Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Imouto Trilogy :: Hatake :: Even After All These Years ❯ Chapter 8: The Katana ( Chapter 8 )

 

Thanks to my beta reader, BattleStations!

 

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Even After All These Years

 

Chapter 8

The Katana

 

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While Naruto was having the time of his life pulling a prank on the Inuzuka clan, Kyomi was preoccupied with more serious matters, namely the mission that she had been sent on. She was currently traveling through Taki no Kuni, the Land of Waterfall, and was very close to where her mission was located. It had taken a day to get to where she was, and the mission itself would probably last one to two days, so Kyomi estimated that the entire mission itself would probably take about four days. She winced slightly as she thought about Naruto missing out on that much training, but then figured that the "final exam" would probably keep him busy for at least a little while.

 

Even as these thoughts passed through her mind, Kyomi found that she was surprised at herself. For the past seven or eight years she had been out of the village constantly, returning only to rest for a day or so before taking up another mission. She hated coming back to Konohagakure no Sato because of the memories that it brought, and more than once had seriously considered retiring and moving far away.

 

Despite this however, since taking Naruto on as her apprentice Kyomi had found herself almost always in the village. And even more so, she found herself not like it when she was away! It was a complete 180 in such a--relatively--short amount of time. Granted, it did still hurt sometimes to be back in the village, but she threw herself into Naruto's training and that managed to keep most of her feeling at bay. After all, if she only concentrated on someone else then she'd have no time for her own feelings, right?

 

Shrugging off all of her contemplation, Kyomi reminded herself that she was on a mission, and that that needed all of her attention. The mission itself was actually fairly straight forward. There was a former merchant of Konohagakure whom now lived in Taki no Kuni whom was in possession of a priceless ancient katana that had been in his family for centuries. However the rich merchant had been tipped off that there would possibly be an attempt to steal said katana within the few days. Being still loyal to Konohagakure, he had immediately sent for help from said village. Kyomi was that help. And, if all went as planned, she'd stop the thief who was believed to be coming either this day or the next, and be on her way back home.

 

Within the next hour Kyomi reached the large home of the rich merchant. It was surrounded by the thick foliage of Taki no Kuni, yet not too far from a fairly large village. The outer wall of the complex was patrolled by guards, but the security inner area was no where near as tight. This made Kyomi slightly curious; most people would have added as many guards and security measures as possible. Filing this away for further reference, Kyomi entered the complex, effortlessly slipping past the guards and making her way towards the merchant's inner rooms.

 

Kyomi searched the complex for only a minute or so before finding the room she was looking for. Entering it, she found a balding middle-aged man of average looks pacing back and forth nervously. Kyomi cleared her throat, alerting the man to her presence. Said man immediately jumped and then whirled around to face her, a sweat breaking out across his face. When he saw her in her ANBU mask however, the man let out a sigh as he relaxed again.

 

"Keimeki Tadao, I presume?" Kyomi said.

 

"A-ANBU-san," Tadao greeted back. He seems more relaxed than he was before, but was still fairly jittery. Apparently knowing how these things worked, he raised a shaking hand and point back down the way the silver haired ANBU had come. "The katana is kept by itself in a sealed room six doors down that way. It's in the center of the complex."

 

Kyomi nodded and, having the information she needed, and turned to leave the room. "W-wait!" Tadao suddenly said, taking a step forward. When Kyomi looked back at him he immediately flushed and then dipped into a clumsy bow. "Thank you!" Though he couldn't see it, a smile tugged at the corner of Kyomi's mouth. She nodded to him again and then disappeared.

 

Kyomi made her way quickly to the room that Tadao had described. Slipping in through the sliding door and then closing it again behind her, she surveyed the inside. The room itself was of average size with nothing really noticeable about it. It was, however, completely empty except for a single pedestal covered in seals standing in the center of the room. What was sitting on top of the pedestal, however, honestly made Kyomi breathe in sharply.

 

It was the ancient katana that she had been told about, and yet, it was so much more. Kyomi didn't think that she'd ever seen anything like it before. The hilt of the katana was wrapped with gold wire it a way that was done tastefully and seemed to blend into the hilt. The hilt itself behind the wire was made of some sort of black metal, offsetting the gold perfectly. The blade however, was what really caught and held Kyomi's attention.

 

The metal of the katana's blade gleamed silver as though it was new, not centuries old, and, as Kyomi walked closer, she noticed that the entire length of the metal was engraved with miniscule, almost invisible designs. Peering closely at the katana, she noticed that the small designs actually made up a scene. It was a battle between what appeared to be several different demons, possible biju or lesser beasts. It was done in incredible detail that left Kyomi standing in awe. Never had she seen anything like this. Never had she thought that something like this was even possible.

 

Kyomi's reaction to this katana was actually quite out of character for her. She had always scorned blades that were made simply for decorative purposes, calling them useless. This time though, she couldn't even bring herself to think a negative thought about the sword. She immediately understood why it was considered priceless and why someone was out to steal it. Or, at least, she thought she did.

 

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Kyomi purposely ignored the ancient katana and checked the perimeter and structure of the room. She then set up a couple of traps around the room that no one, not even the person who would trip them would notice. They would not affect the person whom tripped them in anyway, but rather just alert Kyomi to said persons presence. Once she was satisfied with her job, Kyomi took up post in one of the shadowed corners of room, where she could see everything, but anyone who entered wouldn't be able to see her immediately.

 

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Kyomi stayed in her spot, diligently keeping watch, until late into the night. Despite what one might think, she was just as sharp as when she had started. After years and years of having to take on missions similar to this one, Kyomi had learnt many tricks to keep herself alert during long hours of inactivity. For the most part today she had kept her self busy by focusing on all of the sounds around and separating out those sounds from each other so that eventually she was able to map out everything that was happening in the immediate area in her head.

 

Offhandedly, Kyomi thought that she would have to bring Naruto on one of these missions some time. She could probably easily get permission from the Godaime, considering the aging woman had a soft spot for Naruto. And such a mission would be really good for the blonde; it would help to teach him patience. He needed more practical experience for what he was learning anyway. After all, that was a part of the reason why she left him that "final exam"

 

Suddenly Kyomi's instincts went wild. None of the alarms had been tripped, but the silver haired kunoichi's life had been save more than once by blindly trusting her instincts, so she quickly flashed through some handseals and activated all three of the stealth jutsu. Just as she disappeared from sight, the shadows around the wall across from her converged on one spot and bugled outward. From these a person stepped outward, landing lightly on the floor.

 

Kyomi watched the person with narrowed eyes. A shadow user? But she had never heard of any jutsu like this. Even the Nara, who were infamous for their mastery over the shadows couldn't actually travel through them. Standing up silently, Kyomi studied the apparent thief. They were wearing all black clothing, had a slight build, and their shape alerted Kyomi to the fact that they were female. The shadow kunoichi was just about as tall as Kyomi, though maybe an inch or two shorter; 5'5 then, Kyomi estimated, and probably only around her own age. She had long raven black hair that was held back in a braid that reached down to her knees. This was surprisingly similar to Kyomi's on hairstyle, only this kunoichi's braid was completely wrapped in silver bandages(1). Kyomi could not tell what her face looked like, however, because a mask similar to that of an ANBU rested on the other kunoichi's face. This mask, however, was pure black with no designs on it and only a slitted pair of eyeholes.

 

Carefully, Kyomi approached the shadow kunoichi, getting ready to knock her out, when abruptly said kunoichi looked up straight at Kyomi. Kyomi immediately froze. Checking, she could tell that her jutsu were still up, so then how could the intruder have known where she was? As if sensing her thoughts, the shadow kunoichi began to chuckle.

 

"So someone caught wind that this attempt would be made, eh?" she murmured. "I figured that something like this would happen." Despite the fact that she was facing an ANBU, the kunoichi didn't seemed to be at all concerned. In fact, she seemed completely at ease! The kunoichi continued to look at Kyomi and seemed to sense the unasked question hanging in the air. "Oh, don't worry," the shadow kunoichi said with a smirk in her voice. "Your jutsu are working just fine. I just have other ways of sensing you." The kunoichi reached behind her back and pulled out a large gleaming scythe with a black metal handle. "In fact, it's really too bad that I was the one you had to run into." The kunoichi then lowered into a fighting stance. "I hope you said goodbye to your family before you left."

 

Kyomi's reaction was immediate. She dropped the scent jutsu, not needing it, but kept the other two up. At the same time she pulled her katana out of it's sheathe and leapt and the other kunoichi, wanting to incapacitate her before things went any further. Said kunoichi put her scythe up before her, blocking Kyomi's strike with the metal handle of her weapon. Kyomi quickly spun away and struck again, only to be blocked once more. As Kyomi stepped back, the shadow kunoichi took the time to swing her scythe forward. Had Kyomi not flipped backward at the last moment, the strike would have cleanly lopped her head off her shoulders.

 

Kyomi moved down into a crouch as she narrowed her eyes at the other kunoichi. Whoever this girl was, she was skilled and she knew exactly what she was doing with her blade. Knowing that she didn't have anymore time to think, Kyomi quickly sheathed her own blade once more and began to run through a set of handseals. Some how knowing what she was doing, the other kunoichi immediately tensed up.

 

Finishing gathering her chakra, Kyomi murmured, "Sensatsu Suisho (A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death)," Immediately following, innumerous tiny needles made of water condensed from the air around them--and fortunately the air was pretty humid since they were in Taki no Kuni--and flew at extreme speeds toward the shadow kunoichi. Without waiting for the needles to even hit said girl, Kyomi began to make another set of handseals.

 

Meanwhile, the shadow kunoichi made a strange twisting motion with her hands. As if responding to a call, the shadows in the surrounding area began writhing as if alive before warping and then coming up to form a nearly solid shield in front of the kunoichi, saving her from the attack. Kyomi's eyes widened in shock behind her mask and, though she still finished the jutsu that she was working on, her mind was reeling. The kunoichi hadn't used any handseals. The shadows had just obeyed her, bending to her will.

 

"Raizou Ikazuchi wo Utte (Thunderbolt Strike)!"

 

From Kyomi's hands shot a single, but powerful, bolt of electricity. The shadowy shield that had stopped the needles from her last attack managed to deflect the majority of the attack, but the water left over from the needles was in puddles on the floor and it acted as a conduit for the attack, just a Kyomi had wanted. As the electricity hit her, the shadow kunoichi swore and leapt on the wall behind her, but she was still hurt from the attack.

 

Angrily she glared at Kyomi. "Fine," she snarled. "You want to get tricky? Then playtime's over!" As she spoke the kunoichi violently shoved her hands forward. In immediate response the shadows around Kyomi surged up, and almost literally swallowed her up before Kyomi's eyes could even widen completely in surprise. The shadows then twisted inward and a sickening squelching echoed through the room(2).

 

Smirking victoriously, the shadow kunoichi dropped her hand and let the shadows fall away and revert back to their normal insubstantial form. As they did though, they revealed a simple wooden log instead of a bloody corpse. The kunoichi's eyes widened behind her obsidian mask, but before she could react further she froze at the feeling of a cold blade resting against the skin of her neck.

 

Kyomi was standing behind the shadow kunoichi, holding a kunai to her neck. "Not so fast," she murmured quietly. The shadow kunoichi slid her eyes around and looked at Kyomi, revealing deep sapphire blue eyes. The two stood in place like that, staring at one another, before suddenly they both snapped into action.

 

Shadows rose of and shattered the kunai at the dark haired kunoichi's neck while, at the same time, Kyomi leapt backward and pulled her katana out of its sheath again. Without waiting for the shadow user to attack, she placed her katana before her and started channeling chakra into the blade. Then, with a growl of, "Kaze no Mai (Dance of the Wind)!" she attacked, swinging her blade downward.

 

As the blade swung down the sharp whistling of the wind followed it and, though the shadow kunoichi managed to avoid the blade, her eyes widened at as a blade made entirely of compressed air continued on from where the metal blade of the katana had stopped. Reacting entirely on instinct, the kunoichi flung herself backward and only a few strands of hair were cut. The blade of wind, however, continued on past her, straight for the ancient katana that was lying on its pedestal.

 

Both of the kunoichi froze in their spots, watching with muted horror as the blade made its way toward the katana. When the blade reached it, it sliced cleanly through the katana's blade before slowly dissipating. Immediately a large pulse of light erupted from the katana, momentarily blinding the two in the room. When the light subsided the katana lay on its pedestal, broken in half, with nothing to show what had caused the light.

 

"Fuck," the shadow kunoichi swore angrily. She glared at Kyomi briefly before suddenly melting into the shadows--literally--before Kyomi could even make a move to stop. Not a few seconds after the door to the room suddenly slid open sharply, revealing a heavily breathing Tadao with multiple guards around him.

 

"What happened?" Tadao asked, stepping into the room. "We saw a bright light and then--" Abruptly Tadao cut himself off, his eyes widening in shock as he what had happened to the katana. "Kami..." he breathed. He began to walk toward the pedestal, but Kyomi quickly released her invisibility jutsu stopped him.

 

"No," she said sharply. He instantly stopped, watching as Kyomi began to stride toward the pedestal. Stopping just in front of said pedestal, Kyomi studied the broken katana meticulously before warily reaching out a hand a grasped the lower half of the katana by its hilt. She paused for a moment then, as if expecting the sword to do something, before lifting up it up to look at. To her shock, Kyomi saw that the blade appeared to have a hollow center. She didn't even think that was possible, but the blade before her said otherwise. Kyomi continued to stare at the katana with narrowed eyes, ignoring Tadao as he approached in the background.

 

The Godaime would need to know about this.

 

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A day later Kyomi left the Hokage's office unsatisfied. She had explained her mission in great detail to the Godaime, but neither of them had been able to come up for an explanation for what had happened. And on top of that, the fact that the shadow kunoichi had just left after the blade broke also bothered her. Even with the object of her mission destroyed, the kunoichi should have still taken the blade back to whoever had hired her. The whole situation seemed to be a bit off.

 

And then, of course, there was the question of who exactly the shadow kunoichi was. She'd been wearing a mask so Kyomi hadn't been able to see her face, but, besides that there were absolutely no records of anyone being able to control shadows like she'd been able to. Even the Godaime was completely baffled about this kunoichi, not to mention worried that someone with so much power was out there.

 

Her mouth set in a tight line, Kyomi began to make her way back to her home. As she went however, she began to hear things that cheered her up immensely. After about ten minutes of walking, Kyomi had a full-blown grin on her face beneath her ANBU mask.

 

'It would seem,' she thought, holding back a snicker. 'That Naruto passed his final exam.' Deciding something on the spur of the moment, Kyomi changed her course and began to head toward the training grounds.

 

In just a few more minutes, the silver haired kunoichi entered Training Ground #38. She took to the trees then, moving quickly and silently toward the center of the area. When she reached the area she was heading for Kyomi was not at all surprised to hear the sounds of flesh meeting wood; Naruto was already there, training. Kyomi was surprised, however, to find that she was actually quite happy to see the blonde haired Genin again; it appeared that she really had missed him.

 

"Well," Kyomi said as she dropped down from the trees. "It would appear that at least you're not shirking on your training like I told you to."

 

Hearing her voice, Naruto quickly spun around, two kunai instantly in his hands. When he noticed who is was however, a large smile quickly came onto his face.

 

"Kyomi-sensei!" he said happily. "You're back!"

 

Kyomi smirked. "Of course," she replied teasingly. "Did you honestly think something as small as an A-class mission would keep me away for long?"

 

Naruto laughed brightly at her mock arrogance. A smirk played at the corners of his own mouth. "Well, I did wonder..."

 

Kyomi playfully hit him over the head, truly enjoying their banter. "Anyways," she said once they had both calmed down. "It would appear that you managed to do pretty well on our exam."

 

Naruto grinned again. "Yep! You should seen the uproar that the village was in all in yesterday after the prank was discovered." Naruto couldn't help but snicker.

 

"Yes," Kyomi sighed regretfully. "Now I really wish that I had given you the exam during a time when I was still here." Kyomi looked up to the sky mournfully before grinning at Naruto again. "Well, anyway, since you managed to meet all of the requirements that I set, you have officially passed your stealth training!"

 

Naruto whooped and jumped up. "Awesome!" he exclaimed, his eyes bright.

 

Kyomi chuckled. "And, since you have done that, we'll be starting on a new jutsu tomorrow during training. Besides that though, I also remember saying that I'd have a special surprise for you..."

 

Naruto immediately perked up, curious. He was already super excited about being to learn another jutsu, and now he really wanted to know what else Kyomi had in store for him. Seeing Naruto's interest, Kyomi smirked again. Then, moving slowly just for suspense, she reached into one of her pouches and pulled out a scroll. Crouching down, Kyomi laid the scroll on the ground and then opened it all the way. The scroll was only about 3 feet long and was completely blank.

 

Naruto blinked down in surprise, wondering what Kyomi was doing. Before he could even open his mouth to ask however, Kyomi suddenly channeled some chakra into the scroll and then reached in a pulled something out. 'A storage scroll?' was all Naruto managed to think before his mind stopped and his jaw dropped in surprise--and awe--at what Kyomi had pulled out.

 

It was an axe, a weapon that Naruto had never personally seen before and that had only been taught about in the academy. This one was a double bladed battle axe and the blades were made of some sort of black metal. Engraved onto both blades was a dragon. The main grip was black and gold, but the lower part of the handle was deep blue(3). It was a fairly simple weapon with no frills or extra decoration, but was still incredible despite that, perhaps even because of it.

 

Seeing Naruto's expression, Kyomi smirked again. "Like it?" she asked. Naruto just nodded dumbly. Kyomi chuckled again and the continued, "You need a weapon to use other than just kunai and shuriken. Considering your fighting style, I figured that an axe would probably fit you best." She then held the weapon out to Naruto, who took it slowly, his finger tightly grasping the handle.

 

Naruto stared at the weapon in his hands for a moment, shocked, before looking up at Kyomi. "Thank you..." he whispered.

 

Kyomi smiled back at him, ruffling his hair slightly. "Sure, Hige-kun." She then rolled the scroll back up and handed it to the blonde. "Keep it in this storage scroll," she told him. "It's already keyed to your chakra."

 

Naruto nodded, but then flushed slightly. "Umm, Kyomi-sensei..." he began tentatively, "I don't really know how to wield an axe..."

 

"Don't worry," Kyomi grinned. "I've already arranged for you to take lessons from Kenmaru-san."

 

Naruto blinked. "Kenmaru? Isn't he that one shopkeeper?" Naruto's eyes then widened in realization. "Wait a minute! This axe is one of those other items that you ordered isn't it!"

 

"But of course."

 

Naruto continued to stare at Kyomi for a moment later, before smiling again. "Thank you Kyomi-sensei. I don't think that I'll ever be able to repay you for what you've done for me."

 

Ignoring Kyomi's suddenly red face, Naruto looked up at the sky, where the sun was beginning to set. Perhaps, one day, he would be able to accomplish his goal of becoming the Hokage.

 

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Preview of Chapter 9:The Mission

 

Kyomi was broken out of her reverie when she noticed that she had arrived at her destination. She slipped inside soundlessly before bowing low to the Godaime.

 

"Hokage-sama," she greeted.

 

The Godaime looked up at her and then set her paper work off to the side. She then clasped her hands and front of her on her desk and studied the silver haired ANBU before her. Finally, after a moment, she spoke.

 

"Ookami, I have a mission for you."

 

Beneath her mask, Kyomi frowned. She had just come back from a mission not four days ago and the Godaime wanted her to go out again? What about Naruto? Usually Tsunade was very good about only giving her missions every two weeks or so. That must mean that this was pretty important...