Alright! Next snippet, and two more Kami are introduced! I think they should be fairly easy to discern, especially the second one. Enjoy! :3
ôGeezà First, weÆve almost been substituted by those freaks from Black Lagoon and now this? And itÆs just the first chapter.ö Kage was currently making his way to another area of Konoha, the Inuzuka grounds, while lamenting a few choices of the author. ôI just hope the brat is around.ö
ôYou know, itÆs not cute to bad-talk someone behind their backs, Kage-san.ö Kage stopped dead in her tracks and turned her head up, finding herself staring at a black haired Kami with a pair of canine ears of the same colour sticking from the top of his head, grinning at her in a wolf-like manner. She had never understood how he could have a few strands of hair longer than the others tied in a ponytail. ôI might get angry.ö
ôà Inuzuka Shikyaku.ö It was more a statement than a greeting, but the Kami paid it no mind as he dropped from the three he was hanging from upside down, doing a little somersault before landing on the ground, on his two legs and one arm stretched out in front of him. She made a disgusted face at his choice of attire. As usual, simple black pants and a jacket. No undershirt and no shoes. ôYou know why IÆve been searching for you, right?ö
ôYeah, yeah, I know.ö The Kami said, standing up again, and still having to raise his head to look at Kage in the eyes. Drawbacks from looking like a ten years old. ôBecause of the incident with my nin-dogs and your idiot, right?ö
ôSo perceptive as always. And stop trash-talking.ö Shikyaku replied with a teasing grin, that confused Kage. ôWhatÆs funny?ö
ôYou didnÆt say anything about him being æyourÆ idiot.ö Kage blushed at that.
ôS-Shut up! So, is your clan going to take responsibility or not?! I want to know what theyÆre going to do!ö The dog-boy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms behind his head, a bit annoyed.
ôYeah, yeah. TheyÆre going to. Who do you think paid the medical fees for the boy?ö
ôThe Hokage?ö
ôà Alright. You got me there.ö Shikyaku said, sweatdropping. ôBut they reimbursed him, I swear! And really, the dogs are getting punished. Tsume-san actually wanted to castrate the whole lot of them, you know? But they resolved with making the female nin-dogs not giving them any for a month! And itÆs mating season!ö
ôà A fitting punishment for a dog, I guess.ö
ôHey! Why are you looking at me when you say that?!ö Shikyaku raged in outrage at the condescending look Kage was giving him. ôIÆm not a dog! IÆm a wolf!ö
ôAnd yet youÆre the Kami of the first technique in the Inuzuka clanÆs jutsus, who trains dog nins, the closest thing you look as is an inugami and you still go in heath.ö The small kami flinched at that and then snarled. ôWell, whatever. As long as some kind of punishment is exacted, I am content.ö
ôYeah, yeahà Like you or I could have done anything if it hadnÆt happened. You just came here to harass meàö Shikyaku turned around rubbing his hair with a hand, clearly annoyed by the whole matter.
ôà While it is true that I find your misery an enjoyable sight, I was just here to talk. Alsoàö Kage put one hand in the right sleeve of her clothes, and pulled out a two sealed envelopes. The small Kami blinked and turned around, taking the objects in his hands. His eyes widened a little when he recognized the seal that kept the envelopes sealed. ôThey arrived yesterday. One is for you, the otherà Well, I trust that you will be able to deliver it in less time than I would ever do.ö
ôHmmà Got it. Hey, I think itÆs the first time you ever made me a compliment.ö Shikyaku put the bunch of envelopes in the inner pouch of his jacket with a grin, even if he struggled to make them all fit, much to KageÆs sweatdropping. ôI still donÆt understand why youÆve been appointed as the circleÆs emissary here in Konoha, though.ö
ôBecause I have no ties with any clan, hence IÆm neutral. Also àö Kage sighed, thinking about the Kami population of Konohagakure. ôBecause it seems that every single head Kami in this village has some kind of issue.ö
ôEhehehà I agree with you on that.ö Shikyaku said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his right index finger. Kage met the reaction with her usual serious face.
ôYouÆre a head Kami too, you know.ö
ôWell, at least I admit that I have issues.ö The purple-haired girl rolled her eyes, and then turned around.
ôGood day, Shikyaku, and please do remember to deliver the other evenlope.ö Said that, Kage disappeared, bursting into soft tongues of coloured smoke. Shikyaku shook his head, chuckling softly to himself.
ôWell, sheÆs not so bad after allà Ah, right. Who do I have to give the letter to? I didnÆt check.ö The black haired Kami pulled out the envelope again and read the name of the recipientà And he paled. He became so pale that his black hair became even more black in comparison, having to supply for the sudden loss of colour in the rest of the body. The recipient read æHyuuga ByakuganÆ. ôTHE LITTLE BITCH! SHE GOT ME! OH, SHIT! OH, FUCK! NOTTHENUTCASENOTTHENUTCASENOTà AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! IÆM SO GONNA GET YOU FOR THIS, KAGE!ö
--
ôAaaaahà IÆm stuffed!ö Since at lunch Naruto had to cut off eating his ramen half way through because of Bunshin, at dinner he had come back with a vengeance. The poor noodles and broth didnÆt stand a chance against his voracious hunger. ôOld man, I think that when you die, I will take my own life! How will I ever live without your ramen?ö
ôMou, IÆm hurt, Naruto. Father is teaching me everything, you knowàö
ôAh, right. Then, you can die anytime, ojii-san!ö
ôHey!ö Ayame and Naruto shared a laugh that both enjoyed a lot. Ayame was happy to have Naruto back to normal after the little æghostÆ incident of that afternoon, while Naruto was happy to be able to joke with someone. It was normal, it was joyfulà It was not his usual life. He loved it.
Even now that he was making some progress with other people, it was still unusual for him to have fun in a way that didnÆt include pranking someone. ôAhhhà Well, I think IÆll call it a day, nee-chan. Gotta get up early as usual, tomorrowà Well, not really. Kakashi-sensei is always late, so I guess that if I wanted I could sleep in, butà Well, gotta get up early!ö Naruto put some money on the stool, having already counted it before starting to order, and then got up from his seat with a little jump. ôIÆll see you tomorrow!ö
ôGood evening, Naruto.ö Ayame said, waving at her favourite costumer as he strolled down the dark streets of Konoha at night.
ôHmmà Still not sleepy, thoughàö Naruto said, looking around. It was around 11 PM, he guessed, but having checked out of the hospital for lunch and having had a lot of rest in the past days, he still wasnÆt that tired, sadly. He had even trained during the afternoon. Sometimes his resistance was a real bother. ôI guess I will take a walkà Hmmmàö
As Naruto kept on walking through the roads of Konoha, he thought about something. When he was in the village, he had always felt two things when he walked: ignored but at the same observed, like a set of eyes were always on his back. Now he knew why, he guessed. If Kage and Bunshin followed him around everywhere he went, it made sense. ôAnd yetàö He looked around, looking for one of the twins, but found none. In that moment he didnÆt feel ignored since there was no one ignoring him on the streets, but he still felt observed. ôà Strange.ö
He turned around again and began to walk, only for the feeling of being observed to heighten, maybe because this time he was focused on finding someone following him around. He felt like two eyes were about to burn a hole through his back, with the intensity he felt in the gaze. He stopped abruptly and turned around. Nothing. ôNo, waitàö Naruto had noticed something. A flash, something pink disappearing behind a nearby corner. ôPink? à Sakura-chan?ö He tried, laughing at his own silliness. Why would Sakura ever follow him around at night? ôà Bunshin-chan? Kage-san?ö Nothing.
He swallowed and then tensed when the gaze was again on his back. He turned around in a flash, and this time he was sure he had seen something pink moving behind a corner. ôA-Alright! Whoever it is, come out right now! I-I-I-ItÆs not funny!ö No reply, no movement, nothing. He swallowed. ôà Oraaaah!ö Mustering all his courage, Naruto ran in the direction of the new corner with all his speed and moved behind it, finding it empty. ôWhere are you?! I sawà I saw pink! Come out!ö
No reply, no movementà And somehow, the tension he felt had dropped. Whoever it was who had been following, he seemed to have given up on it. Or he had just hidden himself better and had stopped staring at him that way. ôà It seems IÆm going to turn in early, after all.ö Naruto started to walk at a steady pace towards his apartment complex, not feeling safe in the street anymore, for that night.
ôAhhà Ahhà Ahhà Iàö On the roof of the building which corner he had turned last, a lone figure stood, her breath a bit heavy, more because of surprise and excitement than fatigue or fear. ôNarutoà Naruto-kunà Heàö The figureÆs eyes were wide, but her mouth from a large æOÆ of surprise was slowly morphing into a disturbing smile. ôHe saw meà H-He noticed meàö She slowly let herself fall on her back on the roof of the building, staring at the stars. ôNaruto-kunà Y-You can look at me tooà Now you can look at me tooàö
Naruto shuddered while walking and almost tripped.
--
Needless to say, Naruto didnÆt get much sleep that night, and he was almost scared of meeting Sakura that day. In the end, though, he had fallen asleep, butà ôOH, CRAP! I OVERSLEPT!ö He ran into the bathroom while grabbing a hold of his clothes on the way out. He managed to wash and completely dry his considerable mane of hair in less than ten minutes, and he then ran into the dining room. ôNeedtomakebreakfastneedtomakebreakàö
ôAh! G-Good morning, Naruto-san.ö
ôGood morning.ö
ôà Uh?ö Naruto stopped dead in his tracks with his headband halfway tied around his forehead, upon entering the dining room. He was welcomed by a very unfamiliar sight, for his household. A girl sitting at his table reading a newspaper and another one working on the stoves. Then, he remembered what had transpired the previous day. ôAhà Good morning.ö
ôBreakfast is ready, Naruto-san. I was about to come and wake you up.ö Naruto slowly went back to put his clothes on straight, while staring at Bunshin while she set a home-made cooking breakfast on his table. He slowly stared. ôP-Please enjoy.ö
ôàö Naruto blinked and sat at the table, and took a hold of a fork and tasted the natto along with some of the bed of rice, and his eyes widened. ôThis isà This is goodàö
ôReally? IÆm glad!ö Naruto moved his eyes from Bunshin, who was smiling with a hand on her chest in sign of relief to Kage.
ôWhat happened to the ænot interact ruleÆ? And where did you get that newspaper?ö Kage just sipped some coffee from a cup. ôAnd whatÆs with the coffee? I donÆt have coffee in my home. Also, do spirit need to eat?ö
ôDamn, youÆre annoying. Just eat your breakfast in peace.ö Kage said with a snarl that made Naruto wince. She turned a page of her newspaper. ôWellà For the breakfast, Bunshin insisted. For the newspaper, someone brings us a copy daily. Unlike you, I like to keep myself informed. For the coffee, no. Kami do not need to, but we can eat. We have every sense and a couple more of a normal human, taste included.ö
ôà Geez, this is so strange!ö Naruto just shook his head and went back to his breakfast. ôYou spirits look so complicatedà Ah!ö The sleepless night came back to the blonde shinobi along with its cause. ôI fwanted duh asg you somephing!ö
ôSwallow before you talk.ö Kage replied, a vein starting to bulge on her forehead. Naruto complied.
ôNo, I wanted to ask you, since youÆve been following me around for a while, is there someone else who has been doing it?ö While Bunshin just tilted her head cutely in confusion, Kage almost ripped the newspaper in half. Almost, but the HokageÆs photo on the first page was never going to look the same anymore, from how her hand had crushed part of the page by clenching into a fist.
ôSomeone else following onii-chan?ö Tsukasa looked upward, a sign that she was thinking, emitting a cute æhmmÆ in the meanwhile. She shook her head. ôNo, I didnÆt notice anyone. Onee-chan?ö
ôà No one. Must have been your imagination.ö For the love of all that is holy, tell me that he did not notice her and that she didnÆt notice that he noticed. If she found out that he can see Kamià Oh, darn.
ôà Oh, well. Nevermind. IÆll look into it myself.ö Naruto said, digging into his breakfast again with a smile for the cook, who blushed. In the meanwhile, Kage was praying for mercy on NarutoÆs behalf.
--
Oh, come on. YouÆre Inuzuka Shikyaku! You share the noble wolfÆs spirit! YouÆve fought in the Purging and survived! What are you scared of?! He had been forcing himself to move from his spot ever since he had landed in the HyuugaÆs inner garden, and he thanked all the higher Kami that his legs hadnÆt started to shakeà Yet.
He couldnÆt even see her face, at the moment. He was looking at her back, and her short, pretty pink hair, adorned by a similarly coloured kimono. She looked harmless, graceful, like that, but he knew the horror that he would be forced to face, the madness, once she would turn around to face him. He swallowed, since it seemed that his pride had overcome his self-preservation instincts. ôH-H-H-Hyuuga-san?ö
ôInuzuka-san.ö He almost shrieked in fear when she turned around, when he noticed something. Her face was different from the usual, not as frightening. First thing, she had her eyes closed, which helped a lot, but on top of that her smile for once looked like a normal smile of happiness. No wrongness or anything. Then, she opened her eyes, an the feeling of wrongness came back, but not as strong as usual. ôSuch a good morning, right?ö
ôEhmà Y-Yes.ö His stuttering diminished in proportion, and he even managed to perform the act of clearing his voice, that was often stopped by the fear of somehow offending her and summon her damn hand crossbow or the box cutter. ôI seeà I mean, you look happy, Hyuuga-sanà Happier. Happier than usual.ö
ôWhy, indeed, Inuzuka-san. Does it show that much?ö She said, bringing a hand to her mouth as her eyes closed again and she allowed herself some soft giggles. The level of wrongness raised again, and Shikyaku felt his legs starting to give, but he willed them to stay still and strong. For a few minutes more.
ôEhmà Yes. Well, I just came by toà Ehm, to dropàö The small Kami put his right hand in the inner pocket of his jacket and picked the envelope, slowly approaching the pink haired girl, as her big red irises showed again, observing the object with curiosity.
ôAh. A letter from the circle?ö Shikyaku nodded and swallowed, and slowly stretched his arm so that he could bring the letter in the girlÆs reach, along with his arm and many of his vital parts. His ears dropped on top of his head, and he almost jumped out of his skin as her right hand shot forward and grabbed the envelope, scaring the hell out of him. ôThank you for bringing this to me, Inuzuka-san.ö
ôY-Y-Y-Y-YouÆre welcome!ö He said with a louder voice than he intended to use, and he jumped back a couple of meters right after, out of the danger zone. ôW-W-Wellà IÆll leave you to yourà Thinking!ö
ôThank you, Inuzuka-san. Actually, I was about to ask you to do so.ö The wrongness was back, full force. Full force, and there was no stopping his legs, this time. Her eyes had become wider than usual, and her smile had gotten that disturbing trait again. ôI have to planà A dinner, and it wonÆt do to haveà Distractions, you see? Everything needs to be perfectàö
The click of the box cutter did it for him. He ran out of there screaming, passing through an Inuzuka branch member on the way out. Not that he did notice.
That's a plot point that will come to your attention later on.