I know I haven't had time to fill my queue and post often, but if you ever thought of me fondly when I posted Rock Lee, then maybe give this Rock Lee Community a chance! It's free!
đ - Who has your character hurt the most? Physically or emotionally? How did it feel? Do they regret it?
Ayaki was one of the first people to abandon Iwabe when he graduated the Academy without him. It wasnât intentional â Ayaki got swept up by those around him into the next phase of his life and aiming to become a chunin, and he just forgot to reach out again. It didnât hurt at first because he didnât realize it was happening, but by the time he realized that he had fallen out of touch with Iwabe, it was too late to go back to the Leaf Academy and try to reconnect. While Iwabe didnât reach out either, Ayaki still feels a deep regret that they lost touch for a couple of years between their individual graduations.
4,223 words
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Naruto (Anime & Manga)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Uchiha Shisui, Nibi | Two-tails | Matatabi, Killer Bee (Naruto), Omoi (Naruto), Karui (Naruto)
Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Character Death, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:
The Third Ninja War is waning and Shisuiâ a battlefield created jinchurikiâ finds himself working as arms for hire to keep himself fed as a MIA shinobi. But no matter how good he is at what he does, this latest missionâs stakes are higher than he thinks.
0-0-0
This was going to be a tough one.
Not because Shisui was worried about getting his catch. Heâd done that already. Heâd found his target pretty easily, while the man had been making a run for the border of the Land of Lightning. He had the man tied up and ready to goâ alive, as per instructions. And thank god, because he was twice Shisuiâs size and Shisui did not have the fortitude right now to drag a dead body all the way to the drop off point.
Iâm stating my position on this again, Shisui-kun, Matatabi chided. Taking this mission was a mistake. If you know whatâs good for you, youâll back out now.
Weâre almost there. Besides, the pay is good for a fast catch. Things are a bit tight right now, we could use the money.
Hm.
Shisui chuckled. Come on. Donât you want to see how your old village is doing?
No.
Okay, okay. Iâm sorry.
Matatabi huffed. Donât say I didnât warn you.
With that, her consciousness settled somewhere warm in the back of Shisuiâs mind. Shisui pressed his lips together, but decided to let it go. He scooted a little closer to the fire, the warmth making him shiver. He looked over to where his prisoner was sleeping, bound at the wrists and ankles.
The bounty listed this as a low-ranking missing-nin, someone who couldnât cut it as a shinobi and decided to make a run for it instead of serving their time. Shisui had heard about the Hidden Cloudâs mandatory service before, but to spend their money on catching AWOL genin seemed a little pointlessâ especially during the death throes of this awful war. He supposed that was why they werenât paying their own hunter-nin to go after him.
Which meant the Hidden Cloud must be paying their hunter-nin good money, because Shisui was no cheap labor himselfâ not usually, at least. The war was at its end, after all (theoretically.) With the threat of peace coming for their livelihood, more and more bounty hunters were popping up out of the smaller villages as they surrendered or their militaries were assimilated into the Five Great Nations. Shisui was a cut above any of these small town thugs and could take on big time jobs, but he had to balance his success with his anonymity. He had to avoid making too much of a name for himself. Word traveled fast even across enemy lines and Shisui was still a wanted man.
And unlike his current target, Shisui was not wanted alive.
By any side.
Despite how lightly he teased her, Matatabi had a point. The Hidden Cloud was likely livid they lost one of their tailed-beasts in the midst of battle. Shisui hadnât met Matatabiâs old jinchuriki and she did not talk about her often, but he could tell by the sound of Matatabiâs voice and the warmth that radiated in his stomach when she talked about her that the Two-Tails had possessed a⊠fondness for her old partner.
A deep itch started on Shisuiâs shoulder and radiated all the way down his back. He gave a small frustrated grunt, scratching at the seal that was imprinted on his back. It had been a hack job, done by an inexperienced medic-nin in an effort to get the Two-Tails while it was still weak enough to seal alone. Shisui had been the only one around. It was him or letting the Two-Tails go, to be captured by enemy shinobi or worse, allowed to return to full strength and wreak havoc yet againâ this time too close to the Hidden Leaf for Shisui to stand for.
Shisui missed home, sometimes. But he knew in his heart that returning a jinchuriki would mean turning over a weapon of mass destruction to the Uchiha andâ no matter how much it hurt himâ he could not give his clan any more leverage to go through with their foolish coup. He just had to hope that someday, the talks of peace would make their way inside the Hidden Leaf and encourage them to look inward for justice.
Shisui sighed. There was no point in getting all fussed about it again. Heâd made his choice. Now he was living with it. It was going to be a long, sleepless night, but in the morning, heâd be in the Hidden Cloud. Heâd turn in his target, get paid his bounty, and get out of dodge before anyone suspected a thing.
--------------------
Shisui approached the red, looming gates leading up into the mountains â the entrance to the Hidden Cloud. As he stepped up, however, he was suddenly stopped by two⊠children.
âHold it right there!â One of them shouted at him. She was half his size, with fiery red-hair and golden eyes. She pointed a short sword at him, snapping, âState your business! Now!â
Shisui held back a laugh, holding up his hands. âWhoa, whoa. Iâm here on business. Iâve got a delivery to make to the Council of the Hidden Cloud. Maybe you couldââ
âWhat kind of delivery!â
Shisui pointed behind him.
The little girl peered around him. She narrowed her eyes and looked back at Shisui. âAnd?â
âI was asked to bring him here. So I am.â
âWhatâs wrong with him?â
Shisui waved the question off. âNothing. Heâs just under a little genjutsu, thatâs all. Itâs easier than convincing him to come back on his own, right?â
The other child came up behind her, looking over her shoulder. He was a young boy with blond hair and what appeared to be a lollipop hanging from the side of his mouth. He frowned.
âProve youâre not lying!â The little girl shouted, advancing on him.
âWhoa, hey now. How am I supposed to do that?â
âYou tell me! Youâre the intruder!â
âHey, hey! Whatâs all this, whatâs all the noise? All this yelling, my concentration destroys! Yea, yea!â
Shisuiâs eyes snapped up, as a hulking man came swinging down off the mountain side. He swung over the red gates like monkey bars, landing right next to the little kids with a thud! âWhatâs the dealio, kiddie-os?â
The little girl pointed at Shisui with her sword. âThis guy says heâs gotta deliver this other guy to the Council or something! But he wonât prove it!â
âSimmer down, Karui, let the MC get a looksie.â The man stepped up to Shisui, leaning down to meet his eyes. The sunlight glimmered in his sunglasses, right above the tattoos of bullhorns on his cheek.
Thatâs Killer Bâ the Raikageâs brother. Matatabi informed him. You best be careful. He comes off foolish, but his strength is nothing to snicker at. He is the host of the Eight-Tails, Gyuuki.
Shisuiâs stomach dropped, but he stood his ground.
Killer B took a look around Shisui at the man tied up behind him. He snapped his fingers. âOh shit! Yeah, I know this face! You got his ass, record pace, oh yeah!â
Shisui let his breath go subtly. âIâm glad to be satisfactory! Now, I was told Iâd be able to find someone here to guide me to the Council. Is that⊠you?â
Killer B grimaced and waved his hand in a vague circle. âYeah⊠I guess. I donât want to go through the whole song and dance, I donât even wanna give those stuffy hacks a chance toââ
âI⊠donât know about that. I was told to make the delivery in personââ
âNo worries, no worries, mate! Iâll just write a little note, put my name on it, and itâll all be good!" B whipped out a small notebook and a pencil, scribbling something down. "Besides, my kidsâll vouch for you, wonât you, kids?â
Karui huffed, snatching the note from B. She sheathed her sword and crossed her arms.
The little boy didnât say anything.
Shisui quickly looked between Karui and B. âI really would ratherââ
âThatâs the spirit!â Killer B snatched the rope out of Shisuiâs hands and slapped him on the back. âGo on ahead, I got this from here! Just follow these kids up the mountain, no fear!â
âIâ!â
But before Shisui could protest any more, Killer B hoisted their missing-nin up onto his shoulder and bounded back off up into the mountains. He tried not to let out a groan of frustration. He might have just gotten kill-snatched.
I think you should take this as a sign and quit while youâre ahead, Shisui-kun.
Câmon. Weâve gotten this far.
Hm.
Look, these kids are harmless. If I get into any trouble, Iâll pop them under a little genjutsu and weâll skedaddle. Easy does it.
Donât be so sure. These mountains are treacherous to outsiders and crawling with Hidden Cloud shinobi. It will only get worse the closer you get to the village.
Donât worry about me. My Body Flicker technique is faster than anyoneâs. Iâll be fine.
Itâs not you Iâm worried aboutâ
âHey!â
Shisui snapped back to the present when a pair of fingers were snapped in front of him.
âLemme guess,â Karui jabbed. âYou canât use chakra to walk up walls?â
Of course he could but he had⊠obscured a bit on his background when taking this job. He shrugged with a smile. âSorryâ Karui, was it?â
âThatâs Karui-san to you.â
âYes maâam, Karui-san.â
She jerked her head. âCome on then. Itâs a long walk for civilians.â
Shisui followed these two kids as they began their trek up the mountains. Karui had not been lying. It was definitely a long walk up many steep stairs. The longer they walked, the thinner the air became and the denser the clouds became around them, until it began to look like they were in a fog. Karui trekked on ahead of them, however, kicking a rock up the stairs. The boy hung back behind her, almost walking beside him.
Shisui bent down a little. âSo is she always so intense?â
The boy looked at him out of the corner of his eye, but didnât respond.
Shisui laughed a little. âNot much for conversation, huh?â
The boy shook his head. If Shisui had to guess, the boy had to be around five years oldâ way too young to be guarding the village gates. The girl was probably older, but not by much. The Hidden Cloud must have been strapped for shinobiâ
Donât underestimate B. Matatabi warned. If you had tried anything, youâd be dangling by your neck off these cliff sides.
So lemme guess. You know these kids?
Matatabi didnât answer.
After what seemed like forever, they broke through the clouds and the stairs finally plateaued, announcing their arrival into the Hidden Cloud proper. The many plazas and beautiful glass buildings built into the mountain side were all connected with stone walkways and steel bridges. However, the clouds obscured how far the village really wentâ making it look like some of the bridges walked right into the ether.
âCome on, keep up!â Karui yelled. She turned around with a sneer. âIf you get lost, you might walk right off the edge of a cliff.â
âOh yikes. We better keep up then, rightâ?â Shisui lead, but the boy did not take the bait. Shisui cleared his throat. âYâknow, I had a friend who had a brother about your age.â
The boy didnât respond.
âHe was a lot more talkative than you. You couldnât stop him from talking, actually.â
âWhat, kinda like you?â Karui snapped.
âSomething like that!â Shisui laughed. âHow much longer, Karui-san?â
âWhy? Are your legs getting tired?â
âA little bit, yeah. It was a long walk here.â
âWell lucky you, the council building is right over there.â Karui pointed to the building looming in the clouds to their right. âSo stop whinging, weâre practically there.â
And so they were. Karui lead them all inside and up yet another few flights of stairs, until they reached a long hallway leading to an impressive set of doors with the kanji for âCloudsâ written upon them in gold paint.
âYou stay here.â Karui commanded, pointing at a bench. âIâll go in and tell them whatâs going on.â
Shisui gave her a salute. âTell them Suishi sent you.â
âYeah, yeah, Sushi sent me. Omoi, you watch this guy and make sure he doesnât try anything funny.â With that, Karui grabbed the door handle and â using her whole body weightâ swung it open just enough to get through. She heaved it shut behind her.
This left Shisui and the younger boy alone together.
Shisui tapped his fingers against the wall. âSo. Omoi, is it?â
The boy looked up at him.
Shisui forced a little laugh. ââKaruiâ and âOmoiâ, huh? You two mustâve been a package deal at the baby store, huh?â
Omoi frowned. He pulled the lollipop out of his mouth. âYou arenât from around here, are you?â
âOh, so you can talk! No, no. Iâm not from around here. But itâs a nice place, maybe Iâllââ
âI need to ask you a question and you need to answer it fast.â
âUh, sure. Shoot.â
âWhat did you do to Yugito?â
âWho-gito?â
The doors burst open and dozens of shinobi spilled outâ from the hallways on either side, from the ceiling, from the walls. They swarmed Shisui like attacking dogs, brandishing knives, swords, sealing scrolls. Shisui had a breath to form a single hand seal.
But thatâs all he needed.
Body Flicker!
Shisui vanished from the onslaught, feeling the rush as blades passed over his head and clashed against each other. He ran, flitting in and out around ninja as they came at him. As he dodged through a hissing maze of wires bursting from a sealing scroll, he flashed another set of hand seals.
Doppelganger Technique!
In a puff of white smoke, dozens of shadows of Shisui burst onto the battlefield and scattered, all running for the only exit Shisui knew of. As he flickered through these mere shadows, he saw a shinobi running in the opposite directionâ holding Omoi. Shinobi were parting around the fleeing ninja like water and they were pulling far ahead. So Shisui switched tactics, sending his clones far out away from him and following closely behind Omoiâs savior in short burstsâ just enough to keep inside the hole behind them, but not close enough they could feel him.
But then bolts of lightning shot through the hallway in front of him, shattering the thick windows around him and halting him in his tracks. He jumped back and turned to face the horde behind himâ but they were no longer advancing. The wall of shinobi stood behind him, all still poised to attack, but⊠they were standing still.
Shisui whipped back around.
In front of him stood a hulking man, skin dark and ruddy, blonde hair pushed back behind his forehead protector. Wisps of lightning still crackled across his boulder muscles, even as he straightened up.
Shisui-kun! Jump!
What?!
Jump! Iâll catch you!
Shisui made a dash for the shattered window, his feet clattering against the broken glass. Then the hair stood up on the back of his neck and he flung himself to the side, just narrowly avoiding the devastating blow that zapped past his ear. He scrabbled back, his Sharingan flickering around the battlefield. Thenâ in a breathâs momentâ he saw the man, coated in a veil of lightning, come charging at him fist drawn back.
Even his Body Flicker would be too slow.
S-Susanoo!
With a burst of bright green chakra, a skeletal rib cage burst from the ground around Shisui, rushing up to defend himâ but not fast enough. With a crack like a splitting tree, the tip of Susanooâs rib snapped.
--------------------
The ringing in his ears grew closer and closer, until it seemed to fill his head. The world slowly came back into focus around him and his body seemed to settle back down into reality. Shisuiâs entire body ached, like heâd been thrown down a cliffside. His limbs were still tingling, full of a dull static from the tips of his fingers to the bottom of his toes. Whatever lightning-style heâd been hit with, it had been extraordinary. He was lucky he wasnât deadâ perhaps calculatedly so.
Shisui struggled to sit up. His arms felt like they were on a delay and slightly off from the rest of his body. He swayed to catch his balance as he fully sat up. He took a look at his arm and he saw bright pink lines scribbling down his pale, clammy skin.
Theyâre lightning scars. Theyâll fade.
Shisui jolted with relief. Matatabi! Youâre still here!
Of course I am. Youâd be dead if I werenât.
I thought for sure youâd beâ
I know. I am as surprised as you, Shisui-kun.
Shisui sighed. I really messed up, Matatabi. Iâm sorry I came back here.
Donât be too hard on yourself. It⊠could have been worse.
What happened?
You met Aâ the current Raikage. You were never going to be a match for him. You are very, very lucky. If he wanted you dead, you would be.
Then why am IâŠ
Shisui looked around him. He was trapped, that much was certain. The grey stone around him was cold. The bars in front of him were thick and solid. There was a damp smell in the air and it was humid. There was the sound of running water, echoing somewhere in the distance.
You⊠wouldnât happen to know where we are, would you?
If I had to guess, weâre in a sealing temple within the Hidden Cloud. There are several, meant to hold a tailed beast if their jinchuriki fails. I could not say which one.
Thatâs more than I know. Any chance youâve got enough chakra left to bust us out of here? I think Iâm tapped out.
Iâm afraid not. Something must be siphoning off my chakra.
âHey, hey! Look whoâs awake!â
Shisui winced as the voice echoed loudly through his cell. He looked over and saw Killer B waving from the other side.
âWelcome back, kid!â B turned around and crossed his legs. He slapped his thighs. âI bet youâve got questions, yeah?â
âI⊠a couple, I guess.â His voice was hoarse. He tried to get up, but didnât make it very far. He sat back down hard.
âIâd keep your backside rock-side, if I were you. My brotherâs Lightning Straight ainât something most bounce back from. Wish Iâd been there to see how you managed that one.â
âMm-hmâŠâ Shisui rubbed his eyes. âWhere am I?â
âJail, my guy! Youâve made yourself a right mess, no try! Youâve got balls up the walls to come back here!â
âI⊠ughâŠâ
âHey, hey, donât get too down. Weâd have tracked you down anyway, you saved us a lot of time, âey. Not many people couldâve gone toe-to-toe with Yugito, much less taken her out. Youâve pissed off a lot of people.â
âWho?â
âDonât play dumb now, boy. Youâve already fucked up.â
âIâŠâ
Yugito was my former jinchuriki. She was taken out by a man with yellow hair and a long coat. I donât know how, but I didnât see him coming. She was gone before I knew what had hit us.
Shisuiâs stomach dropped.
âTalking with the Two-Tails, boy?â
âI⊠y-yes. How did youââ
âSo youâre at least on speaking terms, thatâs good to hear.â B leaned forward. âSo. If it wasnât you, then who?â
âWe⊠we donât know. They hit her from behind. Somehow.â Shisui tried again to get up, but failed. âWhatâŠwhatâs going to happen now?â
âNow? Now weâre at a bit of an impasse, a bit of a block. Where we go from here is on you, so letâs talk.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âWelp, thereâs a few things you gotta know, a couple things to get you up to speed. We got you on lock, but thereâs a way to get freed! But not without a catch.â B tapped his shoulder, where there was a dark black tattoo of the kanji for âIronâ. âYou see this seal? Itâs better than yours, yâfeel me? Weâve gotten your seal modded up, so itâs attached to yours truly!â
âWh⊠huh?â
âListen up, listen up, Iâm telling you, son! You and I, fit and fly, are linked now, yea! Where I go, you go, day by day, hey!â
âWh⊠whâŠâ Shisui shook his head. âWait, so⊠weâre tied together now? By our seals?â
âBy your seal, yeah. So if you try anything funny or tricky, yours will pop right off real sicky. Gonna be a helluva bad end for you then, friend.â
Can they do that?
I donât know, but I would not put it past them. I would not test it just yet.
âSo⊠how far is the tether?â
âThatâs for me to know, and you to find out, kiddo.â B waved his hand around. âBut that ainât the only thing you gotta do, the only catch, Iâm telling you. Thereâs more to the deal, yâfeel?â
âLike what?â
âLike youâre a jinchuriki now, of the Two-Tailed Beast. The Hidden Cloudâs Beast, of which weâd like to keep. So you and me, weâre a lot alike, because Iâm the Eight-Tails host, no trick, no syke!â
âThe Eight-TailsâŠâ Shisui said, like he didnât already know.
âHey, hey, surely Two-Tails has said something about me by now, yea? Iâm the Killer B, we go way back, me and she!â
âSheâs mentioned you, yes.â Shisui pressed his lips together. Then he said, âI⊠I canât be loyal to the Hidden Cloud.â
âWe ainât asking that. But until weâve got a better way to pry that kitty cat out of you, you ainât going nowhere fast. So you might as well sit back and re-lax.â
âSo⊠I just sit here? Or do we just sit here?â
âNeither, kiddo! We ainât savages! If youâre gonna be our Two-Tails host, youâll need some establishes! Something nicer than this!â
âWhat do you mean?â
âLetâs find out, yeah?â B stood up, picking up the familiar bag by his side. He shoved a hand in his pocket and dug around, fishing out a key and jamming it into the lock on the door. He kicked it open with a screech.
Shisui tried again to stand up, his legs finally feeling steadier beneath him. He wobbled back to his feet, only to be nearly knocked back off them when B tossed the bag into his hands.
âAll your stuff is still there, youâll find, plus your mission payment, in kind. Your mission was a success, your target was met, so the Cloud paid their debt!â
âOh⊠thatâs⊠nice. I guess.â
âFor sure! Now you good to talk, but you good to walk?â
âI⊠I think so.â
âFor sure, for sure. Letâs get a move on then!â
--------------------
âHere we go, here we are! Your new digs, kid.â
Shisui looked around. The room had definitely been recently repurposedâ a lot of miscellaneous items and furniture had been pushed to the walls to make room for a fluffy looking futon and a bedside lamp. Pretty bare-bones, but definitely more than Shisui had had some nights.
âIt ainât no five-star resort, but I wasnât expecting guests.â B nudged him with a cheeky smile. âWeâll go shopping tomorrow.â
Shisui forced a smile. âYou donât have to do that. This is fine.â
âNicer than jail, huh?â
Shisui nodded.
B patted him on the back. âDonât you worry about that anymore. Besides. My bro is paying for your upgrades, so you can have whatever you want.â
âThank you, thatâs⊠nice of him.â
âYeah, donât get too used to it. Brotherâs a hard-ass most of the time. Youâll find that out once you start training to get your tailed beast form under control.â
Little do they know.
And the littler they know the better, Shisui-kun.
âAnyway. You can put your bag down wherevs, bathroomâs down the hall across from the kids, and Iâll see you at dinner in 40 minner.â
âThank you, B-samaââ Shisui stopped, then asked, âKids? You have children?â
Omoi and Karui used to run the eighth gym in the Hidden Cloud as a double battle gym, using their combined Steel- and Electric-types to synergize into a tricky gym to beat. So much so that the League eventually decided to split them up and gave them a choice: one would keep the gym, the other would join the Elite Four.
Karui turned down the Elite Four position. She didn't want to give up battling regularly in order to sit and wait for somebody to finally beat the challenging Land of Lightning League (The Triple L, for how many 'Ls' people usually took for each gym.) She wanted to keep her gym, so Omoi got bumped into the free Elite Four spot.
Not much to do when The Triple L was such a gambit, so Omoi starts traveling again with his Poketch turned on. He heads to the Land of Fire, knowing Karui's long distance lover was also a gym leader there. He decides to have a bit of fun and challenge the gyms of the region and - fitting a trainer of his caliber - he knocks through most of the gyms. He is prepared to tackle the final gym, only to be told he'd need the Strength HM in order to get there and the only way to get it was to challenge the Dojo just outside the Hidden Leaf. Assuming it was going to be an excursion not unlike the other dojos he'd seen before, Omoi waltzes in prepared to get the HM and be on his way.
Little did he know that this Dojo was considered to be the unofficial ninth gym of the region. The Dojo Master Rock Lee specialized in Fighting-types, who would normally be a neutral cake walk, but these are pokemon unlike any Omoi had faced. They're trained to peak performance and outspeed his team at every turn. Their offense is powerful and their defenses enormous, but Omoi scraped against beating Lee but couldn't quite make it - taking his first loss in the region.
Lee encourages him to not give up, that others had beaten him before and continued on to the eighth gym. He invites Omoi to join his Dojo and train with the team that had bested him, to whip his team into their best shape.
Omoi - charmed by the encouragement he received and mesmerized by Lee's impossible body - takes him up on it and trains there. The two spend their days killing kids' dreams of facing the League and working out, chatting about their experiences and what their journeys had been like. Omoi finds himself enamored with Lee and forgets why he was there in the first place.
Eventually, Omoi is called back to face an opponent that had somehow struggled through Karui's gym. He is devastated to be reminded of his position, but Lee is encouraging and hypes him up for his first official Elite Four match. He said he'd tune in for the match and cheer him on, though he would not need it as the training had surely paid off.
Omoi returns to The Triple L and- unsurprisingly- stops the challenger in their tracks. Three times. The kid is devastated, but Omoi solidifies himself as a member of the Elite Four. Having slaughtered a hopeful kid's dream of being Champion, Omoi returns to the Hidden Leaf and challenges Rock Lee's Dojo again. This time- by the skin of his teeth- Omoi gets one past Lee's Infernape and wins the match.
Lee proudly- but sadly- hands over a copy of the Strength HM and congratulates Omoi on a job well done. Omoi decides that - rather than finish what he started - he'd stay and train just a little longer. He couldn't be Champion of this region, but he could always work harder and become Champion of The Triple L.
So the two continue their friendship that soon blossoms into something more, until one day they welcome their son Metal Lee to the Dojo for the first time.
snowghoul
jbbartram-illu
titsay
annaxmalina
vaporwave
pixelskylines
