A/N at bottom
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Warnings: T for swearing and violence
Unofficial beta: MadameGuillotineTheSeraph
Reviewer replies:
MadameGuillotineTheSeraph: Thanks!
liazy2000: Glad you liked it!
JigokuShoujosRevenge: More of the canon cast is gonna come in soon (hopefully), but for now, Manda is gonna be much nicer than canon.
LunaAngel-Eclipse: Sorry about the confusion, lol. I watched a couple videos of snakes hatching to write that section too!
Chapter 3
"Gah," I said.
Kaa-san poked me with the butt of a very long sword. Unfortunately, this was a somewhat common occurrence.
Manda slapped his tail over his visage, "accidentally" smacking my tou-san with the tip along the way. "Stop antagonizing your daughter," he moaned, "she'll gum on you again." This, sadly, is also a somewhat common occurrence.
"She can't bite me if she can't reach me," my ever so responsible kaa-san cheerfully retorted, poking me again in the side while ignoring my pitiful attempts to grab the silver-black tassel hanging off the hilt. I swear I will gum on that thing even if it's the last thing I ever do, revenge should be sweet-tasting, right?
Tou-san rubbed at the side of his head where Manda had swacked and pouted, "Ai-chan, let me teach her some numbers! It's either that, or the table of elements. It's been proven that young kids learn the fastest, not to mention this is all crucial knowledge!"
Yeah, tou-san decided to not just teach an infant of a grand total of seven months how to count, but also the periodic table, helllloo science geeks for parents. This is also the reason why I knew that Dōsukēru was really not aligned with her colour scheme.
Speaking of Azure, she was coiled around one of my tou-san's legs. The little traitor...
I huffed, and somehow managed to roll over on the wooden flooring. Laying on my stomach, I gave my best impression of a glare at my kaa-san. But as the woman that she is, she only cackled. Failing to intimidate her, I levelled my glare (pout) at my tou-san instead. He was too busy trying to find the piece of paper with numbers on it from one of his numerous lab coat pockets to notice. An attempt to glare at Manda would only result in a tail-to-head bop so I turned to my bond-mate instead. Honestly, the term familiar might fit better but such a definition also felt the tiniest bit demeaning.
Azure looked over, met my glare with brilliant green eyes, and with no better description, flailed around like a Magikarp on steroids all the while with her jaws unhinged in a silent wail. The larger snake present (as every other snake was absent with only my family being currently present in this wooden den) watched on with a pained expression, before slithering off of my kaa-san's shoulders and curling around Azure. The contact prompted the tiny blue serpent to freeze, rehinge her jaws and closing it, before she flicked her tongue a bit. Truly, the two of them together are adorable! If only Manda didn't act like a snobbish asshole half the time...
But that doesn't solve the problem with my kaa-san poking me with a sword, or the fact that all of their energies just plainly radiated amusement, like a soft muffled chuckle.
It's been a couple weeks since I first discovered that I could move the energy coursing in my veins, even if the energy in my surroundings seemed to mock my inability to control it. Then there was my presently dubbed sensing abilities. The range of my "sensing" so to speak only extended up to around four meters with me at the centre of the radius, with the energy inside me being the clearest in my mind's eye. So far, the energy has helped me roll over occasionally, or keep the barest hint of a grip on Azure's tail when she tries to slither off because something told me that trying to (and failing to control) too much of the energy would result in a catastrophe. With the help of my energy, I can just barely push myself onto all fours, but most times would result in faceplanting or falling into a tangle of limbs in my (blue) onesie.
Then all caution goes out of the metaphorical hopefully unlatched window when my kaa-san used strings of blue energy to snatch away the copy of the periodic table that my tou-san had just scrounged up from his pocket. I grumbled, screw immobility and baby muscles, physics don't matter anyway. There's only hope of actually succeeding in my sworn goal when she's dealing with tou-san, I applaud his ability as a distraction.
Mustering up the will to move the energy was somewhat easy when frustration gave me badly directed motivation (oops), but accurately imbuing it into the correct muscles was a lot more difficult than I would have assumed, not to mention the energy that resided in the muscles itself was a slap in the face to balance. Through trial and error (that was an exaggeration, three times at most), I finally channeled the energy in such a fashion that my arms and legs were capable of supporting me. Now only a couple more weeks of actual exercise and I'll be able to crawl...Dammit.
Grabbing a hold of the tassel in a pudgy baby fist, I stuffed the entire thing into my mouth and chewed. Revenge tastes the sweetest, but maybe with a hint of stringiness.
Perhaps it said a lot about my spatial awareness that I didn't notice everyone older than the age of seven months had frozen the second that I began crawling. It said even less when I only noticed my kaa-san had been shaking until Manda left Azure and placed his large purple head her lap.
"It's time," the purple serpent rumbled. Hopefully, the only reason he sounded so ominous was due to him, a snake, having vocal chords. Unfortunately, that's just my wishfulness and not wanting my halcyon days to be over.
Line Break
After the rather chilling statement from Manda, my parents bundled me up in a blanket before we left the room. The only reason I knew that I was no longer in the chamber was due to the change in energy as my face was more or less covered by the blanket. (Purposely or not, I shall never know.) Ever thrumming, the faint feeling of tingling present in my limbs announced to me that the friendly presence of the chamber no longer surrounded me. Ha, hello cruel world.
Indeed, the new energy was much more wild. And cold, a heck lot more colder. Even through the fabric, I shivered, resulting in kaa-san holding me closer and Azure trying to snuggle her head into the crook of my neck, even though she was very close to cutting off circulation in my arms. Right, she's cold blooded...
"Are you sure she's ready?" Tou-san whispered harshly, a hint of fear present in his normally jovial voice.
Manda hissed in indignation, "do not doubt me," then in a more subdued tone, " even if she's not, her yin chakra should allow her to survive."
So, officially commencing freaking out. Apparently I'm about to be tested(?) and the survival rate does not look in my favour? Like, what? I'm finally starting to crawl, starting over again is not an option! (I think I might be denial. …Who cares?)
And what the shit is it about chakra? If the yoga or meditation is that harsh that a test is required, it's against the point of being relaxing. Gimme a break, infants that have just started crawling should not need to learn to relax. If they do, there is something fundamentally wrong with the world.
As if talking snakes and tangible energy wasn't, muttered a voice in my head. I told the voice to shut up.
After a brief lull of agitated silence, my kaa-san spoke up, albeit a bit shakier. "Suijami will survive, Dōsukēru will too. They're both strong, even if the war doesn't end soon, they'll live."
Great, the world's also at war. May the odds be ever in my favour my ass, the odds are trying to choke me to death with two-dimensional die!
A sense of free fall gripped me for a terrifying moment (not again nononoNONO) before acceleration turned to rapid deceleration when kaa-san landed with nary a jolt. Huh, I need to learn how to do that someday.
I could feel myself rocked by a walking motion and for a couple seconds that was all I knew, as my mind was still flipping around in my skull along with my brain.
Then an earthshaking bellow, louder than anything I've heard so far in this world, and raspy like sandpaper on sandstone, shook everything that encompassed my world.
"These two hatchlings are ready to accept the contract?"
The voice chilled the blood in my veins to a degree as cold as liquified nitrogen and my breath caught in my lungs. Tears streamed out of my eyes with a crying wail (and a desperate urge to face palm at my embarrassing state) and kaa-san efficiently unwrapped me from my bundle with tremoring fingers. Azure, praise her little scaly form, flicked her tongue against my face even though I could feel her miniscule trembling through our contacting skin and scales.
"Silence!" The voice roared. Pressure built around us like a rising storm and my tears stopped as a result of the sense of foreboding possible death. The force persisted for a moment longer where I can't Breathe, before relinquishing its grip. Barely audible was the sound of our breaths returning to normal as fear (and reverence?) prevented the uttering of more sound.
I blinked a few times to clear the tears out of my eyes. Now without the liquid clouding my vision, my sight alighted upon the creature that generated a sense of deathhomeintelligencewisdom. For some reason or another, it also felt vaguely amused.
Of course, amusement turned to full-on inward cackling when I screeched in a too-high voice.
This is the first time that I've seen a snake bigger than Manda and I refuse to deal with this bullshit anymore.
The girth of the white snake that peered down at me can only be described as colossal. Honestly, I don't doubt that my entire family (Manda midgetized) can picnic inside the giant serpent's mouth and still have room to roll around like the idiots we are. The golden eyes were also old beyond measurable, but the similar coloured bands that encircled the snake randomly reminded me of the question of whether the dress was white and gold, or black and blue. In this case, it is most definitely white and gold.
What am I thinking now? I questioned my meagre amount of sanity.
Abruptly, I realized that my placement was between my parents and the behemoth. And I thought parents were supposed to protect their young.
No longer in the right state of mind, I thrashed around in my blanket while disregarding the ongoings around me, including all forms of continued conversation. Therefore I did not notice my kaa-san re-approaching me until she secured my right wrist in a firm grip.
What got my attention for sure, however, was the dagger that she gripped with a white knuckled grip in her right hand. The dagger wasn't large, width or length wise, but along the hilt were engravings of scales and jeweled snakes, not to mention what appeared to be kanji delicately carved into the blade itself. Ignoring all of the embellishments, the naked blade also looked wickedly sharp.
I knew I wasn't reincarnated into my previous world when I hatched as a human, and the notion was reinforced further by the energy present in everything. My parents constantly messing around with weaponry like it was part of everyday life also became reinforced the idea that all was different in this world. Heck, currently even the existence of giant talking snakes and the mindset of raising a child in the same crib as a snake doesn't faze me anymore. Now, however? When is my own mother coming at me, an infant with a ceremonial dagger? This world can only be described as having kicked the bucket of rational sense.
Hence the screaming and struggling to get away.
Later on, I do not pride myself on making kaa-san's job harder but right now, how should I have known that all she needed was a couple drops of blood from my thumb?
Whoops.
After much confusion and a prick of pain on my right thumb, I felt a little squeeze on the same finger. A few drops of blood dripped into a saucer that had somehow appeared and I was then put back down, this time into the arms of my tou-san. His grip on me was a bit harder than normal, perhaps it was because I was squirming a lot?
My vision was once again blocked, but this time because I was peering at my father's pristine lab coat. A poof of energy from six o'clock told me that kaa-san had used her internal energy, or someone else did. Whatever had happened was definitely between her and the Giant White Snake (all capitals deserved), but the exact location and usage was a bit out of my range.
Then a voice rumbled, my bones and energy seemingly vibrating with it.
"With the power I uphold and embody, I hereby bind the daughter of the Kinme clan's Aimamushi—partner to Manda, and Mamoru—partner to the deceased Takeshi, to the hatchling of the Snake Clan's Ryuumi—partner to none, and Akakiba—partner to the deceased Akami. From this sunrise on, Suijami shall be bound to Dōsukēru, as was the first summoner of the clan to the first summoned."
Perhaps this oath spoken from the greatest of the snakes was the final thread that wove the tapestry of my (un)confirmed future, but from now on I know that even if the world burns around me, if even my parents and whoever might've stood with me has fallen, my companion, Azure...No, Dōsukēru, shall stand with me, her comrade, and above all, her partner.
Somehow, that thought was a lot more comforting than I thought it would've been.
AN: So how was the chapter? Hopefully it was up to par, if there's anything that should be edited, please tell meh. Actually, all forms of feedback is appreciated! No flames pls... There was a lot more that was supposed to happen, but I'm uploading as I go along so some of it gets forgotten (not to mention I have no idea how to write down some of it), sorry.
Thanks for reading! Please fav/follow or leave a review, have a nice day!
Random thought: I'm 17 now! Hello (more) responsibilities!
~Cadriona Morningwing
Uploaded: July 16, 2016