Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Battle Lord Chronicles: Under A Bloody Moon ❯ The Girl ( Chapter 8 )

A/N: I had fun writing this chapter, if only because of the new character (grins) ...And I really have nothing else to say right now (sweatdrops) Please read, review, and enjoy! Ja ne!

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Naruto. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

 

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and anything else related to them.

 

(1) - Nee-chan means older sister (Note: It's pronounced neh-chan)

 

(2) - Imouto means little sister.

 

(3) - A kunoichi is a female shinobi.

 

(4) - Genin is lowest of the three main ranks of shinobi. It literally means "low ninja".

 

(5) - Chuunin means "middle ninja" while Jounin means "elite ninja".

 

(6) - Raikage means Lightning Shadow

 

(7) - This is a shinobi technique that allows the user to "transform" into something else this is generally used just to change basic appearance though because it is only an illusion and thus can be easily expelled (So, for example, if you use it to make yourself look a few feet taller, you won't actually change in height and if someone tried to touch your head or something, their hand would just go through the illusion). The technique is one of the three basic ones that all Academy students must know in order to graduate and become shinobi.

 

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Telepathy'

 

Jinchuuriki - Youkai name - # of Tails - Youkai type

Itachi - Tasuki - six/Rokubi - weasel

Deidara - Sadao - seven/Shichibi - badger

Sasori - Kenta - four/Yonbi - scorpion

unknown - Nobuo - eight/Hachibi - unknown

 

Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.

 

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Under A Bloody Moon

 

Chapter 8

The Girl

 

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I let out a deep breath as I trudged down a dirt road with Itachi at my side. "It's great to see new countries," I commented offhandedly. "But all the walking is a real pain. And we can't even run there because we're posing as civilians! ...Although, technically I am a civilian..."

 

Itachi snorted in reply. "You're just addicted to speeding," he told me. "You don't think that it's worth to travel anywhere if you can't run there. And why are you complaining anyway? You're the one who decided that you were going to come with me."

 

"I can't help that I wanted to get out and about," I said defensively. "I haven't gotten outside the Valley much lately. Now that I've got the shadow wall thingy up though, I can go wherever I'd like!" I spread my arms wide before me to emphasize my point. "And since you have this mission, I figured that I'd go with you. ...What is the mission again anyway? I can't remember..."

 

Itachi rolled his eyes and then let out a sigh. "A guy in Rain Country needs to deliver an important scroll to someone in Cloud Country," the younger boy explained. "However, because he's a missing-nin from Cloud, he can't deliver it himself. Hence where we come in. And we're dressing as civilians because I'm a missing-nin. Cloud may not be on very good terms with Konohagakure, but that doesn't mean that they'll hesitated to kill me if they recognize me and I'd really rather not have a mission interrupted by ANBU."

 

"Alright, alright. And here I was hoping that we'd get to see some action," I said with a sigh. "...Though it's still cool to see another country anyway. The only ones I've really been to are Earth and Fire. And Waterfall, of course." As I spoke my grin widened and I playfully messed up Itachi's hair. The younger boy squawked in surprise.

 

"Nee-chan(1)!" he protested while furiously smoothing his hair back in place.

 

Instantly I froze in place as surprise took over my mind. Had he just...? Meanwhile Itachi, who had continued walking, look back at me over his shoulder.

 

"Oi," he called, "If you're so upset about it taking too long to get to Cloud, then try actually walking."

 

I found myself blinking in surprise. Did he really not even realize what he'd said? Slowly a grin came over my face and I jogged to catch up with him.

 

"Alright, Itachi-kun," I replied while folding my hands behind my head in a relaxed position. "Let's get going!"

 

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Cloud country was both like and dislike what I'd expected it to be. It was in the highlands--hence its name--and was cold, but the people of the rather large village walked around like it was warm and sunny there. The architecture was a bit different from the other towns I'd been to, but it still had that Japanese feel to it.

 

I followed behind Itachi as we walked through the streets while glancing curiously around me. Occasionally I noticed shinobi traveling across the rooftops by leaping from building to building. They were mostly in their teens and twenties, I observed. I only saw one or two who looked as though they could have been over thirty.

 

Eventually Itachi came to a stop outside of a fairly dilapidated building. "You can stay out here," he told me. "I'll be back in just a minute."

 

As I was interested in observing the Village I didn't argue. Instead I leaned back against the side of the building with my arms crossed before me while he disappeared inside. Although, I thought offhandedly, the word "village" was used very loosely here; most of the villages I'd been to so far had been the size of small cities.

 

Not a minute had passed by when all of the sudden a small figure no higher than my waist crashed into my legs. Blinking in surprise I looked down to find a young girl--she couldn't have been more than nine years old--with pale blonde hair and golden eyes. She stared up at me with wide eyes for a second before quickly hiding behind my legs.

 

It was at that point that several shinobi came barreling down the street. Angry looks were on their faces while they looked all around, doubtlessly searching for the girl. I frowned, really starting to dislike most official shinobi; I didn't care what the little girl had done, she was still just a child.

 

"You need to be more careful, imouto(2)," I said fairly loudly to the little girl while turning around so that I could hide her from view. "I told you not to eat so many sweets; you're probably going to get a stomach ache now."

 

The shinobi barely even spared me a glance as they passed by and soon they were out of sight. Once I was sure that we were safe, I looked down at the little girl with a smile.

 

"They're gone now," I told her softly.

 

"Thanks!" the girl said with a bright smile. She executed a clumsy bow. "My name's Yugito."

 

"I'm Kristy. ...Why were those men chasing you, Yugito-chan?"

 

Yugito's shoulders seemed to droop. "No one likes me much here," she said evasively in a quiet voice.

 

I squatted down so that I could see Yugito eye to eye. I didn't understand how anyone could hate a child, but it wasn't my place to ask. Instead I gave Yugito a grin.

 

"Well, I like you, Yugito-chan," I told her. "You're a very sweet girl."

 

Yugito gave me an almost blinding smile. "I'm gonna be a kunoichi(3) soon though!" she told me happily while bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "I'm still just in the Academy right now, but I'll be a Genin(4) in a few years!"

 

I chuckled lightly. "Well good luck then," I said. "I'm sure that you'll make a fantastic kunoichi."

 

I reached out to touch her shoulder, but the second that I made contact with her there was a sudden spark of energy between us. Breathing sharply in surprise, I drew back my hand while shaking it.

 

"Damn, static shocks," I muttered with a sigh. It had most likely been caused by the left over youki running through my system. I hoped the girl didn't think much of it...

 

I heard a quiet cough behind me and when I looked back I found Itachi standing there, watching us with a raised eyebrow. I straightened myself up into a standing position while grinning at him.

 

"Itachi-kun," I greeted happily. "Done already? This," I gestured to the young girl before me, "Is Yugito. Yugito-chan, this is Itachi, my friend."

 

While Yugito smiled, Itachi only grunted in reply, looking as stoic as always. "Ready to go?" he asked.

 

"Yes," I sighed. "Sorry, Yugito-chan, but we're going to have to leave now. It was wonderful meeting you though."

 

Yugito just smiled, surprisingly not looking at all sad. "See you later, Nee-san!" she called while turning around and running off. I couldn't help but chuckle in response; that was the second time in one day that I'd been called that.

 

"What was that about?" Itachi asked me after a minute of silence.

 

"Just helping out a new friend," I told him while tilting my head and smiling.

 

Itachi rolled his eyes. "And you say that you're the one trying to avoid bringing attention to us..."

 

"Oi!" I protested. "It was just a little girl! And I doubt that I'll ever see her again anyway." When Itachi said nothing I let out a sigh. "Look, if you're really so worried, we'll leave Hidden Cloud right now; we should be able to make it back to the Valley by nightfall if I run."

 

"Can't you just use your shadows to transport us?" Itachi asked with one raised eyebrow. "That'd be faster."

 

"It would, but where's the fun in that?"

 

Itachi let out a sigh of his own, though his was exasperated. The two of us continued to walk back through the Village in silence until something suddenly occurred to me.

 

"Hey, Itachi-kun," I began, "Yugito, the little girl, mentioned something about an Academy that she was attending...Do you know anything about that?"

 

"Sure. All Hidden Villages have Academies that you have to graduate from in order to become an official shinobi. Once you do you're instated as a Genin."

 

"And Genin is the lowest shinobi ranking, right?"

 

"Yeah. The other two are Chuunin and Jounin(5). ANBU, as you'll remember, is a separate organization that answers only to their Kage--the leader of their Village. For example, the leader of the Leaf Village is the Hokage and Cloud Village's Kage is called the Raikage(6)."

 

"I get it," I replied while tapping my chin contemplatively. "ANBU is very similar to the special ops of the world I come from. And they're probably somewhat outside the law like them too."

 

Itachi and I lapsed back into silence as we came to the gates of the Village. The two shinobi guards there--Chuunin, Itachi told me, recognizable by the green, pocketed vets that they wore--quickly checked our traveling passes and let us by. We had no trouble at all because both Itachi and I were under illusions; him a Henge Jutsu (Transformation Technique)(7), and me under a "psychic veil" as I'd taken to calling it.

 

As we walked away form the Village I resisted the urge to immediately break out into a run. We needed to be farther away first in order to avoid suspicion. Before long however the urge to run was long forgotten in the face of another problem: we were being tailed by someone. A quick glance to the side revealed that Itachi probably sensed the presence as well, if his tensed shoulders were anything to go by.

 

I wasted no time in activating the mental link that I had long since set up in Itachi's mind. 'Just keep walking,' I told him telepathically. 'I'll take care of this.' Itachi's eyes flickered to me for the barest of a moment, letting me know that he'd heard.

 

Assured that Itachi knew that I had a plan, I quickly used my psychic energy to weave two more illusions around myself. Instantaneously I disappeared from view while a walking copy of myself--kind of like hologram--took my place. I'd gotten the idea for that from the Bunshin no jutsu, which had basically the same effect, that Itachi had shown me once. With everything in place I faded into the shadows and reappeared near our stalker.

 

Honestly, I'd expected the person stalking us to be a shinobi. Or at least an adult. But this...?

 

'Yugito?!'

 

I gaped at the little blonde girl as she passed by me unaware. What the hell was she doing here?! As I came out of my shock however, I noticed something strange: she didn't seem to be actually stalking us. Rather it was as though she was simply struggling to catch up to us.

 

With a raised eyebrow and curiosity eating away at my mind, I decided that the best course of action would be to confront Yugito. She was just a little girl after all.

 

The moment I let my illusion fall while standing a few feet in front of Yugito, she let out a gasp. This was not followed be fear or guilt however, but rather by a blinding smile that took over her face.

 

"Nee-chan!" she exclaimed while bouncing up and down in excitement. "There you are!"

 

"Here indeed," I murmured quietly. I let out a sigh and then crouched down so that I was on Yugito's level. "Yugito-chan, what're you doing out here? Why are you following us?"

 

"She told me to," the child replied simply. "She said that you'd be able to help.

 

My brow furrowed in confusion. "She?" I enquired warily.

 

"Yes. She wants to talk to you," Yugito said, and I jumped in surprise as two voices--one Yugito's and the other an older, deeper, feminine one--came from her mouth.