For those who have already been reading the ideas section thread where this has been born, there's no need for words, I guess. For those who see this for the first time, it's basically something that came to my mind and that gave birth to this thread and subsequently this story. Even if it's not a real crossover, the plot being completely original, it features crossover characters... Well, you'll see what I mean. Enjoy!
Prologue
ôCalm down, puppyà Calm downàö Naruto was quite in a predicament, follow up of a rather unfortunate and boring day, till that moment, of course.
The boring day started when Kakashi told them that, even though they had solved a B ranked mission, once they were back in the village it was still going to be D-missions most of the time. So, bored Naruto.
The mission that day was cleaning the Inuzuka family clinic, and after a round of rock-paper-scissors, Naruto had found himself with the short end of stick, alias the kennel. So, unlucky Naruto.
Even more unlucky was that it seemed someone had forgot to tell the dogs that he was going to come and clean, or maybe they just didnÆt care. Point was, Naruto had entered the kennel and found himself face to face with a pack of angry-looking dogs, the biggest and probably older of which was glaring him down while baring his teeth. Naruto knew he was no Onizuka, but even he knew that didnÆt mean anything good. ôEhmà IÆm the cleaning boy?ö
<ôYou wretched beast of the forest den! You shall not defy our sacred grounds with your presence no longer!ö> Of course, all that Naruto got was a series of angry barks, but even if he could have understood what the ninja dog said, he couldnÆt have understood that they had basically laid an ambush on him ever since they had smelled fox on him.
It hardly seemed fair. Jinchuuriki got all kind of cool physical modifications from their bijuu. Kirabi can spit ink from his mouth because of his bull-octopus demon. All Naruto got was whiskers, and poor Gaara, but maybe it was because of the sealing. Returning in topic, because of the fox, Naruto smelled of fox. Evil fox.
But even if he could have understood the dog and the motivation behind their ambush, his whole being was focused on the task of opening again the door behind his back and get out of there as fast as he could.
<ôTogether, friends!ö> Too slow, though. A scream died in his mouth as the dogs jumped in the air all together, and then suddenly began to rotate on themselves. Someone who had fought an Inuzuka before could have feared one of their spiralling techniquesà <ôDinamic Marking!ö>
They would have been oh so wrong. ôOH, GOD! MY EYES! THEY BURN!ö
--
ôI canÆt see right now, but I can still hear you.ö Sakura wished she had a camera, since Sasuke laughing was something so rare that it probably happened once a year. Well, it was not exactly laughing, but it was hard to miss how he was biting his lower lip and how he was resting one hand on his stomach, squeezing it as to try to make something stay there, and each now and then a very low chuckle escaped his lips.
ôSasuke, itÆs not nice to laugh at your team-mate.ö Kakashi said while putting his book back in his pouch, while sighing heavily. He should have known better, being the teacher and someone with a pretty good smell himself. He suddenly heard a nurse walking in. ôSoà How is he?ö
ôUsually, it would be pretty bad. The Inuzuka dogsÆà Secretionsàö
ôSASUKE, IÆM WARNING YOU!ö
ôAre among the most acidic substances known in the Fire Country. Something like this has already happened a couple of times, and nothing short of a surgery and transplant could remedy to the damage.ö Naruto groaned and shivered. Just his luck. ôHowever, in this boyÆs case, thanks to his particularà Metabolism, the wounds have already begun to heal.ö
ôI seeàö Kakashi nodded, happy that, for a change, he had met someone who was at least neutral about NarutoÆs condition. ôSo, the prognosis?ö
ôI say three days and he will be able to remove the bandages. Three more before his sight returns to normal and he starts seeing more than blurs.ö The nurse replied, writing something on NarutoÆs clinic file and placing it back on his bed, as the blonde in question pulled a huge sigh of relief.
ôAnd what about the smell?ö
ôALRIGHT! SIGHT OR NOT, IÆM KICKING YOUR ASS!ö
--
Of course, it ended the other way around. Three more nurses had to be called to restrain him to his bed, and much to Naruto chagrin, they all had to wear masks. He did smell, after all. The same day he was guided by the nurses to the bath. He had smelled he didnÆt know how many different shampoos and soaps, all for the sake of making him smell differently again. When he came out of the bathroom, he couldnÆt tell what he smelled of anymore.
ôStupid dogs and stupid hospital foodàö On the third day, Naruto found himself sick of hospital food and of his staying in bed all day. At least he could see something again, his bandages removed.
ôGeezà I always knew that Inuzuka dogs were troublesome to deal with, but to be this much of a pain in theà Eyesàö Of course, there were some curious side effects. Seeing everything as a blur, he had to focus on shapes more than everything else, and he finally noticed that indeed, ShikamaruÆs head was shaped as a pineapple. ôSo, how many days till you can check out of here?ö
ôThree more. ThatÆs the amount till my eyes return to normal.ö Naruto sighed, letting his head fall on the cushion just behind him. ôIÆve been lucky, I guessà Though, you coming to visit me? I didnÆt see that one coming.ö
ôI had to come to deliver a few components from medicines that my clan makes out of their deerÆs horns, and it would have been too troublesome if my mother heard that I didnÆt visit you while I had a chance.ö Somehow, that didnÆt make Naruto feel exactly warm-hearted, but it was enough.
ôWell, thanksà I guessà Uh?ö Then, NarutoÆs eyes moved to something else, somethingà Above ShikamaruÆs head. It was a really big shape, almost completely dark, but with other patches of colour in-between. It was so weird, though, that he couldnÆt tell what it was. He went with a guess. ôShikamaru, are you carrying an open umbrella or something?ö
ôà What?ö Shikamaru said, since his hands were free of anything but air.
ôNo, seriously. I see this weird shape over your head. What is it?ö Shikamaru stared at him strangely, not that he could see it.
ôà I think your eyesight will take longer to recover than they think.ö Naruto grunted at that, a bit angry.
ôFine, be that way. All cool and mysterious to the guy with no eyesà Ass.ö Naruto threw off the covers and walked out of the room. ôGoing to the bathroom.ö He walked out in the corridor, opened another door and closed it behind him.
ôà Naruto, thatÆs notàö He couldnÆt hear him anymore, but Shikamaru wanted to say that the room Naruto had just walked in wasnÆt the bathroom. The tag on the door said æMusical recreation room for the deaf and musically ineptÆ. ôà So troublesomeàö
--
ôSoà How many days?ö
ôHis eardrums arenÆt that rupturedà So, four days. One more than before. No big deal.ö
ôI canÆt see you clearly and I canÆt hear you, Sasuke, but I know that youÆre laughing! I KNOW IT! MY REVENGE WILL BE LEGENDARY WHEN I GET OUT OF HERà Owww.ö
ôHe hurt his own ears by shouting?ö
ôNow thatÆs just pathetic, dobeàö
--
ôAhh! I donÆt think IÆve ever been more happy of hearing the clatter of the stoves, Ayame-chan!ö Naruto said, as he focused all his sense on his personal heaven, which earned a hair-ruffling from the female cook of the stand.
ôIt must have been terrible, right, Naruto? All those days without ramen, other than sight and hearingàö Naruto groaned when Ayame started chuckling at his expenses, since she had probably heard from Sasuke just how he did lose sight and hearing. The bastard didnÆt even like ramen, and yet he had gone there with the purpose of spreading the tale around. ôCome on. First bowl is on the house, alright?ö
ôà Rightàö Naruto sighed. Hopefully, the word didnÆt get around much. Sasuke wasnÆt that good at gossip, he went to Ichiraku because he knew that he went there daily, but past that, he wasnÆt probably going to put much effort in his æcrusadeÆ. He just hoped that word didnÆt reach Ino, or he was over. The girl was the biggest gossip of the city. Oh, wellà I just hope Kakashi-sensei comes to us with an exciting mission or something, tomorrow. That would cheer me upà Uh?
Suddenly, NarutoÆs attention was caught by something, or better, someone. A girl, to be more precise. The first thing that caught NarutoÆs attention was what she was doing. She was just standing there in the middle of the restaurant, staring straight at him with a little smile on her face. Then, there was the matter of her clothes, unusual even in a village of ninjas.
She was wearing miko clothing. The shirt was pure white, while the hakama were of a very light red colour, under which she wore the usual sandals over white leggings that went up and disappeared under the hakama. The last touch was the cream coloured ribbon adorning her hair.
Her looks were unusual as well, to him. She seemed to be older than him, if the height was any indication. Short, lavender hair adorned a round face with the biggest pair of blue eyes he had ever seen, bordering on violet, and there was that small blush on her face that shined like a well polished shoeà Well, the last metaphor was bad, but you get the idea.
Naruto blinked and turned to Ayame. ôAyame-nee-chan, you didnÆt tell me you had hired another waitress.ö That earned a look of confusion from the auburn haired girl.
ôWhat are you talking about, Naruto? We didnÆt hire anyone.ö Naruto blinked. He had guessed that, from her clothing, she could have been a waitress whose uniform looked like miko clothes. He was wrong, he guessed.
ôAhà Sorry, itÆs just, that girl over there has really curious clothesàö Naruto said, which earned even more confusion from Ayame, who looked at a mostly empty stand.
ôà Naruto, who are you talking about?ö It was NarutoÆs turn to be confused. He raised his arm and pointed straight at the girl.
ôThat girl right there! SheÆs standing in the middle of the stand!ö Ayame turned in the direction of NarutoÆs arm, but she found nothing but empty air. She was starting to worry.
ôà Naruto, thereÆs no girl standing in the middle of the stand.ö NarutoÆs eyes almost bulged out of his sockets. He turned around, and he saw the girl still standing, staring, and smiling.
ôNee-chan, are you joking? I mean, sheÆs there!ö Naruto pointed with his open hand at the girl, who blinked and suddenly stopped smiling. ôSheÆs standing there, wearing those strange miko clothes, white and red! And that ribbon! And-and-and sheÆs staring at me and all!ö
ôAh?ö The girl tilted her head to the side, staring at Naruto strangely, not fondly as before. Naruto noticed this.
ôNow she talked! She said æAh?Æ!ö Ayame kept on not seeing anything, and she was seriously worrying about NarutoÆs eyes, by now.
ôNarutoà I see nothing. Are you sure your eyes are recovered?ö Ayame said, earning a shocked look from Naruto.
ôWhat?!ö He turned to the girl again. ôHey! Say something! Why canÆt she see you?!ö
ôAhà Ahhhhhhhhhh!ö The girlÆs face suddenly became a mask of horror and shock, and she brought her hands to her face in reaction, and then ran out of the stand leaving behind a cloud of dust. Ayame couldnÆt see that either.
ôà And now she ran away?! What the hell?!ö
ôà Naruto, I really think you need to get your eyes checked again.ö
--
ôGeez, he just had to go and get hurt on the day before the weekly cleaningà That reckless idiotàö Naruto wasnÆt exactly a big cleaner, not that he had much time to do so anymore, being a ninja and all. Not that he was any good at it either. The point is, once a week he spent a few hours cleaning and trashing everything that had piled up during the week. ôI just canÆt stand disorderà Good thing he never seems to notice that someone once in a while does the cleaning for him.ö
A last brush of the broom she was using and the last speck of dust from the floor disappeared out of the window, and the girl sighed deeply, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her right sleeve. ôDoes he have a selective attention span or something?ö
ôOnee-chan! Onee-chan! Oneeeeeeeeeeeee-chan!ö She turned around slowly in the direction of the voice, only to find a familiar violet haired shape walking through the front door. Through, as in, she passed through it like it was an illusion, or more like a ghost would do.
ôBunshinà WhatÆs wrong?ö Her sister looked panicked, but that wasnÆt exactly news. She got scared and panicked over the littlest things.
ôOnee-chan! ItÆs onii-chan! Onii-chan!ö That made her worry a little.
ôNaruto? What did he do?ö That made her worry a little, since the blonde was prone to reckless behaviour and selfharm, even if the last two episodes were pretty ridiculous. She groaned and placed a hand on her face. ôWhat happened this time? Did he burn his nose while trying some flambÚ ramen recipe?ö
ôNo! Onii-chan didà He-He saw me, onee-chan!ö She almost dropped the broom. Not that it would have mattered, since it would have just disappeared in coloured smoke before hitting the ground.
ôà Are you sure?ö Her sister nodded time and time again, in a hurry.
ôYes! H-He tried to tell Ayame-san about me, but she couldnÆt see me but he could! He said that there was a girl wearing strange miko clothes and was pointing at me andàö She suddenly stopped and brought a finger to her mouth. ôAuuà Nee-chan, do we look weird?ö
ôDONÆT GET SIDETRACKED!ö She loved her sister a lot. She really did, but the clutz part of her personality was sometimes just too much. ôAre you sure he saw you?! Really really sure?!ö
ôAh! R-Right! Yes, onii-chan saw me!ö The girl said, blushing in embarrassment. Her sister stared at her in the face looking for any sign of doubt, but she found none and so just sighed.
ôà How did this happen? This is badà Really badàö The broom disappeared, allowing the older sister to assume a pensive pose, her long twin ponytails swinging around following her bodyÆs motion.
ôM-Maybeà It has something to do with onii-chanÆs recent incidents? He was also able to hear me, I thinkàö That made her snap her fingers.
ôOf course! ItÆs because of the Kyuubi! It was its chakra that sped up NarutoÆs healing! So, it could have affected his eyes and his ears!ö She said, her eyes widening before she frowned again, rubbing her head in frustration. ôAhhh! This is a mess! Just what were the chances of that idiot injuring both his eyes and ears in the same week?!ö
ôI-I donÆt think itÆs onii-chanÆs faultàö The younger sister said, bringing a half-clenched hand in front of her mouth. ôI mean, itÆs because of the Inuzuka dogsàö
ôJeezà I really need to have a talk with the Inuzukaàö Suddenly, the familiar sound of a door-knob being turned echoed in the air, and the two sisters almost jumped out of their skins. ôAhhh! ItÆs him! WeÆve got to hide!ö
ôY-Yes!ö The violet haired girl said, only for her mouth to be covered by her older sister as she began to drag her away.
ôAnd keep your voice down too! He can hear us too, now, right?!ö With that, they disappeared away inside his bedroomÆs closet, just as the door opened.
ôà This last week is better left forgotten.ö Naruto said as he slammed the door behind him, a frown on his face. He slowly removed his forehead protector and put on the table, as he slumped on his chair a heavy sigh dispelling the frown. ôFirst the incident, then another incident, and now Ayame-chan thinks IÆm crazy.ö After the æghost girlÆ accident, Ayame had made Naruto promise to go and get his eyes checked, otherwise, no more ramen for him.
ôBut seriously. Were they pulling a joke on me or what?! IÆm sure of what I saw! There was a girl in the middle of the ramen stand!ö Naruto said, scratching his head in confusion. ôNahà She wouldnÆt pull such a mean joke on meà Ah. I got it! Maybe she was using some kind of genjutsu! We are in a village full of ninjas, after all!ö
--
ôAuuuà WeÆre not genjutsuàö
ôShhhhh! Bunshiiiiin!ö
--
ôHmmà But why would a girl follow me around?ö Naruto said, as somewhere in Konoha a dark haired girl sneezed. He rubbed his chin in thought. She didnÆt seem to intend any harm, judging from her facial expression. She was staring, but smiling, like she was happy about something. Happy about what, she didnÆt know. ôà Maybe she was stalking me? Oh, god! Creepy! Seriously creepy!ö
--
ôAuuuà Onii-chan is being meanàö
ôOh, for the love ofàö
--
ôDamn! I knew that these things happened to Sasuke, butàö Naruto shivered. He really hoped that there wasnÆt anyone in the village actually observing him and knowing every detail of his private life, writing everything down in a diary. It seemed that for that day, the Hyuuga householdÆs peace would keep on being broken by loud sneezes. ôOh, well. At least she was cute, I guessàö A loud æthumpÆ echoed in his home, coming from his bedroom. He slowly turned in that direction, sweat starting to trail down his forehead. ôà Creepy stalker girl?ö
Silence. He got back on his feet and got a kunai out of his pouch. He then walked to his bedroom, weapon in hand, and opened the closet. Inside, he found the girl from before, and another one who looked very similar. Same miko clothes, but the girl itself was slightly different. First, her hair were much longer and light purple instead of lavender. A slight difference, but it was there. It was tied in two pony-tails falling behind on her back, and her eyes, while as big and of the same colour, had a much sharper cut to them. ôà What are you doing in my closet?ö
ôà Just shut up and help me get her on the bed. She passed out.ö The long haired girl said, and Naruto noticed that the æcreepy stalker girlÆ had indeed passed out. He pondered the various options, and like usual, the nice guy part of his personality won. He helped the girl put the other one on his bed in a comfortable position. ôGeezà SheÆs the only one who could pass out like thisà I mean, weÆre incorporeal, for OmoikaneÆs sake!ö
ôAlright. Start talking. All I know is that youÆre shintoist, by now.ö Naruto said, returning to the most pressing matter. ôWho are you two? And why was youràö The blonde ninja noticed that the two girls other than being both taller than him, were very very similar. ôSister?ö
ôWeÆre fraternal twins. And donÆt bother trying to remember what fraternal means. I know you forgot.ö That made a vein on NarutoÆs forehead twitch. ôOh, well. WhatÆs done is done, I guess.ö The long haired girl said, adjusting her hair with one hand, putting one of her ponytails back into place, moving it off her shoulder, before she joined her hands together in front of her. ôMy name is Kage, and sheÆs Bunshin.ö
ôà Kage and Bunshin?ö Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. ôThey named you after a technique?ö
ôà Not exactly, Naruto.ö The girl named æKageÆ held her head low. She didnÆt hesitate much, since there werenÆt many ways to tell him something like that. Better to be blunt. ôWe are the technique.ö
ôà I didnÆt get it.ö Naruto replied, truthfully. He honestly didnÆt find any sense in the sentence he had just heard from the girl standing in front of him, who sighed in annoyance, suspecting that something like that would happen.
ôIÆm going to explain everything in detail, but for now, just know thatà Well, we are the technique Kage Bunshin, Naruto. Itsà Spirit, we could say.ö Massive blinking from Naruto, while the girl remained impervious and deadly serious. ôMe and Bunshinà WeÆre Jutsu-Kami.ö
Jutsu-tan!
Chapter1: ThatÆs my Seiyuu!
ôà Aaaaaaalright. IÆll be right backàö Naruto started to back away slowly from the purple haired girl, much to her annoyance. ôDonÆt worry when the nice men come holding a long sleeved shirt, alright? TheyÆre going to take you to a happy placeàö
ôà Narutoàö The girl sighed, holding the bridge of her nose.
ôStaaaay right there.ö I donÆt know what theyÆre on, but if they can use genjutsu that well, theyÆre strong. He turned around and made a run for the door to get away from those crazy girls who stalked him and thought of being spirits, divinities or something like that, just to stop dead in his tracks as the girl reappeared in front of the door out of thin air, her arms crossed and a pissed off expression on her face. ôHOLY SHIT!ö
ôDidnÆt they ever teach you that itÆs rude to turn your back on people whoÆre talking to you?ö The girl said, glaring him down, which made him shiver and fall on his back, as he began to crawl till he hit the table with his back.
ôH-H-How did youà?!ö It wasnÆt shunshin! There was no cloud of smoke! What. The. Hell! Naruto was sweating as the long haired girl approached him more and more, a step at a time, and it looked like her feet had no weight, like they hardly touched the ground.
ôI was going to tell you, but you just to go and be stupid again. Is this the way of treating a girl? And not just any girl, after all that me and Bunshin have done for you.ö Kage said, kneeling down in front of him, and Naruto regained enough sanity to speak his mind.
ôAfter allà Alright, honestly, what do you mean?! IÆm pretty sure IÆve never met you before! And yet, your sister was following me around and you know my name and where I live!ö Naruto said, raising his voice, to which Kage answered with a nod.
ôGood questions. IÆm going to answer them all, but you have to promise to not run away and try to stay focused during the whole discussion. Understood?ö Naruto stared at her strangely, but nodded nonetheless, since he wanted to at least get off the floor. ôGood. Now, stand up.ö
ôA-Alrightàö Naruto slowly got back in a standing position and shakily pulled out a chair, on which he sat. The girl mimicked him, positioning the chair so that they were sitting right in front of each other. ôà So?ö
ôSo, I suppose you have questions. Start asking.ö Naruto groaned, feeling uneasy. He had hoped the girl would have started talking and explain everything to him, like telling a story. Instead, he now had to think. He squinted his eyes, assuming his usual pensive pose.
ôHmmà Well, I suppose that the first thing to ask isà You said you areà Kami? Like, gods?ö The girl rolled her eyes, since she was expecting that misconception.
ôYou donÆt know much about Shinto, right? Of course you donÆt.ö Naruto would have given a retort of some kind, but seeing how he was still a bit shaken by the ghost-like trick, he chose silence. ôWell, we could in good depth with the explanations, but IÆll try to keep it short. You wouldnÆt be able to remember everything, after all.ö
ôG-Good.ö He didnÆt retort to that either because she was right, other than still frightening him.
ôBasically, Shinto belief depicts Kami as spirits. Be they the spirits of natural forces, higher spirits like gods, guardian spirits of places or objects, they all are depicted as Kami, usually. Following me so far?ö Naruto nodded. That was easy to understand, but the most pressing question wasà ôYou must be asking yourself how can techniques have a æspiritÆ, right now, right?ö
ôEhmà Right.ö Naruto scratched the back of his head, starting to think that the girl might have mental powers as well.
ôThen, I ask you this. WhatÆs the basic of all techniques, except for Taijutsu?ö Kage asked Naruto, who was surprised since he thought he would be the one doing all the questions.
ôWellà Handseals and molding chakra, right?ö Kage nodded in reply.
ôAnd whatÆs chakra?ö She cut in, and Naruto had to make a real effort to remember SakuraÆs explanation.
ôChakra isà Well, itÆs made by putting togetherà Physical energy and p-psychic energy? Did I get that right?ö The purple-haired girl nodded in reply.
ôExactly. Basically, chakra is a humanÆs life-force. A dose of fuel that you can enlarge with training and that replenishes itself daily, and that humans use for their daily activities. When I say itÆs a humanÆs life-force, IÆm not joking. An over-usage of chakra can be fatal.ö That made Naruto blank, remembering the times he and Sasuke had exhausted themselves while trying tree-climbing. ôThe body usually has a natural built in fail-safe that just stops producing chakra when the user is in danger, butà It doesnÆt always work.ö
ôEhmà Thanks for making me notice how I risked death a couple of times?ö Naruto said a bit dumbly, to which Kage replied with an admonishing stare that made him flinch.
ôYouÆre welcomeà And itÆs not a couple of times only.ö The girl sighed, hard. ôI swear, I lost count of the times I wanted to hit you for being stupidàö She shook her head to dismiss the subject. ôWeÆre sidetracking. Returning to the matter of Kami, basically everything in nature has a Kami. Does it seem so strange that Jutsu, that are born from the life force of ninja, could develop Kami of their own? Even if they are abstract concepts, their effects are quite real, right?ö
ôIà Kind of get itàö Naruto kept on nodding, taking everything in like she was flowing out water and he was a square yellow sponge. That would make Sasuke Patrick, I guess. ôSoà YouÆre the Kami of the Kage Bunshin technique?ö Kage nodded in reply. ôWell, the other questionà Why was your sister following me around and why were you in my home?ö
ôWellàö On that answer, Kage had to think carefully, since what she was about to tell him might as well go to his head. ôLong story short, usually Jutsu-Kami follow around the best user of the technique they æprotectÆ.ö
ôTheàö The forming of that large grin on NarutoÆs face signalled to Kage that she had seen right. She needed to stop him immediately.
ôI said usually! YouÆre not the best user of this technique! By far!ö He froze on the spot, the grin dyeing a gruesome death under KageÆs teacher-like glare. ôYou donÆt know anything about our technique apart that it lets you multiply in real copies! You donÆt know its true purpose nor all its advantages!ö
ôà But I can multiply lotsàö Naruto said, turning his head to the side with a pout. Kage groaned, placing a hand on her forehead.
ôà ThatÆs the reason weÆve been following you around, actually. You may not be the best user of Kage Bunshin, butà YouÆre peculiar, to say the least.ö That made Naruto lighten up a little, seeing that the purple haired Kami wasnÆt admonishing him with her eyes anymore. ôYouÆre the first person who has ever managed to make that many copies with our Jutsu. Most people donÆt bother because this technique wasnÆt originally invented for beating the living tar out of your enemies, and thereÆs the drawback of splitting chakra into equal parts.ö
ôEh? It isnÆt for that?!ö Kage groaned again.
ôAs I said, you know nothing about the techniqueÆs true purpose nor all its advantages. YouÆre the only one who can use it like that.ö She sighed heavily. Naruto scratched the side of his head, trying to think about any other purpose for a technique that basically made him an one man army, and found none. ôDonÆt bother. Just ask someone next time you can.ö
ôAlrightà I guessàö Then, something came to NarutoÆs mind. He snapped his fingers to signal it. ôAh, wait! Do all techniques get a Kami?!ö
ôThatÆs a surprisingly intelligent question, I must sayà Yes. All techniques can develop a Kami of their own, given enough time and usageà The process is complicated, so I will not explain it to you.ö Kage said, and then raised an eyebrow when NarutoÆs grin surfaced again, not understanding the reason.
ôThen, did my Oiroke develop a Kami tà OW!ö Naruto kneeled over as Kage punched him in the gut at his question.
ôDonÆt mention that perverted technique! Bunshin fainted the first time you pulled it off! And how dare you degrade our technique by combining it withà Withàö The KamiÆs hands made some strange squeezing motion, as if they wanted to strangle something, the something probably being NarutoÆs neck. ôGeez! The answer is no! You donÆt get a Kami for your stupid technique because itÆs just a ævariationÆ of Henge! And that techniqueÆs Kami is bad enough, believe me!ö
--
ôAt-choo!ö A small head sneezed and got thrown forward, splashing water all around because of the sudden movement. ôSniffà It does happen in real life, thenà Or maybe IÆve just been in the bath for too longàö She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, but then focused on her very long hair again, smiling with her eyes closed. ôTimoteeeeeeeeeeeeià Timoteeeeeeeeeeeeià Timoteeeeeeeeeeeeeiàö
Prologue
ôCalm down, puppyà Calm downàö Naruto was quite in a predicament, follow up of a rather unfortunate and boring day, till that moment, of course.
The boring day started when Kakashi told them that, even though they had solved a B ranked mission, once they were back in the village it was still going to be D-missions most of the time. So, bored Naruto.
The mission that day was cleaning the Inuzuka family clinic, and after a round of rock-paper-scissors, Naruto had found himself with the short end of stick, alias the kennel. So, unlucky Naruto.
Even more unlucky was that it seemed someone had forgot to tell the dogs that he was going to come and clean, or maybe they just didnÆt care. Point was, Naruto had entered the kennel and found himself face to face with a pack of angry-looking dogs, the biggest and probably older of which was glaring him down while baring his teeth. Naruto knew he was no Onizuka, but even he knew that didnÆt mean anything good. ôEhmà IÆm the cleaning boy?ö
<ôYou wretched beast of the forest den! You shall not defy our sacred grounds with your presence no longer!ö> Of course, all that Naruto got was a series of angry barks, but even if he could have understood what the ninja dog said, he couldnÆt have understood that they had basically laid an ambush on him ever since they had smelled fox on him.
It hardly seemed fair. Jinchuuriki got all kind of cool physical modifications from their bijuu. Kirabi can spit ink from his mouth because of his bull-octopus demon. All Naruto got was whiskers, and poor Gaara, but maybe it was because of the sealing. Returning in topic, because of the fox, Naruto smelled of fox. Evil fox.
But even if he could have understood the dog and the motivation behind their ambush, his whole being was focused on the task of opening again the door behind his back and get out of there as fast as he could.
<ôTogether, friends!ö> Too slow, though. A scream died in his mouth as the dogs jumped in the air all together, and then suddenly began to rotate on themselves. Someone who had fought an Inuzuka before could have feared one of their spiralling techniquesà <ôDinamic Marking!ö>
They would have been oh so wrong. ôOH, GOD! MY EYES! THEY BURN!ö
--
ôI canÆt see right now, but I can still hear you.ö Sakura wished she had a camera, since Sasuke laughing was something so rare that it probably happened once a year. Well, it was not exactly laughing, but it was hard to miss how he was biting his lower lip and how he was resting one hand on his stomach, squeezing it as to try to make something stay there, and each now and then a very low chuckle escaped his lips.
ôSasuke, itÆs not nice to laugh at your team-mate.ö Kakashi said while putting his book back in his pouch, while sighing heavily. He should have known better, being the teacher and someone with a pretty good smell himself. He suddenly heard a nurse walking in. ôSoà How is he?ö
ôUsually, it would be pretty bad. The Inuzuka dogsÆà Secretionsàö
ôSASUKE, IÆM WARNING YOU!ö
ôAre among the most acidic substances known in the Fire Country. Something like this has already happened a couple of times, and nothing short of a surgery and transplant could remedy to the damage.ö Naruto groaned and shivered. Just his luck. ôHowever, in this boyÆs case, thanks to his particularà Metabolism, the wounds have already begun to heal.ö
ôI seeàö Kakashi nodded, happy that, for a change, he had met someone who was at least neutral about NarutoÆs condition. ôSo, the prognosis?ö
ôI say three days and he will be able to remove the bandages. Three more before his sight returns to normal and he starts seeing more than blurs.ö The nurse replied, writing something on NarutoÆs clinic file and placing it back on his bed, as the blonde in question pulled a huge sigh of relief.
ôAnd what about the smell?ö
ôALRIGHT! SIGHT OR NOT, IÆM KICKING YOUR ASS!ö
--
Of course, it ended the other way around. Three more nurses had to be called to restrain him to his bed, and much to Naruto chagrin, they all had to wear masks. He did smell, after all. The same day he was guided by the nurses to the bath. He had smelled he didnÆt know how many different shampoos and soaps, all for the sake of making him smell differently again. When he came out of the bathroom, he couldnÆt tell what he smelled of anymore.
ôStupid dogs and stupid hospital foodàö On the third day, Naruto found himself sick of hospital food and of his staying in bed all day. At least he could see something again, his bandages removed.
ôGeezà I always knew that Inuzuka dogs were troublesome to deal with, but to be this much of a pain in theà Eyesàö Of course, there were some curious side effects. Seeing everything as a blur, he had to focus on shapes more than everything else, and he finally noticed that indeed, ShikamaruÆs head was shaped as a pineapple. ôSo, how many days till you can check out of here?ö
ôThree more. ThatÆs the amount till my eyes return to normal.ö Naruto sighed, letting his head fall on the cushion just behind him. ôIÆve been lucky, I guessà Though, you coming to visit me? I didnÆt see that one coming.ö
ôI had to come to deliver a few components from medicines that my clan makes out of their deerÆs horns, and it would have been too troublesome if my mother heard that I didnÆt visit you while I had a chance.ö Somehow, that didnÆt make Naruto feel exactly warm-hearted, but it was enough.
ôWell, thanksà I guessà Uh?ö Then, NarutoÆs eyes moved to something else, somethingà Above ShikamaruÆs head. It was a really big shape, almost completely dark, but with other patches of colour in-between. It was so weird, though, that he couldnÆt tell what it was. He went with a guess. ôShikamaru, are you carrying an open umbrella or something?ö
ôà What?ö Shikamaru said, since his hands were free of anything but air.
ôNo, seriously. I see this weird shape over your head. What is it?ö Shikamaru stared at him strangely, not that he could see it.
ôà I think your eyesight will take longer to recover than they think.ö Naruto grunted at that, a bit angry.
ôFine, be that way. All cool and mysterious to the guy with no eyesà Ass.ö Naruto threw off the covers and walked out of the room. ôGoing to the bathroom.ö He walked out in the corridor, opened another door and closed it behind him.
ôà Naruto, thatÆs notàö He couldnÆt hear him anymore, but Shikamaru wanted to say that the room Naruto had just walked in wasnÆt the bathroom. The tag on the door said æMusical recreation room for the deaf and musically ineptÆ. ôà So troublesomeàö
--
ôSoà How many days?ö
ôHis eardrums arenÆt that rupturedà So, four days. One more than before. No big deal.ö
ôI canÆt see you clearly and I canÆt hear you, Sasuke, but I know that youÆre laughing! I KNOW IT! MY REVENGE WILL BE LEGENDARY WHEN I GET OUT OF HERà Owww.ö
ôHe hurt his own ears by shouting?ö
ôNow thatÆs just pathetic, dobeàö
--
ôAhh! I donÆt think IÆve ever been more happy of hearing the clatter of the stoves, Ayame-chan!ö Naruto said, as he focused all his sense on his personal heaven, which earned a hair-ruffling from the female cook of the stand.
ôIt must have been terrible, right, Naruto? All those days without ramen, other than sight and hearingàö Naruto groaned when Ayame started chuckling at his expenses, since she had probably heard from Sasuke just how he did lose sight and hearing. The bastard didnÆt even like ramen, and yet he had gone there with the purpose of spreading the tale around. ôCome on. First bowl is on the house, alright?ö
ôà Rightàö Naruto sighed. Hopefully, the word didnÆt get around much. Sasuke wasnÆt that good at gossip, he went to Ichiraku because he knew that he went there daily, but past that, he wasnÆt probably going to put much effort in his æcrusadeÆ. He just hoped that word didnÆt reach Ino, or he was over. The girl was the biggest gossip of the city. Oh, wellà I just hope Kakashi-sensei comes to us with an exciting mission or something, tomorrow. That would cheer me upà Uh?
Suddenly, NarutoÆs attention was caught by something, or better, someone. A girl, to be more precise. The first thing that caught NarutoÆs attention was what she was doing. She was just standing there in the middle of the restaurant, staring straight at him with a little smile on her face. Then, there was the matter of her clothes, unusual even in a village of ninjas.
She was wearing miko clothing. The shirt was pure white, while the hakama were of a very light red colour, under which she wore the usual sandals over white leggings that went up and disappeared under the hakama. The last touch was the cream coloured ribbon adorning her hair.
Her looks were unusual as well, to him. She seemed to be older than him, if the height was any indication. Short, lavender hair adorned a round face with the biggest pair of blue eyes he had ever seen, bordering on violet, and there was that small blush on her face that shined like a well polished shoeà Well, the last metaphor was bad, but you get the idea.
Naruto blinked and turned to Ayame. ôAyame-nee-chan, you didnÆt tell me you had hired another waitress.ö That earned a look of confusion from the auburn haired girl.
ôWhat are you talking about, Naruto? We didnÆt hire anyone.ö Naruto blinked. He had guessed that, from her clothing, she could have been a waitress whose uniform looked like miko clothes. He was wrong, he guessed.
ôAhà Sorry, itÆs just, that girl over there has really curious clothesàö Naruto said, which earned even more confusion from Ayame, who looked at a mostly empty stand.
ôà Naruto, who are you talking about?ö It was NarutoÆs turn to be confused. He raised his arm and pointed straight at the girl.
ôThat girl right there! SheÆs standing in the middle of the stand!ö Ayame turned in the direction of NarutoÆs arm, but she found nothing but empty air. She was starting to worry.
ôà Naruto, thereÆs no girl standing in the middle of the stand.ö NarutoÆs eyes almost bulged out of his sockets. He turned around, and he saw the girl still standing, staring, and smiling.
ôNee-chan, are you joking? I mean, sheÆs there!ö Naruto pointed with his open hand at the girl, who blinked and suddenly stopped smiling. ôSheÆs standing there, wearing those strange miko clothes, white and red! And that ribbon! And-and-and sheÆs staring at me and all!ö
ôAh?ö The girl tilted her head to the side, staring at Naruto strangely, not fondly as before. Naruto noticed this.
ôNow she talked! She said æAh?Æ!ö Ayame kept on not seeing anything, and she was seriously worrying about NarutoÆs eyes, by now.
ôNarutoà I see nothing. Are you sure your eyes are recovered?ö Ayame said, earning a shocked look from Naruto.
ôWhat?!ö He turned to the girl again. ôHey! Say something! Why canÆt she see you?!ö
ôAhà Ahhhhhhhhhh!ö The girlÆs face suddenly became a mask of horror and shock, and she brought her hands to her face in reaction, and then ran out of the stand leaving behind a cloud of dust. Ayame couldnÆt see that either.
ôà And now she ran away?! What the hell?!ö
ôà Naruto, I really think you need to get your eyes checked again.ö
--
ôGeez, he just had to go and get hurt on the day before the weekly cleaningà That reckless idiotàö Naruto wasnÆt exactly a big cleaner, not that he had much time to do so anymore, being a ninja and all. Not that he was any good at it either. The point is, once a week he spent a few hours cleaning and trashing everything that had piled up during the week. ôI just canÆt stand disorderà Good thing he never seems to notice that someone once in a while does the cleaning for him.ö
A last brush of the broom she was using and the last speck of dust from the floor disappeared out of the window, and the girl sighed deeply, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her right sleeve. ôDoes he have a selective attention span or something?ö
ôOnee-chan! Onee-chan! Oneeeeeeeeeeeee-chan!ö She turned around slowly in the direction of the voice, only to find a familiar violet haired shape walking through the front door. Through, as in, she passed through it like it was an illusion, or more like a ghost would do.
ôBunshinà WhatÆs wrong?ö Her sister looked panicked, but that wasnÆt exactly news. She got scared and panicked over the littlest things.
ôOnee-chan! ItÆs onii-chan! Onii-chan!ö That made her worry a little.
ôNaruto? What did he do?ö That made her worry a little, since the blonde was prone to reckless behaviour and selfharm, even if the last two episodes were pretty ridiculous. She groaned and placed a hand on her face. ôWhat happened this time? Did he burn his nose while trying some flambÚ ramen recipe?ö
ôNo! Onii-chan didà He-He saw me, onee-chan!ö She almost dropped the broom. Not that it would have mattered, since it would have just disappeared in coloured smoke before hitting the ground.
ôà Are you sure?ö Her sister nodded time and time again, in a hurry.
ôYes! H-He tried to tell Ayame-san about me, but she couldnÆt see me but he could! He said that there was a girl wearing strange miko clothes and was pointing at me andàö She suddenly stopped and brought a finger to her mouth. ôAuuà Nee-chan, do we look weird?ö
ôDONÆT GET SIDETRACKED!ö She loved her sister a lot. She really did, but the clutz part of her personality was sometimes just too much. ôAre you sure he saw you?! Really really sure?!ö
ôAh! R-Right! Yes, onii-chan saw me!ö The girl said, blushing in embarrassment. Her sister stared at her in the face looking for any sign of doubt, but she found none and so just sighed.
ôà How did this happen? This is badà Really badàö The broom disappeared, allowing the older sister to assume a pensive pose, her long twin ponytails swinging around following her bodyÆs motion.
ôM-Maybeà It has something to do with onii-chanÆs recent incidents? He was also able to hear me, I thinkàö That made her snap her fingers.
ôOf course! ItÆs because of the Kyuubi! It was its chakra that sped up NarutoÆs healing! So, it could have affected his eyes and his ears!ö She said, her eyes widening before she frowned again, rubbing her head in frustration. ôAhhh! This is a mess! Just what were the chances of that idiot injuring both his eyes and ears in the same week?!ö
ôI-I donÆt think itÆs onii-chanÆs faultàö The younger sister said, bringing a half-clenched hand in front of her mouth. ôI mean, itÆs because of the Inuzuka dogsàö
ôJeezà I really need to have a talk with the Inuzukaàö Suddenly, the familiar sound of a door-knob being turned echoed in the air, and the two sisters almost jumped out of their skins. ôAhhh! ItÆs him! WeÆve got to hide!ö
ôY-Yes!ö The violet haired girl said, only for her mouth to be covered by her older sister as she began to drag her away.
ôAnd keep your voice down too! He can hear us too, now, right?!ö With that, they disappeared away inside his bedroomÆs closet, just as the door opened.
ôà This last week is better left forgotten.ö Naruto said as he slammed the door behind him, a frown on his face. He slowly removed his forehead protector and put on the table, as he slumped on his chair a heavy sigh dispelling the frown. ôFirst the incident, then another incident, and now Ayame-chan thinks IÆm crazy.ö After the æghost girlÆ accident, Ayame had made Naruto promise to go and get his eyes checked, otherwise, no more ramen for him.
ôBut seriously. Were they pulling a joke on me or what?! IÆm sure of what I saw! There was a girl in the middle of the ramen stand!ö Naruto said, scratching his head in confusion. ôNahà She wouldnÆt pull such a mean joke on meà Ah. I got it! Maybe she was using some kind of genjutsu! We are in a village full of ninjas, after all!ö
--
ôAuuuà WeÆre not genjutsuàö
ôShhhhh! Bunshiiiiin!ö
--
ôHmmà But why would a girl follow me around?ö Naruto said, as somewhere in Konoha a dark haired girl sneezed. He rubbed his chin in thought. She didnÆt seem to intend any harm, judging from her facial expression. She was staring, but smiling, like she was happy about something. Happy about what, she didnÆt know. ôà Maybe she was stalking me? Oh, god! Creepy! Seriously creepy!ö
--
ôAuuuà Onii-chan is being meanàö
ôOh, for the love ofàö
--
ôDamn! I knew that these things happened to Sasuke, butàö Naruto shivered. He really hoped that there wasnÆt anyone in the village actually observing him and knowing every detail of his private life, writing everything down in a diary. It seemed that for that day, the Hyuuga householdÆs peace would keep on being broken by loud sneezes. ôOh, well. At least she was cute, I guessàö A loud æthumpÆ echoed in his home, coming from his bedroom. He slowly turned in that direction, sweat starting to trail down his forehead. ôà Creepy stalker girl?ö
Silence. He got back on his feet and got a kunai out of his pouch. He then walked to his bedroom, weapon in hand, and opened the closet. Inside, he found the girl from before, and another one who looked very similar. Same miko clothes, but the girl itself was slightly different. First, her hair were much longer and light purple instead of lavender. A slight difference, but it was there. It was tied in two pony-tails falling behind on her back, and her eyes, while as big and of the same colour, had a much sharper cut to them. ôà What are you doing in my closet?ö
ôà Just shut up and help me get her on the bed. She passed out.ö The long haired girl said, and Naruto noticed that the æcreepy stalker girlÆ had indeed passed out. He pondered the various options, and like usual, the nice guy part of his personality won. He helped the girl put the other one on his bed in a comfortable position. ôGeezà SheÆs the only one who could pass out like thisà I mean, weÆre incorporeal, for OmoikaneÆs sake!ö
ôAlright. Start talking. All I know is that youÆre shintoist, by now.ö Naruto said, returning to the most pressing matter. ôWho are you two? And why was youràö The blonde ninja noticed that the two girls other than being both taller than him, were very very similar. ôSister?ö
ôWeÆre fraternal twins. And donÆt bother trying to remember what fraternal means. I know you forgot.ö That made a vein on NarutoÆs forehead twitch. ôOh, well. WhatÆs done is done, I guess.ö The long haired girl said, adjusting her hair with one hand, putting one of her ponytails back into place, moving it off her shoulder, before she joined her hands together in front of her. ôMy name is Kage, and sheÆs Bunshin.ö
ôà Kage and Bunshin?ö Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. ôThey named you after a technique?ö
ôà Not exactly, Naruto.ö The girl named æKageÆ held her head low. She didnÆt hesitate much, since there werenÆt many ways to tell him something like that. Better to be blunt. ôWe are the technique.ö
ôà I didnÆt get it.ö Naruto replied, truthfully. He honestly didnÆt find any sense in the sentence he had just heard from the girl standing in front of him, who sighed in annoyance, suspecting that something like that would happen.
ôIÆm going to explain everything in detail, but for now, just know thatà Well, we are the technique Kage Bunshin, Naruto. Itsà Spirit, we could say.ö Massive blinking from Naruto, while the girl remained impervious and deadly serious. ôMe and Bunshinà WeÆre Jutsu-Kami.ö
Jutsu-tan!
Chapter1: ThatÆs my Seiyuu!
ôà Aaaaaaalright. IÆll be right backàö Naruto started to back away slowly from the purple haired girl, much to her annoyance. ôDonÆt worry when the nice men come holding a long sleeved shirt, alright? TheyÆre going to take you to a happy placeàö
ôà Narutoàö The girl sighed, holding the bridge of her nose.
ôStaaaay right there.ö I donÆt know what theyÆre on, but if they can use genjutsu that well, theyÆre strong. He turned around and made a run for the door to get away from those crazy girls who stalked him and thought of being spirits, divinities or something like that, just to stop dead in his tracks as the girl reappeared in front of the door out of thin air, her arms crossed and a pissed off expression on her face. ôHOLY SHIT!ö
ôDidnÆt they ever teach you that itÆs rude to turn your back on people whoÆre talking to you?ö The girl said, glaring him down, which made him shiver and fall on his back, as he began to crawl till he hit the table with his back.
ôH-H-How did youà?!ö It wasnÆt shunshin! There was no cloud of smoke! What. The. Hell! Naruto was sweating as the long haired girl approached him more and more, a step at a time, and it looked like her feet had no weight, like they hardly touched the ground.
ôI was going to tell you, but you just to go and be stupid again. Is this the way of treating a girl? And not just any girl, after all that me and Bunshin have done for you.ö Kage said, kneeling down in front of him, and Naruto regained enough sanity to speak his mind.
ôAfter allà Alright, honestly, what do you mean?! IÆm pretty sure IÆve never met you before! And yet, your sister was following me around and you know my name and where I live!ö Naruto said, raising his voice, to which Kage answered with a nod.
ôGood questions. IÆm going to answer them all, but you have to promise to not run away and try to stay focused during the whole discussion. Understood?ö Naruto stared at her strangely, but nodded nonetheless, since he wanted to at least get off the floor. ôGood. Now, stand up.ö
ôA-Alrightàö Naruto slowly got back in a standing position and shakily pulled out a chair, on which he sat. The girl mimicked him, positioning the chair so that they were sitting right in front of each other. ôà So?ö
ôSo, I suppose you have questions. Start asking.ö Naruto groaned, feeling uneasy. He had hoped the girl would have started talking and explain everything to him, like telling a story. Instead, he now had to think. He squinted his eyes, assuming his usual pensive pose.
ôHmmà Well, I suppose that the first thing to ask isà You said you areà Kami? Like, gods?ö The girl rolled her eyes, since she was expecting that misconception.
ôYou donÆt know much about Shinto, right? Of course you donÆt.ö Naruto would have given a retort of some kind, but seeing how he was still a bit shaken by the ghost-like trick, he chose silence. ôWell, we could in good depth with the explanations, but IÆll try to keep it short. You wouldnÆt be able to remember everything, after all.ö
ôG-Good.ö He didnÆt retort to that either because she was right, other than still frightening him.
ôBasically, Shinto belief depicts Kami as spirits. Be they the spirits of natural forces, higher spirits like gods, guardian spirits of places or objects, they all are depicted as Kami, usually. Following me so far?ö Naruto nodded. That was easy to understand, but the most pressing question wasà ôYou must be asking yourself how can techniques have a æspiritÆ, right now, right?ö
ôEhmà Right.ö Naruto scratched the back of his head, starting to think that the girl might have mental powers as well.
ôThen, I ask you this. WhatÆs the basic of all techniques, except for Taijutsu?ö Kage asked Naruto, who was surprised since he thought he would be the one doing all the questions.
ôWellà Handseals and molding chakra, right?ö Kage nodded in reply.
ôAnd whatÆs chakra?ö She cut in, and Naruto had to make a real effort to remember SakuraÆs explanation.
ôChakra isà Well, itÆs made by putting togetherà Physical energy and p-psychic energy? Did I get that right?ö The purple-haired girl nodded in reply.
ôExactly. Basically, chakra is a humanÆs life-force. A dose of fuel that you can enlarge with training and that replenishes itself daily, and that humans use for their daily activities. When I say itÆs a humanÆs life-force, IÆm not joking. An over-usage of chakra can be fatal.ö That made Naruto blank, remembering the times he and Sasuke had exhausted themselves while trying tree-climbing. ôThe body usually has a natural built in fail-safe that just stops producing chakra when the user is in danger, butà It doesnÆt always work.ö
ôEhmà Thanks for making me notice how I risked death a couple of times?ö Naruto said a bit dumbly, to which Kage replied with an admonishing stare that made him flinch.
ôYouÆre welcomeà And itÆs not a couple of times only.ö The girl sighed, hard. ôI swear, I lost count of the times I wanted to hit you for being stupidàö She shook her head to dismiss the subject. ôWeÆre sidetracking. Returning to the matter of Kami, basically everything in nature has a Kami. Does it seem so strange that Jutsu, that are born from the life force of ninja, could develop Kami of their own? Even if they are abstract concepts, their effects are quite real, right?ö
ôIà Kind of get itàö Naruto kept on nodding, taking everything in like she was flowing out water and he was a square yellow sponge. That would make Sasuke Patrick, I guess. ôSoà YouÆre the Kami of the Kage Bunshin technique?ö Kage nodded in reply. ôWell, the other questionà Why was your sister following me around and why were you in my home?ö
ôWellàö On that answer, Kage had to think carefully, since what she was about to tell him might as well go to his head. ôLong story short, usually Jutsu-Kami follow around the best user of the technique they æprotectÆ.ö
ôTheàö The forming of that large grin on NarutoÆs face signalled to Kage that she had seen right. She needed to stop him immediately.
ôI said usually! YouÆre not the best user of this technique! By far!ö He froze on the spot, the grin dyeing a gruesome death under KageÆs teacher-like glare. ôYou donÆt know anything about our technique apart that it lets you multiply in real copies! You donÆt know its true purpose nor all its advantages!ö
ôà But I can multiply lotsàö Naruto said, turning his head to the side with a pout. Kage groaned, placing a hand on her forehead.
ôà ThatÆs the reason weÆve been following you around, actually. You may not be the best user of Kage Bunshin, butà YouÆre peculiar, to say the least.ö That made Naruto lighten up a little, seeing that the purple haired Kami wasnÆt admonishing him with her eyes anymore. ôYouÆre the first person who has ever managed to make that many copies with our Jutsu. Most people donÆt bother because this technique wasnÆt originally invented for beating the living tar out of your enemies, and thereÆs the drawback of splitting chakra into equal parts.ö
ôEh? It isnÆt for that?!ö Kage groaned again.
ôAs I said, you know nothing about the techniqueÆs true purpose nor all its advantages. YouÆre the only one who can use it like that.ö She sighed heavily. Naruto scratched the side of his head, trying to think about any other purpose for a technique that basically made him an one man army, and found none. ôDonÆt bother. Just ask someone next time you can.ö
ôAlrightà I guessàö Then, something came to NarutoÆs mind. He snapped his fingers to signal it. ôAh, wait! Do all techniques get a Kami?!ö
ôThatÆs a surprisingly intelligent question, I must sayà Yes. All techniques can develop a Kami of their own, given enough time and usageà The process is complicated, so I will not explain it to you.ö Kage said, and then raised an eyebrow when NarutoÆs grin surfaced again, not understanding the reason.
ôThen, did my Oiroke develop a Kami tà OW!ö Naruto kneeled over as Kage punched him in the gut at his question.
ôDonÆt mention that perverted technique! Bunshin fainted the first time you pulled it off! And how dare you degrade our technique by combining it withà Withàö The KamiÆs hands made some strange squeezing motion, as if they wanted to strangle something, the something probably being NarutoÆs neck. ôGeez! The answer is no! You donÆt get a Kami for your stupid technique because itÆs just a ævariationÆ of Henge! And that techniqueÆs Kami is bad enough, believe me!ö
--
ôAt-choo!ö A small head sneezed and got thrown forward, splashing water all around because of the sudden movement. ôSniffà It does happen in real life, thenà Or maybe IÆve just been in the bath for too longàö She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, but then focused on her very long hair again, smiling with her eyes closed. ôTimoteeeeeeeeeeeeià Timoteeeeeeeeeeeeià Timoteeeeeeeeeeeeeiàö
