. That's all you get is one chance. Hand over Gaia, and I'll make your deaths painless." Riley snarled, in an inhuman tone.
"Haha. You think you've got the clout to make demands here? You may be tough, but there's no way in hell you're fast enough to stop me from killing this little bitch. You want her to live, you're gonna have to do what I tell you." Deidara replied, his eyes never leaving her, even as they filled with a demented twinkle.
"Do you want your friend to survive? If so, then surrender to us, and we'll let her live." Sasori demanded as the giant dragon they were on growled and shifted.
Riley felt her anger swelling as the two stared her down. Both thought they had her beat. They may not be able to take her on, but they could easily kill Gaia. Deidara with his bombs, and Sasori with who knows how many deadly poisons on his person. In most cases, Riley would have taken pause. She would have stopped and tried to think up a plan.
This wasn't one of those cases.
Riley was mad. She was beyond mad. Fury didn't even come close to describing how angry she was. She focused intently on Gaia, she knew what was needed. All Riley had to do was touch Gaia and activate Kamui, and the bomb would fall out. Riley could see Deidara channeling chakra as he made a handsign. All he'd need to do is release his chakra and it would activate the bomb. Riley's eyes couldn't detect the bomb in Gaia's body, it only appeared that Deidara's chakra was mixed in with her own. Still though, Riley wouldn't take any chances.
Deidara stared down at her but refused to lock eyes, it was obvious that he was aware of her ability to hypnotize him with a look, so he kept his eyes planted on her whole body instead, not just her face.
Riley allowed her eyes to drift over to Sasori, he was willing to lock eyes with her, but in an instant, Riley knew why. It seems he was back in a puppet body, as she wasn't able to read his mind with Legilimency.
With another snarl, Riley's gaze returned to Gaia's unconscious form. Riley could tell that her friend was very weak, as was the One Tails. Neither would be waking up on their own for a long while.
Riley kept her focus entirely on Deidara for several moments, her entire body was trembling with rage as she readied to charge the two.
She just needed to be fast enough. At that moment, she desperately wished she had placed a Hiraishin seal on Gaia when they had met up a short while back.
Riley was intently focused. So focused that she hadn't even realized that her chakra was beginning to shift in unfamiliar ways.
Riley focused on Gaia, her muscles tensing, she'd need to be fast. So fast that Deidara wouldn't even be able to register that she had vanished before she reached him. Riley knew she could outpace them, but the guy was strong. She wondered if she was indeed quick enough without the Hiraishin to make it across the thirty meter gap and strike him before he could even register that she had moved.
In that moment, information flooded her mind. Knowledge of abilities yet untapped. The Rinnegan taught it's user how to wield it's power. Riley had been able to jump start the process by having Madara train her in it's use, so she hadn't often felt the influx of knowledge that would accompany the moment when the Rinnegan was ready to unleash new powers.
Riley's Rinne-Sharingan was much the same, and it held many more powers then even the Rinnegan itself.
Information flooded her mind, and a new ability took hold. Within moments, Amenotejikara was firmly planted into her mind.
Riley's eyes focused intently on Sasori, as she realized that her Rinne-Sharingan, was responding to her distress. There were still abilities that it possessed that she hadn't been aware of. And do to her worry and anger, her eye's released the knowledge of this as of yet untapped ability.
In an instant the ability activated.
Sasori found himself staring at Deidara and the giant clay dragon. It had happened so quickly that for a second he thought he was in a genjutsu.
Deidara himself spotted Sasori appear where Riley had been, and in that instant he felt the weight of Gaia on his shoulder vanish, and saw a whitish mist fall past his shoulder. His eyes darted to where Sasori had been standing, only to see Riley in his place with Gaia in her arms.
Deidara's eyes widened in disbelief, he was unable to even comprehend her speed. The movement had been instantaneous. Not instantaneous in the same way that the Hirashin was instantaneous. As even that move had a few nanoseconds of time where the person had to slip between point A and point B, hence the flash. No this had been instantly. As definitive as the word could possibly mean. (Thought process guys, we see when Sasuke uses this technique that time seems to stop, so in my head canon it's taking place in the space between moments, thus it is faster, though it doesn't have the range of the Hirashin or other space time techniques)
Suddenly, red Lightning erupted from her body, and with Gaia still in her arms, she twitched her fingers using Electroshock to send twin bolts of lightning right into Deidara's chest.
Deidara let out a cry of pain as he was sent hurtling through the air, twin scorch marks on his chest from the impact. He felt his heart start thumping painfully in his chest and for several moments he thought in might burst. He was torn out of his worries when he impacted the cave wall hard enough to be embedded into the stone.
Riley quickly jumped away from the clay dragon, drawing Gaia into Kamui as she did, shielding her friend from further harm.
'This isn't possible. She moved so fast… I've never seen anything move that fast. And how did I get over here. Did she somehow replace herself with me?' Sasori thought as he retreated towards where Deidara was trying to pull himself from the wall. His eyes were locked on Riley as she drew the Kazekage into some sort of space time ninjutsu.
Once Gaia was safely away, she focused on the two and began advancing.
"I gave you cunts a chance. You could have just handed her over to me and I would have made your deaths quick. Instead you chose to make me work for it. Now I'm gonna have to return the favor." Riley snarled, her features twisting in rage as the darkened cavern grew impossibly darker.
Deidara quickly shot to his feet, his mind swelling with rage. This was the second time she had humiliated him. Deidara was never one to stand for being humiliated. And this was the second time. There wouldn't be a third.
With a handsign, the clay dragon erupted into a violent explosion. The shockwave should have been enough to at least send Riley flying across the room from her position several yards from it. What happened however was that Riley remained anchored and instead the explosion slammed into a reddish mist-like barrier that enveloped her body, causing a second explosion that was slightly weaker then the first and only served to light up the darkened cavern and reveal a sea of writhing tentacles covering the walls behind Riley.
Sasori and Deidara both felt their eyes widen at the writhing sea of shadows.
"What the hell?" Deidara muttered.
"What are you?" Were the words that escaped Sasori's lips as he scanned the whole of the cave, finding the twisting mass completely surrounding them.
Suddenly the room lit up as thousands of sets of glowing purple eyes started to encircle them.
"I gave you a chance to die like men. Now… I'm gonna tear you both apart, limb from limb until I'm satisfied." Riley snarled.
Deidara and Sasori found themselves back to back as Deidara prepared more clay bombs, and Sasori removed his cloak, revealing his puppet body and retrieved a scroll.
From the scroll, he summoned forth an army of one hundred puppets draped in red cloaks.
"It's a good day for an art exhibit don't you think Sasori my man?" Deidara inquired with a mad smirk.
"Yes indeed." Sasori replied.
Deidara never let his grin falter. Even as the sea of darkness closed in on them.
He raised his hands, both aimed directly at Riley, and a half dozen clay birds shot out at her.
"You and all your little monsters will perish in the brilliance of my Art!" Deidara snapped out with insane glee only for a poof of smoke to surround him.
-Elsewhere-
He quickly found himself standing in front of an angry looking Pain.
"I told you to retreat." Pain bellowed with an angry glare.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!" Deidara snarled, only for Pain to force him to the ground with gravity.
"When I order you to retreat. You retreat. Do not disobey God, or you shall know true pain." Pain replied as he hovered over Deidara, his Rinnegan radiating authority and dominance.
The two glared at each other for several moments, before Pain turned and flashed through handsigns. A moment later a poof of smoke filled the room, and from it, appeared Sasori's puppet torso, but without Sasori's heart.
The torso itself was riddled with marks and cracks, almost like it had been shredded by a vicious animal.
Pain stared down at the broken torso for several moments before turning to Deidara and glaring at him.
"She got in." Deidara noted with a rueful chuckle as he rose to his feet.
"And she now has Sasori. If she uses the Rinnegan to devour his soul she'll learn of the location of many of our outlying bases. She'll know everywhere Sasori and you have been. And she'll learn all of Sasori's secrets. I know you were the one to convince him to ignore my orders and try to fight the Hero of the Burning Leaf. Whatever your intentions, you endangered our ultimate goal." Pain stated as his godly eyes bore into Deidara whom had the presence of mind to gulp in fear.
"Do not fail me again Deidara, or the world will never again know your 'art'." Pain stated plainly and simply, before turning and marching away.
Deidara stared down at the puppet torso for several long moments before sighing. This was the second time he had to be saved from her. He felt rage bellow up from inside of himself. An angry snarl escaped his lips.
No matter what, he'd find a way to repay this slight against his pride. He'd make her pay for this. That was for sure.
-Back in the Cave-
"Are you in there Sasori of the Red Sand? Can you hear me from within that thing?" Riley inquired with a demented grin. She currently held the capsule that contained Sasori's beating heart.
Riley was currently contemplating just how she was going to continue the puppet master's torture since he didn't have a body, and thus no flesh to desecrate.
After a few moments she slipped into Kamui and approached the pit where the Gravemind rose to meet her.
She held out Sasori's heart and several tentacles reached out to ensnare it.
"Tear him apart. Use your magic to infiltrate whatever consciousness he possesses and rip through it without mercy. Keep doing that until there is nothing left of his psyche." Riley ordered as the Gravemind slunk back into the shadows of it's pit.
"That was easier then I thought it would be." Kurama noted.
"I wasn't playing around and my precious baby boy was more then willing to lend mommy a hand in wrecking those cunts." Riley replied as she reached out to caress a dark serpent that rose from her shadow to hover next to her.
"I live to see our enemies quake in fear." The Darkness whispered, earning a smile from Riley.
"Hmm… Hey Riley, where did you learn that teleportation ability?" Hashirama inquired from within her mind.
"I just… learned it. I think it was the Rinne-Sharingan. I'm almost certain that what I used is another ability within these eyes. One that we were unaware of." Riley replied, looking thoughtful.
"That's interesting. We always knew there was much more to your eyes then just the Rinnegan's abilities. It seems that we'll just have to keep our minds open to future possibilities." Madara added as he looked into her new memories of Amenotejikara. He saw what the ability was, and how Riley had used it, and he found himself amazed. The speed that this technique possessed was on a whole different level from most others. It was kinda like a space-time substitution, in it's basic principles, but pushed to the absolute extreme.
After a few moments of thought, Riley headed over to where Gaia now lay. She was being guarded by RAAM and Skorge, the two stood over her vigilantly.
Riley quickly knelt by her friend's side and began to channel healing energy into her.
For several long minutes, Riley repaired the damage done to Gaia's body, while at the same time she tried to use her own Youki to shock the One Tails awake. It was currently at half power, which was surprising to Riley, since it should have taken three days to seal it away, but somehow they had managed to speed up the extraction. She'd have to contact Zetsu when she had a free moment.
"What are we gonna do now Riley?" Hashirama inquired.
"I'm not sure. Part of me thinks that now is the right time to try and summon the Gedo Statue and remove the chakra the Akatsuki has managed to gather. Though another part of me is cautious. If I take the statue from them now, it'll make them an unknown. I don't like the Akatsuki being an unknown, especially since one of them has the Rinnegan." Riley replied. As skilled as she was, she wasn't naïve enough to doubt the power of the Rinnegan, Hagoromo has used it to defeat Kaguya and she was way stronger then Riley was at this moment, so it wouldn't do to fall for the same trap. Pain had it in him to be a true threat to Riley, so she needed to be cautious around him. Yes she knew his weakness thanks to Zetsu, but she also knew that to underestimate him, even just a little could lead to her ending up like Kaguya.
So, having Pain and the Akatsuki on a set path, that made them predictable, was beneficial to Riley. She knew what they needed, and she knew what it would take for them to complete their plans. It was this knowledge that lowered their threat level considerably, since a powerful shinobi with a pattern was immensely easier to defeat than a weak one without a pattern.
Still though, she was very much considering taking the statue from them, especially now with what had happened to Gaia. It was definitely something she'd be thinking about for the foreseeable future.
-A Few Moments Later-
"Wake up dumbass." Kurama bellowed, causing Shukaku to startle and open his eyes.
"Uh, what the fuck happened? Kurama? Is that you?" Shukaku whined as it awoke feeling drained.
"You just had half your chakra and core stolen by the Akatsuki. Riley was able to rescue you before they finished." Kurama answered as his silhouette hovered in Gaia's mindscape. He was currently using the passage of Riley's chakra to try and help wake the One Tails from it's slumber.
"Uh Kurama… that felt like shit. I can't feel my toes… fuck..." The One tails whined. It felt weaker then it ever had. Kurama only let out a sigh as he watched his sibling in such a weakened state.
Riley meanwhile was finishing with Gaia's injuries. She had a few major wounds, such as internal damage, but otherwise, Gaia was in relatively good health, she was just unconscious.
"It's alright Gaia, you're safe now." Riley whispered down at her friend.
"Let's get you home." Once Riley was finished healing her, she scooped the Kazekage into her arms and exited Kamui. Once back in the cave, she quickly flashed back to Suna.
-A Short While Later-
Gaia awoke to find herself in a hospital bed. Temari and Kankuro sat nearby keeping an eye on her.
"Uh… what happened?" Gaia moaned out in pain. Temari was by her side in flash.
"Gaia, you're awake!" She stated with a smile as Kankuro moved to join her.
"I feel terrible. What happened? Hows the village?" Gaia inquired as she glanced around the room.
"The village is fine. You managed to stop any major damage from occurring, and we suffered minor casualties." Temari answered.
Gaia nodded as she sat up in bed, with a little help from Kankuro.
"The Akatsuki managed to capture you for a little while. Do you remember anything?" Kankuro asked, eyeing his sister curiously.
"I remember being in pain, and then… everything was dark. I don't really know how to explain it. It was like… I couldn't see anything, and I couldn't hear anything, but I knew that something was happening around me. And then… I felt someone. I felt someone near me. I was filled with warmth and all of the pain faded away. Then I heard a voice… Riley?" Gaia explained to them, turning to Temari with a confused look.
"She rescued you. I don't know how she managed it, but she tracked the Akatsuki back to their lair and stopped them from completing the extraction of the One Tails. Deidara managed to escape but Sasori has been killed. You were brought back here yesterday. She healed most of your injuries, Lady Chiyo's been in and out making sure that you're on the mend." Kankuro answered for his sister, earning a nod from Temari.
"Riley..." Gaia whispered out with a ghost of a smile.
"That crazy little fireball managed to pull us both from the brink Gaia. Those Akatsuki guys were using some kind of space-time barrier to speed up time within a bubble allowing them to seal me away much faster. It would have only taken a few more hours on the outside in order to finish the sealing." Shukaku explained to her.
"And as it stands now, how are you?" Gaia inquired.
"I'm at half strength right now, and it'll take a few weeks to repair my core and get all my power back, but I'll manage." Shukaku replied.
Gaia nodded then glanced around at her siblings. Finally she locked eyes with Temari.
"Where is she?" Gaia asked.
Temari allowed a smirk to appear on her face as she turned and looked at the door out of the room.
She gave Gaia a knowing look, earning a nod from the Kazekage. Temari then walked over to the door, opening it, revealing a hallway with Riley sitting on the opposite side of it.
After a few moments Riley entered, and her face lit up when she saw that Gaia was awake and sitting up.
"Gaia… how are you?" Riley asked with a smile as she approached her friend's bed.
"Tired. But I'll live. I believe I have you to thank for that." Gaia replied.
"You have nothing to thank me for Gaia. We're friends. Friends look out for one another." Riley stated with a smile, earning a small one from Gaia in return.
"Still though. You didn't have to come for me. You didn't have to put yourself in harms way to get me back. You put yourself at risk, and for that, I'll forever be in your debt." Gaia returned, giving her friend a look of admiration and respect as she did.
"You don't owe me anything Gaia. I know if I were in the same situation you'd do whatever you could to try and help me." Riley replied with a smile.
Gaia just stared back at her for several long moments before sighing and allowing a smile to take up residence on her face. "You're not going to accept anything more then a thanks, are you?"
"You know I'm not. I helped you because I wanted too. Because you're my friend. I don't require anything else. But I appreciate the offer." Riley answered, still smiling.
A quiet moment passed between the two before Gaia held out her hand to Riley. Riley stared at the offered appendage for a moment before taking it and helping Gaia to her feet. The two stood face to face for a moment still clasping each others hands.
"Thank you my friend. Thank you for saving my life." Gaia stated.
"No problem. If you're ever in a jam, I'll be there for you." Riley replied.
"I appreciate that Riley. If you ever need anything, you need only ask." Gaia replied.
Riley allowed her smile to grow. She then let out a chuckle and pulled Gaia into a hug. Gaia returned the affectionate gesture, with a smile of her own.
The two stayed that way for several more moments, upon which Chiyo walked in and cleared her throat to gain their attention.
"Lady Kazekage, it's good to see that you're awake." Chiyo stated as she entered the room.
"Lady Chiyo." Gaia greeted her elder as she returned to bed, where Chiyo began to check her for any remaining injuries and to ensure that she was recovering well. Riley watched on for several moments as Lady Chiyo did her work. She offered Gaia a gentle smile when the Kazekage's eyes drifted back over to her. The smile was returned, and Riley felt emotion flourish within it.
This earned an even wider grin from Riley whom then turned and headed out to allow the Kazekage a few moments of privacy.
It was about six hours later that Gaia was released from the hospital as Lady Chiyo found no signs of further injury. She was still to be closely monitored to ensure her health was maintained, but otherwise the Lady Elder felt that Gaia was ready to move about. Shortly after that Riley prepared to depart, her work now done.
"You've done a great service to Suna, Lady Uchiwa. Please feel free to return if you need anything." The elders had said to her, before she passed through the gate.
Temari and Kankuro waited outside the wall with Gaia, both thanked her for saving their sister and each offered their own assistance should she ever need it.
Gaia and Riley shared one more moment before Riley departed, both giving the other a kind smile.
"I hope to hear from you again soon, my friend." Gaia stated.
"You will. Stay safe and keep your eyes open for any further attempts by the Akatsuki." Riley offered in parting.
"I'll be sure to do that. Stay safe as well my friend. Until we meet again." Gaia stated.
"Until then." Riley replied as she handed Gaia one of her Hiraishin kunai.
Gaia eyed the kunai for a moment before nodding, taking the object and pocketing it. Then with a grin still on her face, Riley disapeared in a flash.
"Why didn't you tell her?" Kankuro inquired to his younger sister.
"Tell her what?" Gaia asked.
"That you love her." Kankuro clarified as he gave his sister a look.
"Now's not the appropriate time for that." Gaia replied with a distant look.
"But you do love her? Kankuro asked.
Gaia's eyes fell to the ground for a few moments and a small smile appeared on her face. She allowed it to remain for several seconds before it faded and she turned her eyes out towards Suna.
"We've got work to do. There's still a war to win." Gaia responded. Kankuro shared a glance with Temari and she simply smirked and shrugged, knowing that her sister held deeper feelings for the Uchiwa clan head.
Gaia ignored her siblings' knowing looks. Instead she focused on Suna, and how to ensure that the Akatsuki would never again be able to hurt them like they did. Even as the Kazekage took the reins, the woman, the young, ignorant, yet hopeful woman that lay within couldn't help but think of Riley, and how quickly and selflessly her friend had come to her aid. It brought a smile to her face without her even realizing it, and she carried that smile with her for many more hours.
She knew she had a lot of work to do. Never again would she allow herself to be captured. The Akatsuki had only gained half of the One Tails. They'd be back for the rest of it, one day, and when they came for it, she'd be ready.
-Back at Sinnon-
Riley made it back to Sinnon and quickly made for the main command tent.
She arrived to find, Itachi and Tom already there, she was quick to summon Madara and Hashirama back into the real world, and then inform her fellow commander of what just happened.
"So they have some of the One Tails now?" Tom clarified, once she was finished.
"Yeah." Riley nodded with a distant look.
"What about Sasori?" Itachi inquired.
"The Gravemind is burrowing into his mind, and breaking him. I have something special in mind for that cunt." Riley answered with a dark look.
"Good to know. What now?" Tom asked after a moment.
"I need to meet with my spy. There's some things he and I have to discuss." Riley answered with a focused look.
"Alright then. We'll continue this meeting later." Tom stated. Riley gave a nod and headed out of the tent. She headed somewhere secluded, Madara and Hashirama following close behind. Once away from prying eyes, she summoned Zetsu.
"Greetings my lady. Well done on stopping the ritual. I feared you wouldn't make it in time." Zetsu stated upon the summoning cloud dissipating.
"Yeah, how in the fuck were they able to seal it so fast? You told me three days." Riley demanded with a glare.
"Sorry. It was some sort of Space-time Barrier, given to Pain by Obito, whom I assume got it from Mito. We didn't use it for the Three Tails, so I didn't know about it until this time, otherwise I would have warned you my lady." Zetsu apologized.
"Mito..." Riley growled as she turned and began to pace.
"Have you seen her?" Madara demanded as Riley paced.
"No, not lately. I think Obito has a way to contact her, but I'm not sure what it is. He's been very secretive as of late, almost like he's afraid of something. Also, on that note, there's been a new development." Zetsu informed them.
"Development? What sort of development?" Riley asked as she returned her focus to the Half-and-Half man.
"It's Pain... I've seen him... conversing with things. Speaking into shadow. I'm not quite sure what he's seeing but as of late, it feels like something has been following him." Zetsu stated earning a curious look from those present.
"That is an interesting development." Riley noted, as she gazed off, staring at nothing in particular, yet at the same time, seeminly taking in all at once.
Madara and Hashirama shared a look, both finding this to be quite unnerving. The last thing anyone needed was for the psychotic Rinnegan wielder who fancied himself a god, to start hearing voices.
Riley was quiet for several long moments before she turned to Zetsu.
"Zetsu, I need two things from you." Riley began.
"Of course my lady, whatever you need." Zetsu replied with a bow.
"First, I need you to tell me everything you can remember about Kaguya's abilities. I just unlocked yet another power of the Rinne-Sharingan that I was unaware of. I need to know what else these eyes can do, what I should be striving for. The second thing I need, is to know what the backup plan is for the Akatsuki." Riley commanded.
"Backup plan? What do you mean?" White Zetsu asked.
"If they lost the statue. Other then trying to retrieve it, what's their plan B?" Riley clarified.
"I'm not sure. I don't think they ever anticipated losing it. The statue is instrumental in their plans." Black Zetsu answered.
"Surely, Pain and Obito know about my eyes? They know I have the ability to summon the statue as well?" Riley stated, giving Zetsu an odd look.
"Yes, they are aware. But from a conversation I overheard between Obito and Pain, it sounds like Obito somehow managed to tie the statue to Pain's Rinnegan." Zetsu explained.
"What?" Riley snapped.
"A contract seal." Hashirama said with a nod.
Madara shook his head and swore. Of course their enemies were using their brains. It was always a great form of frustration when your enemy refused to think things through and do something smart, yet at the same time it pissed you off whenever they just so happened to use that precious organ sitting within their headspace.
"Son of a bitch!" Riley snarled as she ran her hand through her hair. She was of a similar mind to Madara. She never missed the opportunity to berate on her enemies for learning but at the same time, it pissed her the fuck off when they did.
Finally she let out a sigh and returned her full attention to Zetsu.
"My apologies my lady, I assumed you knew. I mean why else haven't you tried summoning the statue yet?" Zetsu replied giving her a curious look.
"I haven't tried yet, because it served me better in the hands of the Akatsuki. it made them predictable, but I always believed that I had the power to summon it if I ever needed too. This is the first I've heard of Obito and Pain working to ensure that I couldn't. I guess I was too hopeful to think that they'd allow such an exploitable weakness to remain. I'll have to be more attentive in the future." Riley replied with a shake of her head.
"Well, I'm sorry about that, but I can tell you about some of Lady Kaguya's abilities. Hopefully that'll help you to achieve even greater power then you already have." Zetsu stated after a moment of silence.
From there, Riley, Madara, and Hashirama sat and listened as Zetsu explained in detail some of the amazing things that Kaguya could do, including her ability to hop through dimensions, and create her own. Zetsu also explained something that utterly shocked Riley and Madara. There were two more paths to the Rinnegan. The Dhyana Path and the Akasa Path.
Basically the Dhyana Path represented Form, while the Akasa Path represented Formless. The two paths were only accessible to a person with the Rinne-Sharingan which was why Madara had no knowledge of them.
The Dhyana Path was capable of unleashing terrible cataclysms, able to shatter the earth and upend entire civilizations. It held incredible power over Fire, Water, and Wind, and when she took the form of the Ten Tails, Kaguya used this Path to shatter the Earth and cause unprecedented destruction.
The Akasa Path gave the user access to a large number of powerful Space-Time Ninjutsu. it basically allowed them to manipulate reality. This was where the ability Amenotejikara, had come from. It was one of a group of powerful Space-Time Techniques that the Rinne-Sharingan could unleash.
Riley had no idea that these two paths even existed, and so while Zetsu spoke, she listened with rapt attention. (9 is a strong representation in this story and for those keen enough they may quickly catch on to why I introduced this idea.)*1
It took about two hours for Zetsu to finish reveling them in Kaguya's abilities, to hear from someone who had been there, what Kaguya could do, was quite an eye opening experience. The powers she held were unbelievable, the ability to create dimension and travel through space and time, these were things that came so easily to a master of the Rinne-Sharingan. Riley had always prided herself on her abilities and believed that she had made many strides in mastering this power. Only now did she realize that she had been mastering the Rinnegan's powers, not the Rinne-Sharingan.
Learning that there was actually two more paths that her eyes had access too, on top of the original seven, made her realize that she still had a lot to learn when it came to the eyes she possessed.
After he was finished reveling, Riley gave Zetsu specific orders to keep his eyes on Obito and Pain. She wanted him to watch for any strange movements or plots that they may enact, and she also wanted him to keep a close eye on what was going on with Pain. The last thing she needed was for the already psychotic Rinnegan wielder to start becoming even more crazy.
Zetsu agreed and quickly departed, leaving Riley and her grandfathers with much to think about.
After a few minutes of silence, Riley returned to Kamui, there she called forth the Gravemind, whom rose up to meet her and brought up Sasori's heart, to offer to her.
The black cylinder had growths on it, it seemed to have ravaged by the Gravemind. Riley wondered, only for a few moments, what exactly the Gravemind had done to it, but that thought quickly faded, as she realized that she didn't rightly care.
Riley quickly flashed through a few handsigns, as summoned a Wood Clone. She modeled the clone after Sasori's puppet, and quickly placed the corrupted looked heart into the hole in the chest. A few second went by as Riley used medical chakra to force the heart to integrate with the Wood Clone.
After a few moments, Riley could see Sasori's chakra mixing with the Chakra, of her Wood Clone. It took a few moments, but her Chakra eventually absorbed Sasori's and consumed the heart. And then, just like she had done with Voldemort, Riley dominated the man's physical body. Her will slipped into the chakra that now flowed through his heart, and it dominated his thoughts, filling the once great puppeteer with subjugation. After about five minutes, Sasori finally reacted and lurched to the ground, his breathing ragged, even though he didn't need to breath.
"What have you done to me...?" He rasped out, as his eyes lifted upward to look into her dominating, now red, eyes.
"Made you mine, Sasori." Riley replied with a devilish grin as her demonic features sprung to life. Sasori let out a gasp and nearly fell backwards as she took on her demonic angelic appearance.
"Ralael..." Sasori hissed out as he eyed the twisted Angel of Carnage with fear and trepidation.
"Sasori of the Red Sand." Riley replied as her third eye opened, revealing the Bloodshot Rinne-Sharingan that lay within.
"What have you done to me?" Sasori asked. He wasn't in any way conscious for the things the Gravemind had done to him, being little more then a soul and a beating heart had deprived him of most of his senses. Still though, a simple glance down at his heart, and he could see the brownish fleshy growths that emanated from his the cylinder where his heart resided. And he felt a tightness in his chest, an almost painful tightness, one that caused him to wince. He shouldn't have been able to feel such pain, yet it came with clarity. He also felt sick. He felt sick and that surprised him more than anything else.
Since turning his body into a human puppet, Sasori had never felt sick. It had been years since then. The feeling of sickness coursing through his very being was so foreign to him. It hurt, it made him feel like a child, because it hurt.
"I've made you my puppet. You always dreamed of being a puppet, well now you can be." Riley answered with the cruelest of grins.
Sasori's eyes widened as his body robotically responded to her will. He felt himself falling down onto one knee, his arms draped over his knees, like a knight of old, bowing before their Queen.
Riley stared down at him with this massive grin on her face. She reached her hands out to cup Sasori's cheeks, much to his surprise, he felt her hands on his face. He felt her flesh on his. The feeling was so foreign to him, it had been so long since he had felt anything.
She continued to caress his cheeks, almost lovingly, though the look in her eyes, spoke volumes of her darker intentions.
"I gave you a new body, so that you could feel. I have plans for you, Sasori, but first..." Riley whispered, as she drew her sharpened nails across his face, earning a wince from his, as he felt pain shoot through his new body.
"I need to utterly destroy you." Riley finished as she took a step back, and Kamui took on a much darker appearance. The sky filled with blackened clouds, the Sun became mostly obscured behind a thin veil of clouds and had fallen far, between two massive mountains, bathing the entirety of the landscape in an eerie orange-ish black. From the darkness around Riley, emerged dozen of darkened serpents, and tentacles. A few tentacles quickly shot forward and wrapped around Sasori's arms and legs.
He tried to struggle, but his body didn't seem to respond to his will.
"Skorge, make sure our new guest is given proper treatment, and don't stop until he's firmly and fully broken." Riley commanded as she vanished from sight, and in her place was a hulking scaly monster. It slowly advanced towards him as the chainsaws on both ends of it's staff, revved up.
Sasori, tried to hold a glare on the beast, but it only lasted for a single moment, as the creature slammed it's Chainsaw into Sasori's wooden gut, eliciting pain, unlike any other from the puppeteer.
For the first time in many years, Sasori felt pain, and because of his attempts to escape from such trivial things, he had no immunity to what it could bring. So within moments, the puppeteer was screaming.
Riley reappeared in her tent. By now her mates were all gathered there. Fleur was in bed chatting with Katie whom was right beside her, the two were giggling about something. Luna and Kaede both sat at the vanity brushing their hair, though Kaede mostly seemed to be doing it just to follow Luna, since Kaede rarely did anything with her hair. Daphne was busy dressing, she had just slipped out of her day clothes, and has just fished out a nighty to wear.
Riley just gazed at the five of them, her presence so silent that none of them noticed her there. A few moments passed and finally she smiled and marched towards the nearest one, being Luna and Kaede, hugging the two woman from behind, earning a bit of a surprised gasp from Kaede while Luna simply smiled. Riley kissed both woman on the cheek, then turned her attention towards Daphne, whom had just finished pulling on her night-ware. She turned and smiled at Riley whom pulled her into a kiss as soon as she was within arms reach.
Daphne smiled as the two separated, her hands joining Riley as Riley headed over to the bed. She allowed her hand to slip free from Daphne's as she crawled between Katie and Fleur, both woman smiling at her, as she did.
"So... anything interesting happen while I was away?" Riley inquired with a smile as she settled between Katie and Fleur.
"Well, we got to have a little chat with Kaede about the Darkness being her child. It seems you disappeared before she could get over her shock." Katie noted, earning a wince from Riley whom then sat up and glanced over at Kaede.
The Diclonious Queen, had just finished brushing her hair, was getting up to head over to bed.
"Sorry about that, didn't know I'd be leaving." Riley apologized as the remainder of her mates crawled into bed with her. Daphne, behind Katie, Luna behind Fleur, while Kaede crawled on top of Riley, earning a smirk from Fleur whom glanced at Daphne. Daphne herself, let out a playful huff, at not having thought to take that position herself.
Katie quickly started to giggle as she turned her back to Riley so that she was facing Daphne, and the two stared at each other, Katie grinning, while Daphne pouted, though it didn't take much for Daphne to start grinning back at Katie's smile.
"It's alright. I just... it was surprising." Kaede replied as she settled on top of Riley.
"Where did you go, my love?" Fleur inquired.
"Ladies... I had a helluva day." Riley replied after a moment. From there she began to explain to them what had happened. If there was one thing Riley knew, after today, is was that she still had a lot of work to do. There were still many more abilities locked within her eyes, that she needed to learn, and by all the gods in the heavens above, she'd learn them. And once she did, she would truly surpass the Rabbit Goddess.
-To Be Continued-
K, hope you like it. Next chapter up within two weeks. Moving is finally done so I hope you all can forgive the long absence.
*1: It was my faithful Reader Professor Majora that helped me come up with the idea for the additional paths, and I am very grateful for his assistance.