A/N: WARNING! Intense chapter here! Went back and edited this, despite being sick as a dog and stressed out my mind.
Can anyone see this?
Sorry, I'm sick. This isn't my best.
Site still doesn't have notifications, but the App does. Whhhhhyyyyy?! Its driving me mad!
Its been more than four days since our emails cut out; if the site admins don't fix it soon, my desire to write is really gonna take a hit.
In other news, I'll be going away for a week or so come the end of October. Might get back early, might not. I need some time to clear my head. I've been trying to shake my uncle's death off, but I just can't. I want to get over it, I do, I want to stop feeling sad, but I just can't. Don't even get me started on the what-ifs, the helplessness, the rage...
Depression's starting to hit reeeeaaaal hard these days.
Sometimes I wonder why I do anything at all. I can't claim to understand what's going wrong with my head. I don't even know why! One moment I'm fine, then my mood craters for a few hours, then I'm back again for a bit, and the cycle repeats. Its rather annoying; as though I've become a prisoner in my own mind sometimes. Sure, what's one more mental problem on the pile. Not like I don't have enough, what with already being this old. Feels like every day is a battle sometimes. But when I go to the docs, they say oh no, you're fine, you're just tired. HA!
Writing helps fend it off the worst of it times, but when I come back to myself, its still there. Waiting for me.
*siiiigh*
Don't mind the rambling of this geezer...I'm still here, still trying to beat this thing.
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Feels like everyone's lost their minds sometimes. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
As ever I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're merely tributes.
Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that.
In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
"He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious."
~A wise man.
Just a Surprise
"Did you accidentally get an army?"
"Yeaaahhh, about that. Its a bit of a long story. I'll explain later."
Rei palmed her face as a bemused Naruto grappled with the children currently swarming him. "Explain how?"
"Technically, I've always had an army." He spread his arms for a brief moment, conjured a pair shadow clones to show off on other side of him, something the kids cooed at. The poor doppelgangers became living jungle gyms soon enough, and he was content to leave them as such. "Now we do, too."
She could hear the implicit plea in his voice.
Please don't be angry.
Oh, dear.
Times like these reminded Rei that for all his pride and strength he was younger than her. Good lord, was she robbing the cradle? Shoto was a happy baby quite unaware of the horrors she had gone through and but the other children were not. They weren't blind to what was going on. And neither was she.
But was still gazing at her. So bright. So innocent. So pure...
'No, don't look at me like that. If you keep staring at me with those eyes...
She squirmed in place under his gaze, knees twisting, thighs rubbing together as she fought for a small scrap of self control. It was a brief, fleeting thing. She wanted him.
But she could hardly do such things with the little ones around. She coughed into a fist. "Children, time for bed. I need to have a word with Naruto."
Natsuo and Fuyui made gagging noises. "Eeeeewwww!"
They at least were quick to flee.
Not so the others.
Toya and Tenko, being slightly older than the rest, proved somewhat more recalcitrant.
Tenko raised a hand. "Are we going to have another brother? Or a sister?"
Rei flushed to the very roots of her hair. "Shoooo!"
(.0.0.0.)
"You've done a good thing, Naruto."
He glared bloody daggers at Lady Nagant.
Had he? It didn't feel like it sometimes; didn't feel like much time had passed at all, really.
Months had passed since he'd acquired -was that the right word?- the Meta Liberation Army and in truth...not much happened since. Curious had reassured him everything was fine; they simply needed time to recall their agents. He was considering moving his family to their location, but for now Toya and Tenko were happy here. He didn't want to move them just yet if he didn't have to. They deserved a chance to make friends, to grow up happily among kids their own age.
Unfortunately, that left him on grocery duty today.
"Good she says," he muttered under his breath. Says the girl who once thought herself a weapon. Doesn't feel very good being stuck on chore duty, does it?"
Nagant winced, then nodded. "You're right. I did, and you-
His sixth sense squawked at him, drowning the words out with static.
Naruto stopped short. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Really? Now?!
He looked left, then right, even down now, scowling when the threat failed to materialize before him. "Of all the rotten timing You have gotta be kidding me.
The universe most assuredly was not.
Heaven answered in a flying axe kick from on high. Someone came crashing down out of the heavens with a triumphant roar. He raised an arm before his face to block and took their attack head on. He felt the earth crumble and crater underfoot. The sheer force behind the blow rattled his limb and birthed a crated beneath his feet.
"Fouuund you~!" a low voice crooned in his ear. He looked up, squinting against the sunlight.
He found himself facing a dark-skinned woman of average height, her wild red eyes leering down at him through long defined lashes, mouth split in an euphorically toothy grin. Straight white hair parted to the left side of her face, flowing down her back to reach her thighs Slender and curvaceous, she somehow also sported an athletic build. He could feel it in her arms and legs.
Long white rabbit ears poking up above her head gave her away. Hero. Had to be.
Her costume -really, you couldn't call it anything else-consisted of a sleeveless white leotard with dark purple trim round her waist, and a strange yellow crescent adorned across her bountiful bosom. She was attractive, he couldn't deny that. Those purple thigh-high boots she wore only further encapsulated her look as did the strange metal plates she wore on her feet. Thick white cloves sheathed her hands with long cuffs, creaking now as she wound up for another attack.
Naruto slammed a knee up at her and she vaulted back. He let her.
Any concern he might've felt rolled over him like so much water off a duck's back. "Aw, and here I thought it was All Might. More proof that you guys aren't taking me seriously. How did you find me this time?
"Heard ya." Her long ears twitched. "You're a noisy one."
He granted her a faux bow. "Touche."
Mirko tilted her head. Tilted it some more, now.
Naruto quirked a brow. "Can I help you?"
...I thought you'd be taller."
He twitched. "Ha?"
"Eh, doesn't matter. Can you fight?"
Blond brows furrowed. "I don't think I should answer that question-OI!"
His hand snapped up, catching her by the ankle when she tried to smash her heel into his head.
Her grin was wild. "And there he is!"
He swung her into a building, for all the good it did; she bounded right off it and slammed down before him, right back where they started.
"Surrender, Naruto Uzumaki." her tone said she hoped he wouldn't. "Society demands it."
"Society, eh?" he thumbed his chin for a moment, considering. "Do I get to make a counter offer before we get started?"
"Sure, why not? she shrugged one shoulder. I've got time to kill."
Arrogance. So unbecoming of a hero.
"Fine, lets beat up a bunny."
Naruto granted her a death's head grin. "You're supposed to be a rabbit here, right? That's your shtick?
The woman laughed. "Pretty much."
"Shame." his grin grew, teeth flashing in what he hoped what a disarming grin. "I'm a fox. Foxes eat rabbits. Nagant, mind taking these groceries?"
"Hey!"
He foisted the bags off on her, ignoring the annoyed noise she made. She'd be fine. Someone had to go back and warn the others. He gave her a good long look, hoping she would understand. Her subtle not said she did. A quick flick of his wrist conjured a trio of shadow clones, each of which he sent off with her. If this was a trap of some sort, best to spring it now.
"Now as for you. He turned back to the heroine barring his path and thrust a finger her way. "Make like a rabbit and bolt. Right here. Right now. Do that, and I won't break your arms and legs."
...bold words." she leered at him. "Sorry, but you've caught my interest."
Stuborn little bunny. "Lady, I don't even know you."
"Name's Mirko." he grin grew." Ring any bells?"
"Nope." he smacked his lips audibly a ther.
"Oi. You tryin' to piss me off?"
"No-fine." he sighed. "Have it your own way. But we're not doing this here."
"Oooh, big words from a big man. Whaddya mean by thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh?!"
Her words warped into a decidedly girlish squeal as he grabbed her by the face and leaped.
(.0.0.0.)
Rumi Usagiyama loved a good scrap.
Perfect way to start the day, really. Nothing better.
As such, she knew her way around the ring, and few fights besides.
But here and now, for perhaps the first time in her life, she felt a flicker of fear. She'd legitimately blacked out for a second there.
And her surroundings had changed.
Gone was the city in which she'd found him, all she could see was mountains for miles around. He'd dragged her out here, to middle of nowhere.
"Did you seriously just leap across Japan?" She rasped a laugh as she pushed aside a boulder and righted herself from the crater she'd landed in. "Heh. You damn monster."
"Monster, am I?" Shinobi -and damn if that codename didn't stick- tilted his head to regard her, blue eyes sparking for a moment; was it just her, or had his voice gotten rougher? "Perhaps you should speak more softly to me, then." He tore of his jacket and flung it over his shoulders, exposing the black shirt and chiseled chest beneath. "Monsters are dangerous and these days my enemies are dropping like flies." To her great delight he took up a boxing stance. "I know your kind. You think might makes right; that so long as you'e strong, you can just forge ahead and to hell with the consequences."
"Maybe." she shrugged one shoulder. "I live every day of my life like there's no tomorrow, so that when my number's up, I can check out with no regrets. Hasn't let me down so far."
"Its about to." He began to bound on the balls of his feet. "You'll see. If you're an unstoppable force, then I'm an immovable object. And speakin' of moving...
Pausing, he reached down and rolled up his worn jeans. First his right leg, followed by his left now.
Mirko tilted her head.
He was wearing something beneath, Mirko realized. Whatever they were, she didn't get a good look at them; because he removed them and dropped the in the same instant. They struck the ground as one and the world burst, kicking up a wild haze of smoke.
Mirko warded one hand before her face, coughing into it. "What in the blue helll...?"
"Ah," came a pleasant sigh within the rapidly diminishing haze, "That's much better. "I'm taking a page from an old friend's book. His name was Rock Lee. And those? Well," he scratched at a whiskered cheek, regarding the deep holes he'd left in the dirt. "They're weights. Got the idea from him, ya know?"
Confusion had Mirko tilting her head further still. "Rock-who-now?" she twitched one of her long ears as the fog faded. ""Doesn't ring a bell."
"Don't worry." her adversary beckoned with one hand. "I'm about to ring yours."
She considered him, then the crater his weights left behind.
"This some kinda trick?"
"No tricks here." He gripped the red wristbands on his arms and tossed them away as well; leaving them to crash down with a heavy crack of sound. "I'm not gonna use 'em." another quick hop followed and her senses all but tingled in anticipation. "Just pure physical ability. I want you to realize how utterly outclassed you are. How's that sound?"
It was too much; she couldn't contain herself. She lunged!
"Don't make bets ya can't keep, whiskers!"
She threw a jab, hook, uppercut.
None of them hit; not a one. Naruto swayed aside from all three, uncaring as her fists passed within inches of his face. Mirko watched his stance like her namesake, ready to spring into actions the moment he moved. She wasn't fooled. He may act like a boxer, but his stance was amateur.
'He'll lead with a right hook, followed by a left. Perfect. That'll leave him open.
She stepped forward..
"Ooomph?!
...and doubled over with a grunt, clutching her gut. She'd barely seen him move, but her body, forged in the crucible of battle, told her all she needed to know. Three punches in an instant. Mighta been a kick in there too. She couldn't be sure. Either way...just what the hell was-ack?!
His foot swept in, shattered her thoughts, caught her chin and sent her flying.
She was still ariborne when his boot smashed down onto her like a vengeful god and slammed her into the ground.
Blood burst from her lips. "He only hit me five times...so why am I so damaged...?!
"Is that all you've got?" his voice chirped above her. "I expected more."
Laughter escaped her lip. "Now who's acting like a villain?"
"I ain't one. Just a shinobi." He scowled when she wiped a thin line of blood from her mouth. "And you should've taken my offer."
Her eyes met his.
Something in them caused her to freeze.
For an awful moment, she saw a crimson fox looming over him.
"I could kill you," his gaze seemed to say. "It wouldn't even be hard. Do you really wanna go down this road?"
Mirko fought down a shudder and bounced forward to face him.
'I don't wanna die.'
And there it was, the crux of the matter. She didn't want to die. She'd talked a big game earlier about living fast and dying hard with no regrets, but she had some now, plenty of 'em. Chief among them...this was the greatest fight of her life. Not even All Might himself had ever beat her this badly, noble bastard that he was.
But this, ah, this! This was death. If it continued...
He caught her fist and reeled her into a roundhouse that had her seeing stars. Her head snapped in a shower of blood and her body went with it, sending her careening into a mountain. She left a decidedly Mirko-shaped crater behind, but didn't even have time to see it; because Naruto was suddenly before her, slamming a fist into her stomach. She retched and folded over with a raw gasp, spitting more blood as the rocky wall cratered behind her.
A hand gripped her by the hair, yanked her head up, and forced her to look him in the eye. "Had enough?"
"Not...yet!"
"Pity." he let her go and smashed a knee into her torso. "How about now?"
Gods, the pain...but there, beneath the agony, the torn tissue and lacerated ligaments, she felt something.
She didn't want ta die here. She absolutely could not die here. She wanted to fight him every day for the rest of her life!
Rock and stone burst beneath her back as she lunged forward and slammed a fist into his chest. His shirt shredded just over his right shoulder...but he didn't bleed. His smile told her all she needed to know. His words only prickled her pride all the more.
"Heh, that tickled."
"I said its not over yet!"
Calling out their attacks seemed so stupid now; she whaled on him, and he, her. Everything dissolved into a frenzied blur.
Finally their fists collided knuckle to knuckle in a stirring shockwave.
In that instant the tide turned.
Because you see, Mirko felt something give in her right arm. Bone buckled, then broke, just below the elbow. The limb drooped at her side, broken.
"Aw, shit." she regarded it with a scowl. In terms of sheers physical strength, he just might be beyond All Might.
What was that old saying? Go beyond? Plus Ultra?
Yeah, that wasn't helping here.
Naruto's fist thundered into her face. Somehow her teeth held. Her nose didn't.
"Owwww!" She groaned out a laugh and snapped it back into pace, grimacing now as it bled. "That hurt you bastard!"
She swung with her remaining arm and not one met her in kind.
Slam, slam, slam!
Jab again, hook leading into a feint, followed by a downward smash. He blocked it all and she pivoted past, crushing her knee into his gut.
He took it with nary a sound, targeted her other arm just below the shoulder..and it arm drooped in a broken mess.
'I can't land a hit anymore.' she recoiled as another blow found her, causing her ribs to creak. 'Its not that I'm getting weaker either, I know my own body better than anyone. This guy...is just too much! He keeps gettin' faster! Stronger, too!'
A spinning kick caught her in the but, broke two ribs, and sent her crashing into a rocky wall.
She tensed, preparing for an attack.
.
..
...it never came.
"Let that be a lesson to you. Respect the pecking order."
The Shinobi turned his back on her and walked away. His back was bare, shirt shredded from their bout...and yet his shoulders didn't have a single scar. He'd never run from a fight, had he? Somehow the thought gave her strength.
Was she really going to let it end like this?
No! Hell to the no!
"Wait...
She staggered up behind him, arms hanging at her sides.
"Hmm?" A blue eye peeked over his shoulder at her. "You still want to fight...?
She lurched forward. "I didn't hear no bell...
"Oi. Give it a rest. Both your arms are broken. I made sure of that. What are you gonna do?" a lopsided smile twitched across his whiskered cheeks. "Kick me to death?"
"Nah," she turned her head and spat out a bloody tooth. "I've got something else in mind."
She staggered forward with a grin, broke her pace and lunged at him with a snarl.
Naruto's knee met hers, blocking her before she could slam it into his stomach. Pain snarled down her thigh, but her leg held, if only just
"Just what the hell is your body made of?! she leered up at him with a feral grin, reveling in their clash more than the surprise in his eyes. "Pure metal?!"
"Nope." A rousing right hook snapped her head head to the side. "Determination. Unlike you, I have people to fight for. That makes me the strongest in the world."
People, huh...?
When was the last time she fought for someone?
Her world went sideways as he swept her legs with an awful crunch.
A finger swept out as she fell.
Mirko flinched.
'Damnit! He said he wouldn't use any techniques!'
.
..
...Nothing happened.
"Gotcha~!" his lips lifed in a teasing grin.
Less so the absolutely vicious punch that followed.
Mirko physically felt her legs lift from the ground for an instant before she recovered. Two could play that game. She swept his legs and he kicked back but she was ready for it this time, leaped after him and hit him with a shoulder barge and drove him down. His fault for thinking her beaten and holding back at the end, there.
She landed atop him, straddling him with her hips, flexed her thighs and held tight.
"I ain't letting go, Uzumaki!"
He made an annoyed noise and bucked, using his hips. Just like that she found their positions reversed; suddenly he was atop her, arm hammering in like a piston to strike at her face. She twisted her head aside at the last instant, winced as the ground cratered beside her head and leg-locked him at the waist, dragging him closer so he couldn't pull back for another swipe. Her legs were the strongest part of her body. He made her pay for that and drove the point of his elbow down.
Ow! Right in the boob, damnit!
No, ignore it! If she let him go now, she was fnished.
'Just focus on holding on. If you're gonna die, then die after you've given everything you got, Mirko!'
He struck out at her again, forcing her to twist aside. "Are we having fun yet, hero?!"
"Are you?!" she spat back. "Yer smiling, ya damn bastard!"
He paused.
Then his fist blurred down.
Mirko still had her teeth. And she used them now, biting his arm.
"Oi!" He recoiled a bit and clutched at his arm, unprepared for such a juvenile tactic. "What're you, seven?!"
Mirko saw her chance and took it. Her forehead smashed up into his and caught him unawares.
So did her mouth.
He tried to pull back from the sudden kiss and she bit his lower lip for it, marking him.
"Tch." he made an annoyed noise and touched a hand to his mouth as it healed. "You finally drew blood. Happy now?"
Not at all. Her blood was up. She wanted him atop her, over her, inside her, and she was going to have him, one way another.
So she kissed him again.
This time, he reacted.
Violently.
A tan hand slammed down on her collarbone hard enough to crack it and pin her in the same instant. Not a damn thing she could do about it. She glared up at him, eyes half-lidded, chest heaving, bare bosom bouncing with every breath as she panted for air that never seemed to come. Neither dared to move.
Under any other circumstance, one might've called her position intimate. Her leotard was ripped and torn in the worst of places, her arms were shot, and she'd given up use of her legs to hold him in place. Whereas he had both arms, no shirt, and was practically mounting her to hold her down. She was completely and utterly at his mercy. He knew it. She knew it. They both did. He could probably stand up if he really wanted to, even with her holding onto them and then where would they be?
But he didn't.
Instead his free hand swung back for what she knew would be the killing blow.
"Aw, damn...
There would be no mercy, not here.
She closed her eyes, not wanting to see it; she'd die with a smile and a heart full of regret.
Imagine her surprise then, when that very same hand took hold of her chin, lifted her head half an inch, and held her still.
...eh?"
She opened her eyes just in time for his face to fill her vision.
His lips caged hers and held her captive. Yes, that was the right word for it. He'd beaten her, bested her, broken her, hunted her down as a fox would a rabbit. And now like a proper predator, he was ready to devour her in return. Her blood was up just as much as his. Screw romance and silly dates, this beat all.
He drew back, realizing what he'd gone.
Already she could she him hesitating as though reasserted itself.
Nope. Not having that. She would prove that she was no easy prey...and would have her prize.
Mirko pushed up against him before he could reconsider, plundering his mouth with her tongue. She wouldn't give him time to think. Instead she pressed the advantage and kissed him deeply, drawing him closer to her. She wanted every bit of him. And so she hooked her legs tighter against hooked them in his belt and, used them to drag his trousers down. He growled and tore off what remained of her costume in retaliation. Fine by her. Damn thing was in the way and she couldn't get it off herself.
What followed was a beautiful, hot, lovely mess.
One could hardly call their coupling kind, much less gentle, which was good, because Mirko didn't want gentle. They were the both of them, tired, sweaty, bedecked in blood and bruises. There was nothing fancy or poetic about it; they rutted like two wild animals in the dirt, utterly consumed by lust. So what if she couldn't use her arms?
She had her hips, her legs, and her lips.
And a single thought.
Mine.
A/N: Aaaaand scene~!
Just a surprise indeed, ohoho!
Would you like weekly updates? Do let me know!
Well? Whaddya think? Should this continue? Should it be a story? I await your feedback. As ever, the Embers rule remains. If folks don't like this story...well...I'll not be able to continue it. With two jobs and rent to pay, my free time is...at an all time low. I can't afford to write stories that no one enjoys. So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
Here, have some juicy previews.
Well, future ones at least.
Potential ones, too..
(Preview(s)
The child she'd inadvertently saved laughed and clapped their hands. "Giant mommy!"
Mount Lady balked. "Eh?!"
The she saw him. HIM. Her heart leaped into her throat.
"Wait, wait, wait! I wasn't trying to start anything! Honest!"
Naruto slapped his forehead. "Here we go again...
...good job, Izuku. Why don't you go play with Fuyumi for a bit?"
"M'kay!"
"You're good with him...
"Go on, then." they smiled at him as he dragged himself upright. "Pretend to be everything you are not. Teacher. Husband. Father. You cannot change. "I see the real you, the beast inside." that soulless smile became a mad grin now as they stabbed a finger his way. "You act all high and mighty, but you're not! You're just an animal. Passing on your cruelty and rage. You will never change. You will always be a monster.
...then you don't know me."
"I know enough. You weaken yourself with this "family" of yours.
"And who are you to say that? Everything I do, I do for my family. For those I swore to protect."
EDIT: Hey, you made it! Congrats! Thanks for taking the time to read this!
As ever, the Embers rule remains. If folks don't like this story...well...I'll not be able to continue it. With two jobs and rent to pay, my free time is...at an all time low. I can't afford to write stories that no one enjoys. So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback, big or small, matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work~!
~Nz.
R&R~!