~We are one in the same. Oh you take all of the pain away~
Kiyomi's POV
A few hours and countless books later, Fenrir and I were no closer to finding out Naruto's secret than we were when we started. It was quite annoying, and I could tell that Fen was starting to get frustrated.
Finally, I decided to call it a night. 'Fen, let's go. We haven't found anything, and we've searched most of the records. Let's call it a night, and head home.'
'...' For a moment, I was afraid Fenrir would block me out, but then he answered. '... Fine. But take the long way home. I want to think in peace, and I can't do that if you're talking to Hachi.'
'That's okay. We can just go through the woods,' I replied, heading out of the library.
The first thing I noticed when we got outside was that it was much later than I thought it had been. The sky was dark, with only the moon shining above for light. The second thing was that I could smell a lot of ninja, jumping around the rooftops of the village.
Like they were looking for something.
Of course, I disregarded it at first. The shinobi here were strong, and could take care of whatever the threat was. It was no business of mine.
That's what I thought, until my sensitive nose picked up the familiar scents of Naruto and Iruka-sensei, along with what I thought was Mizuki-sensei's. And blood.
Now I was worried. None of the shinobi jumping around seemed to notice the smell, or the fact that it was coming from the training grounds.
Maybe the shinobi here aren't as good as I thought...
'I could have told you that,' Fenrir grumbled. I sighed.
'Now is not the time,' I thought sternly. 'I think Naruto and Iruka-sensei are in trouble, and it's Mizuki's fault. I knew he was bad news....'
'Well, this is as good a time as ever for you to try something out that I've been meaning to teach you for a while.' The wolf started to gather some of his chakra. It felt weird. Like a building pressure in my skull.
But before the feeling got to be unbearable, it disappeared. 'What- What did you do?' I thought to Fenrir.
'This is a special ability I can give to you. I know how good you are in Taijutsu, so this technique will be perfect,' Fenrir said, while starting to distribute some of the gathered chakra into my own chakra system. 'I'm going to let you take over part of my form. It will give you enhanced senses, along with better physical abilities.'
'Cool!' I thought excitedly. It did sound pretty neat. 'Let's do it!'
With a burst of chakra, Fenrir somehow managed to combine both mine and his. The sudden burst was unexpected, but I couldn't dwell on it for long. There was a strange kind of, shifting going on around my body, and it felt strange. Not wrong, but different.
It was over quickly. I opened my eyes hesitantly, and almost immediately closed them. It may have been late at night, but I could see everything! It was so detailed! I could see the scales falling off a butterfly's wings, I could see the smallest rustle of grass as a mouse wandered by, and I could see an owl circling high in the sky, watching that mouse.
My ears were also improved. That owl from before? I could hear it flapping it's wings. I could hear the minuscule noises the searching shinobi made as they traveled quickly. It was insane.
I accidentally sniffed through my nose, and gagged. I didn't notice before just how much garbage there is in Konoha. Even though my nose has always been better than other peoples, this was a whole new level!
But with my new senses, I could smell the blood from before all too clearly. I pushed off the ground, intent upon getting there quickly, but didn't realize until I'd left the ground that I was going way too fast!
I ran into a tree.
'Take it slow,' Fenrir cautioned. 'Your physical strength has been multiplied exponentially. It'll take some time to get used to it.'
'Is this permanent?' I wondered, rubbing the top of my now-aching head. Then froze when I felt something strange. A bump? No, too furry....
Furry?
'Oh yeah. I forgot to mention the side effects. So, you can activate this form whenever you want, and you'll be using my chakra instead of your own. But because I'm a wolf, and I'm lending you my abilities, you will have wolf ears and a tail while in this form. They'll go away when you release it, though.'
'People will see!' I cried out mentally. 'Then they'll ask questions, and things will go downhill from there!'
'That's no problem,' Fenrir snorted. 'Just tell them it's a Kekkei Genkai or whatever. People will believe anything.'
'... Oh yeah. That would work,' I concluded. 'But you didn't answer my question. The enhanced senses aren't permanent, are they? They're awesome, but I don't want to have to deal with them all the time.'
'No, like I said, you can choose when to use it. And when to deactivate it.'
'Cool.'
'Now, go get used to it fast. We have to go check on your teacher and Blondie.'
I nodded, and got up off the ground. Then I started moving, getting used to this new body. It was very different, but Fen helped me when he could.
'Alright, that's good enough for now. Later, I'll train you in some special techniques you can use. But now, let's get going.'
I took off, using my new strength to propel my body through the trees at a fast speed. I had to dodge a few trees when I lost control, but that was about it. In no time, I reached the place where I smelled Naruto and blood.
Mizuki was crouched in a tree, two large shurikens on his back. Iruka stood in front of a building, blood pouring out of his mouth. He had kunais surrounding him, and one was buried in his leg, which he pulled out. Naruto was standing a few feet away from Iruka, and had a large scroll on his back.
The two men argued for a moment, before Mizuki began to speak to Naruto. I hid my chakra, knowing I didn't want them to see or sense me.
"A rule was created after the incident that occurred twelve years ago," Mizuki said, smirking sadistically. "It's a rule that only you, Naruto, cannot find out about."
"Only me? What's the rule?" Naruto asked worriedly.
Now Iruka jumped in. "Stop, Mizuki!" He yelled.
But the white-haired man continued. "It's the rule not to say that Naruto is a monster fox."
Oh shit.
'I second that,' Fenrir said. His tone conveyed surprise and a slight hint of fear.
'The monster fox?' I questioned the wolf. 'Is he referring to the Nine-Tailed Fox?'
'Yes,' Fenrir said gravely. 'Kurama, strongest of the Nine Tailed Beasts. I had no idea he had been sealed.'
'Mizuki said it was twelve years ago. Naruto couldn't have been more than a few days old. Who would do that?' I questioned. 'And why would nobody tell him? That's something that would be better for everyone if he knew.'
'People are stupid and scared of anything they can't control,' the wolf said sadly. This was something he thought about a lot. 'But to answer your question, I don't know why anyone would do that.'
I sighed softly, confused. 'Is Naruto a monster?' I finally asked the question that was bugging me.
'No.' Was the wolf's immediate answer. 'If you say that he is, then that's like saying you're a monster because of me. He's not the fox, just like you're not me. Kurama's just sealed inside of him.'
'Good.' My relief was obvious. 'I may not be friends with Naruto, but I don't want to know that he's a monster. He just doesn't act like one.'
'Not at all,' Fenrir said softly. 'The kid's strong. Stronger than you or me. Strong enough to change the world if he wants.'
'That's enough with the mushy stuff. I can smell more blood. Which is a bad thing,' I said to Fenrir.
Fenrir nodded. 'Agreed. Mizuki is saying something. And he has a huge shuriken. That can't be good.'
I refocused in time to hear Mizuki say, "Don't make me laugh! Iruka has hated you since you killed his parents!"
I quickly took in the scene, seeing Iruka crouching protectively over Naruto, a huge shuriken embedded in his back. Then the full brunt of Mizuki's words hit me. So I decided it was time to enter the conversation.
I laughed aloud, drawing the attention of the three of them. "Is that truly the action of someone who hates you?" I said, pointing to Iruka and Naruto. "I think you've misread the situation, Mizuki."
All three of them gaped at me. Iruka looked the most surprised. "Kiyomi? Is that you?" He asked, a bit of blood trickling out of his mouth.
"You look different!" Naruto exclaimed, gazing up at me with a foreign emotion.
I shrugged, swishing my tail with a new muscle I discovered. "It's a Kekkei Genkai," I said dismissively. "Told you I was holding back, Iruka-sensei."
Iruka shook his head weakly. "I know, I know," he said. "But what are you doing here?"
"I was training, and I smelt blood," I shrugged again, seeming not to care. "Then I scented Mizuki-baka here, and figured nothing good could come of it."
"She's lying!" Mizuki yelled. "Iruka hates you! He's just playing you, because he wants the scroll!"
"Please," I scoffed. "What do you have to gain, Mizuki, except the scroll itself? Turning Naruto against Iruka only benefits you!"
Naruto's face showed his conflicting emotions. I could see them flashing across his face with my enhanced eyesight. And this is why I wasn't really surprised when he made a break for it, running deeper into the woods with the scroll.
"Naruto!" Iruka yelled. He looked like he wanted to follow, but the shuriken stuck in his back prevented the action.
I leapt down next to my teacher, crouching beside him. "Don't worry, Sensei. You just recover. I'll go after Naruto." And I pushed off and headed after Naruto, disregarding Iruka's yells for me to stop.
'Why are you helping Naruto?' Fenrir asked, confusion slightly lacing his tone. 'You said you didn't want any emotional attachments to others your age?'
'I don't,' I replied shortly. 'But I do feel for Naruto. Remember how I was when I first found you in my head? The confusion and anger? He's probably experiencing something similar.'
'Fair enough.' Was the the reply before Fenrir became silent. And I knew him well enough to know that he meant it.
When I finally saw Naruto running through the trees, I decided to stay near him and watch, but not interact. We sat in silence, until another Naruto ran up, with Iruka chasing behind him.
'Iruka' tried to take the scroll from 'Naruto', but then they both revealed their true forms. 'Iruka' was actually Mizuki, and 'Naruto' was actually Iruka. Which slightly hurt my head, until they started talking again.
They blabbered away, with Naruto watching it all. Then Iruka said something that really hurt Naruto, and the boy got angry.
Until Iruka's next words changed his mind.
"If he was the monster fox," My sensei said. "But Naruto isn't the Nine-Tails. He's my student. He may be clumsy and unrecognized, but he knows the pain of others. He's not the Nine-Tails, he's Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha!"
A warm feeling appeared in my chest. It's nice to know that while Naruto may be like me, he's also got someone who believes in him. For me, it's Fenrir himself and Hachi. And for Naruto... It's Iruka.
Naruto had tears steaming down his face because of his Sensei's declaration. But Mizuki was less than impressed, and grabbed his other large shuriken.
"Iruka, I said I would kill you later, but I take that back," Mizuki said, holding the weapon in one hand. "Die now!" And he began to spin the shuriken.
It seemed like Mizuki was about to kill Iruka, and I jumped forward, standing between the two with my hands raised. Another cool thing about this form were the claws, that were diamond hard and razor sharp. They would be able to stop the shuriken.
But there was no need. Naruto had leapt out from his tree, and smashed into Mizuki, stopping him from getting near our teacher.
They skidded for a bit, before they got up and started talking again. These people really talk too much...
But while that was happening, I pulled out some leftover bandages from my training, and began to patch Iruka-sensei up. "Kiyomi... You're still here..."
"Yeah. And by the way, Naruto's not weak anymore," I said, finished the bandage. "He's already mastered one of the techniques on the scroll."
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. And suddenly there were thousands of copies of Naruto, surrounding Mizuki. I poked one near me, wondering what made it different from a regular clone.
Turns out it was solid.
That made me think it was Naruto, until I poked another one. Also solid. Weird...
'The Shadow Clone jutsu is different from the regular clone jutsu in that it produces real copies, not illusions,' Fenrir explained. It made sense.
From what I've heard, Naruto has failed at the Clone jutsu many times. So of course he'd be good at the more advanced version. And if he really does have the Nine-Tails, then he's got a ton of chakra. That many shadow clones isn't even difficult for him.
Mizuki looked seriously confused. He turned left and right, looking for an escape or a weak spot.
He found none.
"What...?" he asked in confusion. "What is this?"
"What's the matter?" all of the Narutos asked in unison. "Come and get me. Come on!"
Mizuki fell to the ground, staring around in fear and bewilderment. The Narutos started stretching, saying that if Mizuki wouldn't come to them, then they'd come to him.
'We aren't needed here any longer,' Fenrir said. 'Leave now. Naruto can handle it.'
'Fine,' I replied, backing away, then turning and running off into the forest.
'Oh, and undo the jutsu I placed on you,' the wolf added calmly.
I growled, a little annoyed at that. 'Oh? And how do you expect me to do that?'
'Can you feel our combined chakra swirling through your body?'
'... Yes.' And I could. I knew what my own chakra felt like, and also what Fenrir's felt like. But now, I couldn't distinguish between the two. The combo felt odd, but not wrong. Just different.
'Good. So to release the form, simply separate our chakra,' Fenrir said it like it was so simple.
I sighed. Thankfully we were in an area where I couldn't sense any other shinobi, giving me some time to figure this out.
Okay, first order of business. Learn where the chakra is the most dense. If I can clear that area, the rest will follow easily. I concentrated on my chakra flow, feeling the movement of my unusually strong chakra going throughout my body.
... There. There was a dense cluster of chakra right below my heart. Near my solar plexus.
'Good...' Fenrir whispered, careful not to disturb my concentration. 'Just slowly pull them apart.'
I gritted my teeth slightly. It was harder than it sounded. Our chakra really didn't want to separate. And finding just the right place to apply the necessary pressure... Ugh.
'There,' Fenrir said slowly. 'Push at it with your mind. Not your body.'
I did as he instructed, and I slowly felt the clump disappear. The feeling was one of... Well, it wasn't really describable. It felt right and wrong, at once.
The feeling spread throughout the rest of my body, and I felt my ears and tail recede. My senses seemed to decrease, and I felt vulnerable. I couldn't hear, I couldn't smell, nothing. I- I was-
'Calm down, kid!' Fenrir roared. 'Just calm yourself. The feeling will stop, I promise. Just a little bit more, and you'll be done. I promise.'
I shuddered, but stopped panicking slightly. There was no way to completely cease the panic I felt, but Fen's words helped.
And slowly, Fenrir's words proved to be true. The panicky feeling I had was going away. I still felt vulnerable, but it wasn't as severe. I felt normal. Weak, but normal.
'That's to be expected,' Fenrir said, reading my thoughts. 'In your other form, your power is much beyond that of your human form. But as much as you may want to, you can't keep it.'
'I... I can't?' I thought weakly. The jutsu had tired me out immensely.
'No. Well, you could, but it would involve completely absorbing me, and the change would be permanent. And I would be gone. That is a last resort, because once it's done, there's no coming bacl. Ever.' Fenrir's tone rang with finality. This topic was closed. 'But congratulations for surviving. From what I've heard, not all hosts survive.'
'Great,' I snorted. 'Thanks for getting me into something I may not survive.'
'Just remember. This was the only time I could induce the transformation. Next time, I'll tell you how to do it on your own.'
'Not now?'
'No. You're tired, and you're getting assigned to your teams tomorrow,' Fenrir said. 'You need your rest.'
'Okay,' I stifled a yawn. 'I'm a bit tired. Let's head home.'
'You're the one with legs. Not me.'
~Save me if I become my demons~