Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ Ｆｏｒｔｙ－Ｔｗｏ
"Well, when my Pops died, I did feel this huge rush of energy. At the time, I really paid it no mind but it was all like WOOOOO and WOOOOOSH, and WAHHHHH!!!"
The Tailed Beasts watched as the young oni waved her arms with sound effects before she paused to look up at them all with a smile.
"I was really young, but I remember it well."
"It seems as though Aka's chakra was passed on from one oni to another, likely moments before death." Matatabi murmured, "Your father probably did the same before he passed."
"Hm, so the Crimson Oni have managed to remain consistent with one thing." Shukaku scoffed as y/n began to space out a little.
So her father had given her his chakra.
When? Y/n couldn't remember when.
She couldn't-
"...oh."
Son Gokū took notice of the realization in y/n's eyes, "Did you remember something, oni girl?"
"Yeah... something." y/n mumbled, then smiled, "I'm sure it's nothing though. So... what does my lineage have to do with you all? Did an ancestor of mine piss you all off, maybe?"
"Well..." Saiken began and y/n looked alarmed, "Just kidding~ Don't worry, Aka was just as nice as you are! A little dense, but sweet!"
"She had a happy go lucky personality." Chōmei added, "She was very talkative as well!"
Y/n exhaled a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness..."
"While Aka was alive, she was tasked with watching over us." Gyūki explained, "We were never all in one place, but she spent her entire life ensuring that each and every one of us was safe."
"Woah..." y/n breathed, "How long did she live? Pops always told me that our ancestors used to live suuuper long before."
"While counting years was never a priority... I would imagine that she lived to be at least over a hundred." Kokuō murmured, "She had a child some time long ago, and passed on her chakra to the little one shortly before her death."
"After her mother died, the little one continued looking after us all throughout his life. It was one Crimson Oni after another." Isobu continued, "Then... something happened."
Y/n raised a brow, "Something?"
"Something."
Y/n stared at Isobu and could practically feel the three tailed beast progressively getting more and more uncomfortable with her piercing gaze.
"...why are you staring at me?"
"What happened? You're being really vague."
"Somewhere along the line, shortly before Kurama was first sealed within a human, the descendant of Aka who was looking after us disappeared." Chōmei explained, "After that, we never saw her again. We heard the occasional rumor about a beast with crimson horns, but otherwise, no sign of any Oni whatsoever."
"No oni? What about the one with the blue horns?" Saiken questioned, "He was no crimson oni, but he took on the task after the crimson ones disappeared."
"Ah... that one..." Shukaku murmured, "Reminds me of the Blue Oni hanging around Aka's carbon copy right now."
"Mm?" y/n blinked curiously, "So what you're saying is that it was my ancestor's job to take care of you all and make sure that you were all safe... but after she died, one of her descendants just gave up on the job or something?"
"They only disappeared." Son Gokū corrected, "We can't say for sure that they gave up."
"Eager to defend the lazy little things, aren't you?" Shukaku grumbled and y/n crossed her arms with a scowl.
'I don't mind him having issues with me, I'd just prefer if he kept it to himself.' she thought irritably.
"Ahem, anyways, the Blue Oni began to handle the job. Though they weren't too happy about it, they continued to watch over us to ensure that no human would try to use us as weapons." Matatabi continued explaining as y/n listened attentively, "One was killed when trying to keep an Uchiha away from Kurama. Others were slaughtered when we were sold as tools to the hidden villages. After us failed beasts were sealed within humans, the Blue Oni disappeared as well."
"Man... that's..." y/n frowned, "That's rough. The Crimson Oni suddenly peacing out, then the Blue Oni being eradicated in an attempt to protect you."
She paused.
"Ah, not eradicated. Tatsuya is still here. But listen, there's something you need to know!" y/n blurted, "These Akatsuki guys! I've no clue what they're up to, but you're in danger! You've gotta stay as far away from them as possible, cause they'll extract you from your Jinchuuriki!"
"Oh so now you decide to step up to the job again." Shukaku scoffed, "Make up your mind!"
"I did make up my mind! Both you and Tatsuya's family have suffered so I may as well try to take a little pressure off to you all!" y/n huffed, "Though I have a life of my own to handle, but I'll do my best to help you!"
"Hm? Is that so?" Matatabi murmured and y/n gave the giant cat a curious look, "Alright then, y/n-chan, we'll be counting on you."
Y/n grinned, giving the tailed beasts a thumbs up, "I'll make sure that you guys will never have to worry about being treated like tools ever again. I'll protect you! Just like this Aka person once did!"
"Promise?" Isobu asked.
Y/n tilted her head before offering her hand with a warm smile, "I promise. I swear on my life."
The Tailed Beasts all exchanged a look before nodding. They felt the sincerity in her words, they saw the determination in her eyes. Ah, yes.
"Crazy Crimson Oni." Shukaku scoffed while the others only chuckled at the sight of the little oni.
Isobu seemed delighted by y/n's promise and rested his very big turtle foot on y/n's raised hand.
'How odd...' y/n hummed with delight, 'Isobu isn't heavy at all like I would imagine a super giant turtle to be.'
She chuckled to herself as one by one, the tailed beasts disappeared. As soon as y/n was alone, she took a seat, pulling her knees to her chest.
Transferring chakra, huh?
Right before death.
Y/n closed her eyes, 'Alright, me. I know this will be tough, but it's important that you remember. I wanna know how to do this 💩.'
Remembering, huh? Remembering. Y/n was good at remembering things. She could remember what she had for breakfast the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that day.
She remembered the past few years with Tatsuya, learning new things from him and getting stronger with his help. She remembered his praises and his advice, the little smacks in the back of the heads that he'd give her when she was being stupid.
She remembered going in missions with Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. She remembered laughing hysterically while Naruto and Sasuke were being idiots, she remembered going to Ramen Ichiraku with Naruto and tending to Granny's garden with Sasuke. She remembered trying to catch a peek at the weird books Kakashi always read, and she definitely remembered braiding Sakura's hair.
Y/n remembered having so much fun with Choji, and Shikamaru. She remembered listening curiously to Ino's talks about boys, she remembered playing with Akamaru and Kiba. She remembered showing all kinds of beetles and Shino, and squishing Hinata's face.
But before all that, she remembered her Father.
He was a tall man, very tall, and muscular too. He was a little intimidating, but was very sweet and friendly. He was loving and silly, a goofball, and he loved y/n very much.
He had long crimson horns like her's, and the same markings as y/n. His eyes were different, only in color, for he had the same diamond shaped pupils as well.
Y/n remembered him having a loud and energetic voice. One that made her want to be happy along with him. He used to work a lot, doing odd jobs so that y/n would be fed.
When y/n was three, she worked with him. He never seemed to want her to have to work, so he kept her busy by teaching her how to control her chakra.
He taught her small things. How to throw a kunai, he taught her to understand just how strong she was though he never got the chance to show her how to manage her strength.
He raced her up trees.
He comforted her when she was hurt.
He went fishing with her.
He used to take her out to eat the best food in town whenever there was a special occasion.
He was practically y/n's world shortly after her mother left. He taped up the little cracks, his smile gave her the sort of warmth and comfort that she wanted to share with others.
Her Father was all that y/n knew. He was good at hiding things, good at making things alright.
He was exceptionally good at hiding the fact that the two of them weren't exactly welcome in the town they lived in.
By the time they'd saved enough money to move elsewhere, the people in the town had hired assassins from a nearby hidden village.
And as they were leaving...
"Papa? Is something wrong?" y/n asked, clinging to her father's hand as he suddenly stopped walking, "Papa?"
He didn't speak. How odd, he always had something to say. When something was wrong, he'd smile and assure her that nothing was wrong.
"Hey, y/n?" the man suddenly spoke up, glancing down at his daughter. He was smiling, y/n didn't see much wrong with it until she noticed how it didn't quite reach his eyes, "Let's play a game."
"A game? Now?" y/n inquired.
"Yes, a game." her father hummed as he crouched to her level, taking something wrapped in cloth and handing it to the little girl, "Careful."
Y/n braced herself, and almost stumbled when he passed the item to her. She knew what this was.
"Papa, is this-?" y/n mumbled and fell silent as her father adjusted her clothes. He tucked a bag of what seemed to be ryo into her jacket pocket and ruffled her hair with a grin.
"We're gonna play a quick game of hide and seek." he hummed, "You hide, and you don't stop hiding until I come and find you, okay?"
"But Papa... how will you find me?"
"Heh, you'll have to hide reallyyyy well in order for me not to find you." her father chuckled, "Now go and hide. I'll find you, okay?"
"Okay." y/n whispered before turning and running, taking off in the other direction.
Her father always won when they played hide and seek. No matter where y/n hid, he'd always find her. No matter how hard she searched, she'd never find him.
Y/n never got bored, the challenge being just enough to keep her invested all the time. In her little four year old mind, still innocent and pure, this was another chance to end his winning streak.
She darted from one hiding space to another, considering it before deciding against it.
It wasn't long before she took refuge in a bush, eyes sparkling as she hid among the leaves.
Her father would never find her there!
Sure, he had found her other 157892 times that she had hidden in a bush, but the 157893rd time's the charm!
Y/n waited. And waited. And waited.
She was a patient kid, she could wait.
She waited and waited, but her father never came. Y/n began to wonder if she could play that peek-a-boo trick her father usually played during their games of hide and seek.
Y/n left her spot, tucking away the wrapped up weapon she was given along with the bag of ryo so she could find with her father later. As she was doing so, she began to notice the weight of the bag.
She'd felt that weight before, when she held the bag so her father could put in all the money they saved.
All of the money.
Y/n realized what he was planning and scrambled to her feet, tripping over her own feet as she ran back in the direction she'd come from.
Why'd he give her all the money?
There were a million different reasons why he'd could've done it, but something just didn't feel right.
Y/n had been taught to trust her instincts.
Her instincts said that her father was in danger.
As she neared, she tried to be as quiet as possible. There were other people, people shouting. Shouting orders at one another.
Y/n couldn't hear anything over the sound of her heart pounding rapidly as she peeked around a tree, e/c eyes round with fear and concern.
There, in the middle of a clearing, were a bunch of ninja. She didn't know what village they were from, since she didn't know that much about the hidden villages, but she knew they were from nearby.
They wore masks.
Featureless masks with a symbol drawn on the forehead. It was likely the symbol of the village they belonged to.
Her gaze moved to her father who's hands were tied behind his back so he couldn't do the pursuers any harm. His brows were furrowed and he adorned an expression unlike any y/n had seen before.
Her father, usually smiling to brightly and laughing, truly looked like the art work of oni which y/n had seen occasionally.
The snarling face, the fury in his eyes.
"Woah..." y/n breathed. She had never seen her father in such a way before. It was... a little scary, but it left y/n in awe.
"So this is a Crimson Oni, huh? Not all that when it's tied up." one of the shinobi laughed as he crouched in front of y/n's father, "You're not all that scary without your hands available."
The oni's furious expression shifted into a smile. One without its usual warmth and friendliness.
"Hm." was the only noise he made before he suddenly jerked forwards, slamming his forehead against the shinobi's mask.
There was a crack and a shout of pain from the ninja as both him and y/n's father toppled over.
The shinobi who had been head-butted grabbed at his mask which had been practically smashed, the remains falling away like dust.
Y/n covered her mouth, grimacing at the sight of the shinobi's broken nose as blood streamed from it. There was a look of rage in his face as y/n's father shifted so that her could smirk at the shinobi he'd head butted.
"You're not all that scary without the mask." the oni commented cheekily, "Maybe grow a little taller, one or two inches, then you'll graduate from angry toddler to angry toddler with a kunai."
"Tch! You bastard-!" the shinobi began, fury in his eyes. Y/n burned the memory of his face into her mind. He had a pretty forgettable face, but that scar across his face. Y/n would remember it.
Y/n's father seemed satisfied by what he'd done, but there was a look of dread on his face when he spotted y/n hiding behind a tree.
He cursed under his breath before jumping to his feet, straining against the ropes until they broke.
"💩!!! He's free!" one of the shinobi shouted as the older oni prepared to fight, glancing at y/n very briefly. The message was clear.
She needed to leave.
Y/n nodded, turning and running off back to where she'd hidden the stuff. She tucked the bag of money into her jacket pocket, lifting the kanabou as well, and began running.
She could help her father! She was strong too!
She wasn't all that scared of the masked shinobi. Seeing her father make a fool out of all of them by head-butting one and breaking the restraints so easily made them a little less frightening.
Ah, but she got lost.
She got lost and couldn't find her way back.
"Ah, where was he..." y/n murmured with a frown.
All of a sudden, she heard a noise.
It was a scream. Yes, a scream.
A pained scream. It was-
"Papa." y/n whispered, turning and running in the direction of the scream, "Papa! Papa, where are you?"
She peeked into every single clearing she found, but each one was empty. She couldn't find him anywhere.
Y/n searched more and more, then finally-
The little girl skidded to a halt beside the clearing from before, opening her mouth to announce that her father was going to be okay.
But the words caught in her throat.
"No. No. No." y/n slapped herself once, "No, y/n! The important bit, the important bit! Not the one part that's going to give you nightmares for another year!"
She facepalmed herself, looking out into the darkness with an odd look, "Ah geez... I guess that I'm still just a frightened little kid when it comes to remembering that day."
The crimson oni shook her head, "Whatever. It's not the time. I need to go and help Gaara!"
Deidara was cruising along in a forest atop that clay bird of his, unbothered as Kakashi and the furious Naruto pursued him.
That Kakashi dude just took his 🚚ing arm off by using dojutsu, but that was alright. Oh, yes, totally.
Even if Deidara lost his arm, he dodged all the other attempts Kakashi made at using that damned warping trick again.
Ah, wait-
Deidara felt a disturbance in the air... maybe that oni had woken up? He'd taken she along with Gaara in an attempt to provoke Naruto into following along so he could check another tailed beast off the list.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring y/n...
"No, it's fine. There's no way the oni could woken up by now, hm." Deidara tried convincing himself.
He almost 💩 his pants when a clawed hand suddenly emerged from the space inside the clay bird's head. The hand reached around and grabbed Deidara's leg and holding on. Tight.
He cursed under his breath, beginning to attempt to shake the now very awake oni off only for Naruto and a shadow clone to appear right beside him.
'...damn.'
"RASENGAN!!!"
Deidara hopped out of the danger zone, the clay bird literally having its head lopped off by Naruto's attack as the Akatsuki member went WEEEE into the trees.
Naruto summoned a couple shadow clones and caught the head of the clay bird, him and a shadow clone landing on a tree branch with the over sized bird head.
"Y/n! Gaara!" Naruto shouted as he clawed at the clay so he could check on the duo trapped in it.
His work was cut short when y/n kicked through the clay, swatting it out the way and popping up.
"Here, Naruto! Help me get this clay out the way!" she ordered, lifting the Kazekage and stepping out of the bird head.
Naruto knocked the clay out of the tree so y/n could lay Gaara down on the branch and take a seat beside him, moving the Kazekage's head so it was resting on her lap instead of the hard surface of the wood.
"Damn it..." y/n murmured with a frown before grimacing, resting her forehead against Gaara's, "I won't accept it! He's not gone!"
Ahh, but y/n said the same thing several times before when a loved one of hers perished.
She said she wouldn't accept it.
She said that they weren't gone.
Y/n really had to stop lying to herself, it was bad for her health and already dwindling mental stability.
Naruto stared silently at Gaara and y/n, the clone that was there as well seeming just as dismayed.
Then there was a spark. A spark of that red chakra y/n had only seen a couple times before.
Ah 💩-
"Naruto! Don't get careless-!" y/n warned but it was too late. Her best friend was already moving and had punched Deidara off a branch by the time the oni's gaze found him.
He summoned some shadow clones, all of which held down the long haired blond after he'd hit the ground. The real Naruto landed right on the poor side stomach and...!
Oh.
Oh my goodness.
Y/n looked away as her bestie beat the living 💩 out of Deidara, punching him like he was a punching bag. The oni almost felt bad for him.
"Wait a damn..." y/n murmured, "That's not him."
She scanned the forest, slowly getting up and picking up Gaara as well. She sighed heavily, unable to focus with the pounding headache which had suddenly appeared.
The oni kept a firm yet gentle hold on Gaara as she held him, hopping down from the tree branch to join Kakashi and one of Naruto's clones which was providing support for the weakened Jonin.
As y/n landed, Naruto hit the clay clone with a rasengan which finally destroyed it and revealed it to be a clone. Naruto's own shadow clones went poof, with the exception of the one holding up Kakashi, and y/n became wary at the sight of the bubbling red chakra which began to rise from him.
It was like watching boiling water bubble over in a pot, the red chakra forming two tails and a pair of fox-like ears on y/n's bestie.
"Kakashi-sensei? Is that what I think it is...?" y/n murmured, her brows furrowed as her snarling bestie hopped onto a piece of the uplifted earth as he scanned the area for Deidara.
Suddenly, Naruto's clone keeled over in pain, "Ugh! It burns!" Wtf was Kurama doing? Eating a ghost pepper?
Okay, but seriously-
What was burning?
Damn it, was Naruto hurt?
"💩!" y/n cursed under her breath, moving to go provide some sort of aid. Kakashi held out an arm to stop her and shook his head when she gave him a glare.
"I'll handle it." he told her and didn't even give her the time to protest, practically a blur as he approached Naruto fast enough so that the Jinchuuriki didn't notice him until he was right beside him.
Kakashi really went "i like ya cut g" and smacked a seal on his forehead. Naruto finally chilled out, the red chakra dissipating.
"Whew... finally, a breather..." y/n murmured before calling, "Kakashi-sensei! Is Naruto okay?"
Kakashi didn't reply, Granny Chiyo and Sakura arriving a moment later. They both looked pretty beat up, but Granny Chiyo seemed to be in a very bad condition.
Y/n exhaled in relief before glancing at Gaara. Her heart ached at the sight of him.
Why did dead people look so peaceful.
Was death as bad as y/n believed it to be.
While the living were left to grieve, did the dead get to spend their afterlife without pain or sorrow?
The oni shook her head, adjusting her hold on Gaara before hopping down to the forest floor.
Questions, questions, questions. Y/n wouldn't know the answer to them until she died.
"Y/n? Are you okay?" Sakura asked quietly, startling the crimson oni just a bit when she rested a hand on her arm.
Y/n couldn't find the words to say anything.
She wanted to cry, but she was the one who was always supposed to stay strong when others couldn't.
Y/n didn't think she could be strong any longer...
She was in a bit of a daze, that kind of daze where everything around you is hazy and muffled.
That is until that Hyuga dude with the long brown hair and yelled, "Everyone, get out of here!"
What? Why? What happened?
Y/n hadn't been paying attention.
She did as she was told though, turning to go in the opposite direction while carrying Gaara.
Y/n risked a glance back and saw that Deidara dude, seconds away from exploding. So he turned himself into a human bomb, huh?
"Wild..." y/n murmured before the dude exploded, damn near blinding her in the progress.
The explosion never hit her or anyone else. It just disappeared, the space around it twisting and shifting.
Everyone watched in confusion and wariness as smoke wafted throughout the area, that being the only evidence of an explosion having been there in the first place.
That and the few burns marks on nearby trees.
"How did...?" y/n turned her gaze to the exhausted looking Kakashi and tilted her head, "Oh."
Well. That was one problem out of the way.