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A strange new life. [Naruto]
- Thread starter okashihime
- Start date
6.13
New
okashihime
I like sweets.
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2025
- Messages
- 125
- Likes received
- 2,358
Tension thick enough to cut with a kunai pressed on me. Tsuchigaru's massive eyes bore down on us. Karin's grip on my arm reached the death-grip settings. I fought the urge to shrink back. That's not how I expected things to go after the somewhat peaceful start, but I noticed a few things. For one, that the big one hadn't killed us yet. For another, what was this about the snake's stench? The only thing I could think of regarding the snake was my eye and Orochimaru. Orochimaru also meant Ryuchi Cave and his summons.
That gave me an idea to try. I wasn't a friend of the snakes; I very much had a blood feud with Orochimaru. I could use that, but I wasn't willing to give that information for free. I remembered the murals, and the pictographs of badgers and humans trading. Maybe they liked to barter? Why else would they have a history lesson over that? I could do bartering. It was even in my favor since I had nothing else besides information to offer.
The best case scenario was to enlist their help with a contract, gather supplies, and have them send me back from wherever their lands were. In a worst-case scenario, I'd settle up to leaving here alive, with information on how to return to Konoha.
I puffed my non-existent chest, raised my head. Confidence, that was now my middle name.
"I am no snake friend. I fought and killed them before." I mean, not me, me. It was Naruto and Sasuke who killed those giant snakes in the Forest of Death, but I helped, right? I even had a hand in their training. I hope they didn't mind me taking credit. "I have a blood feud against their summoner; I orchestrated his fall." Even if I didn't believe that was the last I had seen of Orochimaru and that it wasn't me who killed him, but the Hokage and Shisui. I was the one that moved the pieces years before. That also counted as my kill, right? Right?
Alliances declared, boast stated, I started my sales pitch. "You'll sign a summoner contract with me," I rasped, held in the urge to cough. I wasn't good at negotiations, but I knew you should always shoot up for the biggest you can and negotiate to a more realistic outcome. "You'll send us back, give us supplies and equipment. In return, I'll provide you with news regarding the snake-clan."
A rumble from above followed my declaration. "You want to barter?" The voice asked, amused. Tsuchigaru's eyes glinted in the semi-darkness of the cave.
Kumoko's tiny chakra bundle moved. She dashed from the big paws side until she was at Tsuchigaru's face. "Pops! Lemme handle this!" Her small, fur-covered frame shook. She looked a bit silly, glaring up at her giant father.
"And why should I let you, cub? You've already meddled enough when I ordered our guests to be left alone."
"Cause I earned my name!" The answer came in a high-pitched, squeaky growl. "I can handle this stuff now!" Kumoko's puffed tail pointed straight up. She turned to me. "Let me barter with the snake girl. If she's lying, I can always eat her eye after."
Why was Kumoko so obsessed with my eye?
Another quake-chuckle rumbled through the room. "Have it your way then, Kumoko."
Kumoko preened, tail still straight up. "Snake girl," she squeaky-growled my way. Was she trying to be intimidating? "Here are my terms for you: The snake girl will surrender all her secrets, give me her eye, and the Iron Skin clan will let her leave this place alive!"
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I wanted to feel insulted that I was relegated to deal with his kid, but wasn't that to my advantage? Hoodwinking—I mean, convincing Kumoko might be much easier than her father.
"No!" Kumoko's tail lashed out.
The she-devil paced in front of me. I had, at some point, sat down. Karin had also sat by my side and now rested her head on my lap. Gentle breathing indicated she was fast asleep. I couldn't blame her, the negotiation had gone on for the better part of an hour, and Karin hadn't recovered from me sucking her dry of life force the previous day. I was worried. Karin displayed an uncomfortable level of trust and familiarity with me for someone she barely met a few hours ago. Was this one of those cases of abuse victims imprinting on their saviors or some bullshit like that?
I was holding a bloodied piece of Karin's shirt. The redhead was kind enough to offer me a scrap of fabric to clean the blood from my mouth before she fell asleep. My throat was a stinging mess, and I was ready to be done with this. Maybe this was Kumoko's strategy. Drag this out as much as possible until I give up and agree to her inane demands.
Kumoko looked at her giant dad again. She'd done that whenever declaring her terms. Was she looking for the approval of the patriarch? She looked back at me, eyes narrowing.
"The clan will give the snake-girl supplies, help her find her way back to human lands, sign a summoning contract with her." She said with another frustrated lash of her short tail. "She'll give us the information about the snake clan and their summoner, pay in high-quality honey for each summon, help us acquire supplies from human lands, and give me her eye."
We had come to somewhat agreeable terms.
A summoning contract with the Iron Hide badger clan, each summon paid in honey, the amount depending on the badger summoned and the task performed. Honey wasn't that cheap in Konoha, but I had contacts. If I didn't abuse the summons, I wouldn't have problems with the payment. I also didn't mind summoning them from time to time and providing them with storage seals so they could move stuff from Konoha back to their land.
Shinobi equipment for Karin and me. I was tired of walking around half-naked. It wasn't the worst here, because none of the badgers seemed to care about my state of undress, but I often caught Karin's averted gaze whenever I moved. Yeah, nope. I was too young to be flashing redheads.
A way back to Konoha. Unfortunately, the badger clan couldn't reverse-summon me back to the Land of Waves. About a decade ago, they had cut ties with most of the shinobis in the great countries. There was no agent in the human lands to perform the summons, so we settled up for the Iron Hide clan providing a guide to help us on the long trip back.
The problem was that Kumoko was obsessed with my eye, and I wasn't sure why. She never budged on that one demand. Trying to negotiate around it was a waste of time. Trying to learn why was also a waste of time. I wasn't keen on going blind because the cub wanted my eye. That left me trying to compromise.
"I agree with most of that," I started, and Kumoko's head perked up. "I even agree with your demand for my eye," the she-devil took a step toward me, and I rushed to add through the pain in my throat, "with conditions."
Kumoko stopped, tail puffed, and lashed out again. "What conditions?"
"I'll give you the eye if and when I recover my own to replace it." I rasped out.
I wasn't sure if I could ever recover my eye from the Hyuga or where the other eye was, but on the chance I did, I wasn't against letting Kumoko have the snake eye. I'd even cheer her on if she wanted to snack on the thing. I just wasn't about to set myself on fire to make her feel warm, so to speak.
Kumoko growled and clawed the ground. I saw the refusal coming, but a rumble from the silent patriarch ended her building comeback. Kumoko shook for a moment, pawed the ground again, and lashed her tail even more.
"What do you mean?" She finally asked.
I shrugged. "Someone stole my eyes; put this one in its place. I want to get my own back."
Kumoko stared for a long while, then she nodded. "Agreed."
I let out a sigh of relief. That had been way more difficult and tiring than I had anticipated.
"Good job, cub," Tsuchigaru praised and ignored the growly "not a cub" from Kumoko. He turned to me. "Thank you for letting my daughter have her first barter, the opportunities are rare these days."
I nodded at the patriarch. Mostly, I was glad this was over.
"Kumoko will take you to our storage to gather equipment and lead you to the hive; I'll have the contract ready once you return."
What was he talking about? Return from what hive? "Return?"
Tsuchigaru's eyes bore on me again. "Of course," the clan leader said, "no respectable badger clan will sign a contract without a gift of royal jelly. Kumoko will guide you to the Bee's hive."
My shoulder slumped. Of course, why had I thought it would be this easy? I could even hear the capitalization of the word bee from the patriarch. These were going to be some giant killer bees, weren't they?
That gave me an idea to try. I wasn't a friend of the snakes; I very much had a blood feud with Orochimaru. I could use that, but I wasn't willing to give that information for free. I remembered the murals, and the pictographs of badgers and humans trading. Maybe they liked to barter? Why else would they have a history lesson over that? I could do bartering. It was even in my favor since I had nothing else besides information to offer.
The best case scenario was to enlist their help with a contract, gather supplies, and have them send me back from wherever their lands were. In a worst-case scenario, I'd settle up to leaving here alive, with information on how to return to Konoha.
I puffed my non-existent chest, raised my head. Confidence, that was now my middle name.
"I am no snake friend. I fought and killed them before." I mean, not me, me. It was Naruto and Sasuke who killed those giant snakes in the Forest of Death, but I helped, right? I even had a hand in their training. I hope they didn't mind me taking credit. "I have a blood feud against their summoner; I orchestrated his fall." Even if I didn't believe that was the last I had seen of Orochimaru and that it wasn't me who killed him, but the Hokage and Shisui. I was the one that moved the pieces years before. That also counted as my kill, right? Right?
Alliances declared, boast stated, I started my sales pitch. "You'll sign a summoner contract with me," I rasped, held in the urge to cough. I wasn't good at negotiations, but I knew you should always shoot up for the biggest you can and negotiate to a more realistic outcome. "You'll send us back, give us supplies and equipment. In return, I'll provide you with news regarding the snake-clan."
A rumble from above followed my declaration. "You want to barter?" The voice asked, amused. Tsuchigaru's eyes glinted in the semi-darkness of the cave.
Kumoko's tiny chakra bundle moved. She dashed from the big paws side until she was at Tsuchigaru's face. "Pops! Lemme handle this!" Her small, fur-covered frame shook. She looked a bit silly, glaring up at her giant father.
"And why should I let you, cub? You've already meddled enough when I ordered our guests to be left alone."
"Cause I earned my name!" The answer came in a high-pitched, squeaky growl. "I can handle this stuff now!" Kumoko's puffed tail pointed straight up. She turned to me. "Let me barter with the snake girl. If she's lying, I can always eat her eye after."
Why was Kumoko so obsessed with my eye?
Another quake-chuckle rumbled through the room. "Have it your way then, Kumoko."
Kumoko preened, tail still straight up. "Snake girl," she squeaky-growled my way. Was she trying to be intimidating? "Here are my terms for you: The snake girl will surrender all her secrets, give me her eye, and the Iron Skin clan will let her leave this place alive!"
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I wanted to feel insulted that I was relegated to deal with his kid, but wasn't that to my advantage? Hoodwinking—I mean, convincing Kumoko might be much easier than her father.
"No!" Kumoko's tail lashed out.
The she-devil paced in front of me. I had, at some point, sat down. Karin had also sat by my side and now rested her head on my lap. Gentle breathing indicated she was fast asleep. I couldn't blame her, the negotiation had gone on for the better part of an hour, and Karin hadn't recovered from me sucking her dry of life force the previous day. I was worried. Karin displayed an uncomfortable level of trust and familiarity with me for someone she barely met a few hours ago. Was this one of those cases of abuse victims imprinting on their saviors or some bullshit like that?
I was holding a bloodied piece of Karin's shirt. The redhead was kind enough to offer me a scrap of fabric to clean the blood from my mouth before she fell asleep. My throat was a stinging mess, and I was ready to be done with this. Maybe this was Kumoko's strategy. Drag this out as much as possible until I give up and agree to her inane demands.
Kumoko looked at her giant dad again. She'd done that whenever declaring her terms. Was she looking for the approval of the patriarch? She looked back at me, eyes narrowing.
"The clan will give the snake-girl supplies, help her find her way back to human lands, sign a summoning contract with her." She said with another frustrated lash of her short tail. "She'll give us the information about the snake clan and their summoner, pay in high-quality honey for each summon, help us acquire supplies from human lands, and give me her eye."
We had come to somewhat agreeable terms.
A summoning contract with the Iron Hide badger clan, each summon paid in honey, the amount depending on the badger summoned and the task performed. Honey wasn't that cheap in Konoha, but I had contacts. If I didn't abuse the summons, I wouldn't have problems with the payment. I also didn't mind summoning them from time to time and providing them with storage seals so they could move stuff from Konoha back to their land.
Shinobi equipment for Karin and me. I was tired of walking around half-naked. It wasn't the worst here, because none of the badgers seemed to care about my state of undress, but I often caught Karin's averted gaze whenever I moved. Yeah, nope. I was too young to be flashing redheads.
A way back to Konoha. Unfortunately, the badger clan couldn't reverse-summon me back to the Land of Waves. About a decade ago, they had cut ties with most of the shinobis in the great countries. There was no agent in the human lands to perform the summons, so we settled up for the Iron Hide clan providing a guide to help us on the long trip back.
The problem was that Kumoko was obsessed with my eye, and I wasn't sure why. She never budged on that one demand. Trying to negotiate around it was a waste of time. Trying to learn why was also a waste of time. I wasn't keen on going blind because the cub wanted my eye. That left me trying to compromise.
"I agree with most of that," I started, and Kumoko's head perked up. "I even agree with your demand for my eye," the she-devil took a step toward me, and I rushed to add through the pain in my throat, "with conditions."
Kumoko stopped, tail puffed, and lashed out again. "What conditions?"
"I'll give you the eye if and when I recover my own to replace it." I rasped out.
I wasn't sure if I could ever recover my eye from the Hyuga or where the other eye was, but on the chance I did, I wasn't against letting Kumoko have the snake eye. I'd even cheer her on if she wanted to snack on the thing. I just wasn't about to set myself on fire to make her feel warm, so to speak.
Kumoko growled and clawed the ground. I saw the refusal coming, but a rumble from the silent patriarch ended her building comeback. Kumoko shook for a moment, pawed the ground again, and lashed her tail even more.
"What do you mean?" She finally asked.
I shrugged. "Someone stole my eyes; put this one in its place. I want to get my own back."
Kumoko stared for a long while, then she nodded. "Agreed."
I let out a sigh of relief. That had been way more difficult and tiring than I had anticipated.
"Good job, cub," Tsuchigaru praised and ignored the growly "not a cub" from Kumoko. He turned to me. "Thank you for letting my daughter have her first barter, the opportunities are rare these days."
I nodded at the patriarch. Mostly, I was glad this was over.
"Kumoko will take you to our storage to gather equipment and lead you to the hive; I'll have the contract ready once you return."
What was he talking about? Return from what hive? "Return?"
Tsuchigaru's eyes bore on me again. "Of course," the clan leader said, "no respectable badger clan will sign a contract without a gift of royal jelly. Kumoko will guide you to the Bee's hive."
My shoulder slumped. Of course, why had I thought it would be this easy? I could even hear the capitalization of the word bee from the patriarch. These were going to be some giant killer bees, weren't they?
Thank you for reading. Next chapter Friday.
Proofreader: CakeEight.
I set up a patreon (mostly to help me commission images).
There's about 25 chapters ahead.
Proofreader: CakeEight.
I set up a patreon (mostly to help me commission images).
There's about 25 chapters ahead.
6.14
New
okashihime
I like sweets.
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2025
- Messages
- 125
- Likes received
- 2,358
It was the day after the negotiations. Kumoko led the way through a series of tunnels, some big, others small, twists and turns and passages that sometimes looked all the same.
Even after another day of rest, Karin wasn't in better condition. The redhead lagged behind, and I often had to stop and wait until she caught up. At one point, I offered to carry her, but she just shook her head and pushed me to keep moving. Had I sucked out that much of her life force? I wasn't in the right frame of mind at the time — dying and all — and I don't really remember how much I took from her.
The path Kumoko led us through would take us near the so-called hive. We've been walking for the better part of the day in the twisting labyrinthine tunnels.
Karin and I visited the badger's "storage" to get the gear I bargained for. There wasn't much we could use there; most of the contents were designed for badgers. Even so, we managed to find things we could use. I found a green kimono that fit me more or less. The lack of underthings, I solved by cosplaying a mummy. Lack of shoes? Bandages. Lack of gloves? Bandages. Lack of a bra? Bandages. No belt? Well, you get it.
On the other hand, the redhead still had some of her gear from when she got captured. Her captors hadn't bothered to take all of her stuff, only weapons and tools. After raiding the storage, Karin now wore a dark brown kimono over a fishnet bodysuit. She still had the open-toed shinobi footwear. All in all, she looked good. At least, that is what I thought, anyway.
Kumoko stopped near a small tunnel leading upwards. "We're here, snake girl."
I looked at the mini-badger; the tunnel upward. Kumoko didn't seem keen on going up. I wrote words and Karin read them out loud for me. "Aren't you coming with us?"
"Nuh-uh, can't help ya." The she-devil said, entire body shaking in denial. She was already used to mine and Karin's antics. "You gotta get the royal jelly yourself; otherwise, what would be the point?"
"What's up there?" Karin read my next question.
"Forest," Kumoko's head looked back toward the tunnel we just came from. "Pops said there's a path nearby, find and follow it, shoulda take you to the hive."
That smelled fishy. I was pretty sure something was wrong with this whole situation, I just couldn't say what. I looked at Karin, who just shrugged. I started toward the tunnel.
"Don't take too long, snake girl," Kumoko called out after us, tail lashing. "I won't wait forever."
Delaying the royal jelly gathering mission for a whole day wasn't just to let Karin recover. I wanted to prepare. Both badgers — giant dad and mini she-devil— were mum about the bee's hive. Both ignored subtle questions and direct inquiries. That left me trying to prepare for things I wasn't aware of.
Fortunately, raiding the badger's storage didn't result only in new clothing fashion. We managed to find a few kunai and shuriken that were similar to what I was used to. But the jackpot was finding sealing paper. That gave me a good idea to try. Bee's were weak to smoke, right? I didn't need to fight any assumed giant killer bees to steal their jelly. I could, you know, just put the whole hive to sleep and sneak in to steal the jelly.
That was how the previous day ended. I returned to our designed alcove with a shambling Karin in tow. She slept, and I prepared seals.
Tight stone walls of the tunnel Kumoko led us to pressed closer around us. The tunnel was dark, and the passage grew steeper the more we climbed. I wasn't one to be claustrophobic, but it felt uncomfortable. Until now, I hadn't considered we were underground this whole while. The soft crystal lights managed to trick me somehow. This passage had no crystals to provide illumination, forcing Karin and me to navigate through the darkness. I used my threads to help me navigate, kept a bandaged hand on the rough wall to steady myself, and held one of Karin's.
Karin followed behind, breaths shallow. Even without being able to see her, I kept looking back. Karin was never a front-liner combatant in the show, more of a supporting cast. I was worried about her.
When we emerged from the tunnels, the sunlight blinded me. I stood still at the passage entrance, eyes closed, breathing the fresh scent of earth and greenery. Slowly, the spots in my vision disappeared, and a strange forest stretched out before us; a wild and untamed expanse of towering trees and thick undergrowth. The canopy above let in scattered rays of sunlight.
It was quiet—almost too quiet. There were no bird calls or sounds of other animals. Only the faint hum of insects broke the silence.
Karin walked from behind me soon after. She stopped by my side, also surveying the forest.
"Creepy,"she muttered.
I agreed with her. There was something really wrong here. This place was strange. At first, it looked like a typical forest, but the more I looked, the worse I felt. It was the bark's color, the leaves' shape, the scent in the air, the shrubs and vines. They were all so familiar yet different in a way that set my teeth on edge. What was this place? Where had my summoning gamble taken us? I knew there were many contracted ninja animals in Naruto's world; take Pink-chan, I mean, Tayuya, for example. She could summon some giant creatures, or Pain and the Animal path. But I had never heard of badgers.
More than that, I couldn't dismiss the feeling I was missing something important.
"What complicated thing are you thinking about?"
I turned, faced Karin. How did she know? My threads wrote my question. "Can you read my mind?"
Karin waved, rolled her eyes. "I wish." There was a bit more enthusiasm in her posture. "I can see your chakra. It got all swirly and spiky."
Was that supposed to mean anything? What was she going on about?
"Now it's all chaotic. That one is easy, confusion." Karin stopped, scratched her cheek. "You have no idea what I'm talking about."
I shook my head.
She sighed, trying to push the hair out of her face. Looked away. "I can somewhat tell how someone is feeling based on how their chakra moves. It's usually not that precise but," she looked at me. No, it was like she was looking inside me. "But yours is so clear and responsive and bubbly. It's really easy to tell what you're feeling."
I scowled. That was bullshit, and not fucking fair.
"Now it's alternating between spiky and shivering. That's usually frustration and insecurity."
I glared at her.
"It's all dense now. Resentment?"
I glared even harder.
Karin looked from my navel to my face. Blushed, looked away. "Err, anyway, where are we going?"
Before anything else, I wasn't about to make the same mistake. I held my hand out, a hardwood kunai formed on my palm, the beacon seal already inscribed. I ignored the spike of pain from bone seals. The pain hadn't faded away after getting it back in control, it was this constant buzz that most of the times I could put out of my mind.
By my side, Karin gasped, gripped my arm tightly. I ignored her. My chakra dipped lower, but that was fine. I held the kunai to Karin.
"Keep that, don't lose it. If things go bad, I'll try to lead the enemy away. As long as you have that, I can find you anywhere."
It felt strange misleading Karin like that. I was hoping she would take my words as the kunai being a tracking device, which wasn't wrong. The original function was that, but I could also spy on her, and teleport to her if needed. That way, if the worst happened, I'd be able to react in time, use her as bait, or even lead any enemy away then go back to Karin after she gave them the slip. Was I being this paranoid because of Sai?
Karin gave me a considering look. She was reading my chakra again, wasn't she? Damn it. She took the kunai, gave me a nod. She turned, looked in the distance, like she was looking through the trees.
"I can sense chakra, a lot of it, it feels different, somehow."
"Different how?" I wrote.
Karin looked back at me, shrugged. "Remind me of the badgers?"
"Are they close?"
Karin shook her head, looked in the distance again. "About half an hour out, if we walk slowly."
How… large was her sensing distance? I thought mine was good, about a hundred meters all around me. What did it mean for her range if this chakra presence was that far away? So fucking unfair. The more I learned about her chakra sense, the more mine looked like a discounted, cheap version no one else wanted. I shook those thoughts away. It wasn't time to be petty, or jelly. I could do that later, once we were safe back at Konoha.
I looked around. Trying to find said trail Kumoko told us about. After a moment, I summoned two clones to help me. While my clones got their bearings, I walked a bit further away from the entrance, then took my water-skin to take a sip. That much walking left me thirsty.
"Hello, Ojou-chan. You're so pretty!" One of my clones husked out.
I coughed, spat the water I had just drank.
"Eh?" Karin gasped.
I looked around. My clones were around Karin. One was slightly hunched over, one hand on her hips, another grabbing Karin's waist, with a lecherous grin on her face. The second clone had a hand on her chin, a calculating look on her face, like checking merchandise. Karin was trapped between the two, with the clones invading her personal space.
"How about ya come with us?" Clone two said, hand going to Karin's mane of red hair and gently tugging free a lock. Clone two looked at me, sent me a quick devilish grin before she turned to Karin. "We'll take good care of ya." She husked again.
"Eeh?" Karin looked spooked. She glanced from my clones at me and then back at the clones.
I face-palmed. Why were the clones behaving like that? I wasn't that bad, right? …Right?
…
That decided it; no more clones. I might as well take a page from Shikamaru's book and name them Troublesome-chan, The First and Second. Resigned to my fate, I crouched, kept looking, drank more water. I hoped that by the end of this, my clones didn't traumatize Karin…
…Too much.
Even after another day of rest, Karin wasn't in better condition. The redhead lagged behind, and I often had to stop and wait until she caught up. At one point, I offered to carry her, but she just shook her head and pushed me to keep moving. Had I sucked out that much of her life force? I wasn't in the right frame of mind at the time — dying and all — and I don't really remember how much I took from her.
The path Kumoko led us through would take us near the so-called hive. We've been walking for the better part of the day in the twisting labyrinthine tunnels.
Karin and I visited the badger's "storage" to get the gear I bargained for. There wasn't much we could use there; most of the contents were designed for badgers. Even so, we managed to find things we could use. I found a green kimono that fit me more or less. The lack of underthings, I solved by cosplaying a mummy. Lack of shoes? Bandages. Lack of gloves? Bandages. Lack of a bra? Bandages. No belt? Well, you get it.
On the other hand, the redhead still had some of her gear from when she got captured. Her captors hadn't bothered to take all of her stuff, only weapons and tools. After raiding the storage, Karin now wore a dark brown kimono over a fishnet bodysuit. She still had the open-toed shinobi footwear. All in all, she looked good. At least, that is what I thought, anyway.
Kumoko stopped near a small tunnel leading upwards. "We're here, snake girl."
I looked at the mini-badger; the tunnel upward. Kumoko didn't seem keen on going up. I wrote words and Karin read them out loud for me. "Aren't you coming with us?"
"Nuh-uh, can't help ya." The she-devil said, entire body shaking in denial. She was already used to mine and Karin's antics. "You gotta get the royal jelly yourself; otherwise, what would be the point?"
"What's up there?" Karin read my next question.
"Forest," Kumoko's head looked back toward the tunnel we just came from. "Pops said there's a path nearby, find and follow it, shoulda take you to the hive."
That smelled fishy. I was pretty sure something was wrong with this whole situation, I just couldn't say what. I looked at Karin, who just shrugged. I started toward the tunnel.
"Don't take too long, snake girl," Kumoko called out after us, tail lashing. "I won't wait forever."
Delaying the royal jelly gathering mission for a whole day wasn't just to let Karin recover. I wanted to prepare. Both badgers — giant dad and mini she-devil— were mum about the bee's hive. Both ignored subtle questions and direct inquiries. That left me trying to prepare for things I wasn't aware of.
Fortunately, raiding the badger's storage didn't result only in new clothing fashion. We managed to find a few kunai and shuriken that were similar to what I was used to. But the jackpot was finding sealing paper. That gave me a good idea to try. Bee's were weak to smoke, right? I didn't need to fight any assumed giant killer bees to steal their jelly. I could, you know, just put the whole hive to sleep and sneak in to steal the jelly.
That was how the previous day ended. I returned to our designed alcove with a shambling Karin in tow. She slept, and I prepared seals.
Tight stone walls of the tunnel Kumoko led us to pressed closer around us. The tunnel was dark, and the passage grew steeper the more we climbed. I wasn't one to be claustrophobic, but it felt uncomfortable. Until now, I hadn't considered we were underground this whole while. The soft crystal lights managed to trick me somehow. This passage had no crystals to provide illumination, forcing Karin and me to navigate through the darkness. I used my threads to help me navigate, kept a bandaged hand on the rough wall to steady myself, and held one of Karin's.
Karin followed behind, breaths shallow. Even without being able to see her, I kept looking back. Karin was never a front-liner combatant in the show, more of a supporting cast. I was worried about her.
When we emerged from the tunnels, the sunlight blinded me. I stood still at the passage entrance, eyes closed, breathing the fresh scent of earth and greenery. Slowly, the spots in my vision disappeared, and a strange forest stretched out before us; a wild and untamed expanse of towering trees and thick undergrowth. The canopy above let in scattered rays of sunlight.
It was quiet—almost too quiet. There were no bird calls or sounds of other animals. Only the faint hum of insects broke the silence.
Karin walked from behind me soon after. She stopped by my side, also surveying the forest.
"Creepy,"she muttered.
I agreed with her. There was something really wrong here. This place was strange. At first, it looked like a typical forest, but the more I looked, the worse I felt. It was the bark's color, the leaves' shape, the scent in the air, the shrubs and vines. They were all so familiar yet different in a way that set my teeth on edge. What was this place? Where had my summoning gamble taken us? I knew there were many contracted ninja animals in Naruto's world; take Pink-chan, I mean, Tayuya, for example. She could summon some giant creatures, or Pain and the Animal path. But I had never heard of badgers.
More than that, I couldn't dismiss the feeling I was missing something important.
"What complicated thing are you thinking about?"
I turned, faced Karin. How did she know? My threads wrote my question. "Can you read my mind?"
Karin waved, rolled her eyes. "I wish." There was a bit more enthusiasm in her posture. "I can see your chakra. It got all swirly and spiky."
Was that supposed to mean anything? What was she going on about?
"Now it's all chaotic. That one is easy, confusion." Karin stopped, scratched her cheek. "You have no idea what I'm talking about."
I shook my head.
She sighed, trying to push the hair out of her face. Looked away. "I can somewhat tell how someone is feeling based on how their chakra moves. It's usually not that precise but," she looked at me. No, it was like she was looking inside me. "But yours is so clear and responsive and bubbly. It's really easy to tell what you're feeling."
I scowled. That was bullshit, and not fucking fair.
"Now it's alternating between spiky and shivering. That's usually frustration and insecurity."
I glared at her.
"It's all dense now. Resentment?"
I glared even harder.
Karin looked from my navel to my face. Blushed, looked away. "Err, anyway, where are we going?"
Before anything else, I wasn't about to make the same mistake. I held my hand out, a hardwood kunai formed on my palm, the beacon seal already inscribed. I ignored the spike of pain from bone seals. The pain hadn't faded away after getting it back in control, it was this constant buzz that most of the times I could put out of my mind.
By my side, Karin gasped, gripped my arm tightly. I ignored her. My chakra dipped lower, but that was fine. I held the kunai to Karin.
"Keep that, don't lose it. If things go bad, I'll try to lead the enemy away. As long as you have that, I can find you anywhere."
It felt strange misleading Karin like that. I was hoping she would take my words as the kunai being a tracking device, which wasn't wrong. The original function was that, but I could also spy on her, and teleport to her if needed. That way, if the worst happened, I'd be able to react in time, use her as bait, or even lead any enemy away then go back to Karin after she gave them the slip. Was I being this paranoid because of Sai?
Karin gave me a considering look. She was reading my chakra again, wasn't she? Damn it. She took the kunai, gave me a nod. She turned, looked in the distance, like she was looking through the trees.
"I can sense chakra, a lot of it, it feels different, somehow."
"Different how?" I wrote.
Karin looked back at me, shrugged. "Remind me of the badgers?"
"Are they close?"
Karin shook her head, looked in the distance again. "About half an hour out, if we walk slowly."
How… large was her sensing distance? I thought mine was good, about a hundred meters all around me. What did it mean for her range if this chakra presence was that far away? So fucking unfair. The more I learned about her chakra sense, the more mine looked like a discounted, cheap version no one else wanted. I shook those thoughts away. It wasn't time to be petty, or jelly. I could do that later, once we were safe back at Konoha.
I looked around. Trying to find said trail Kumoko told us about. After a moment, I summoned two clones to help me. While my clones got their bearings, I walked a bit further away from the entrance, then took my water-skin to take a sip. That much walking left me thirsty.
"Hello, Ojou-chan. You're so pretty!" One of my clones husked out.
I coughed, spat the water I had just drank.
"Eh?" Karin gasped.
I looked around. My clones were around Karin. One was slightly hunched over, one hand on her hips, another grabbing Karin's waist, with a lecherous grin on her face. The second clone had a hand on her chin, a calculating look on her face, like checking merchandise. Karin was trapped between the two, with the clones invading her personal space.
"How about ya come with us?" Clone two said, hand going to Karin's mane of red hair and gently tugging free a lock. Clone two looked at me, sent me a quick devilish grin before she turned to Karin. "We'll take good care of ya." She husked again.
"Eeh?" Karin looked spooked. She glanced from my clones at me and then back at the clones.
I face-palmed. Why were the clones behaving like that? I wasn't that bad, right? …Right?
…
That decided it; no more clones. I might as well take a page from Shikamaru's book and name them Troublesome-chan, The First and Second. Resigned to my fate, I crouched, kept looking, drank more water. I hoped that by the end of this, my clones didn't traumatize Karin…
…Too much.
Thank you for reading. Next chapter Monday.
Proofreader: CakeEight
A few images.
Proofreader: CakeEight
A few images.
Lewascan2
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Hinata's clones do be wildin', as per what seems to be the usual nowadays. XD
I think that's growing to be one of my favorite long-running jokes in this story so far that Hinata's clones seem to be getting increasingly unhinged and simultaneously badass as time goes on. The rather hilarious and funny part honestly has to be that, intellectually, we know these clones will basically get one-tapped by any form of harm, and yet, Hinata is such a complete murder-blender now that her clones -unleashed with much less restraint and "liberated" from hesitation- end up even more ridiculous murder-blenders. The slaughter that singular clone went on against neo-ROOT's(?) forces pretty much puts it in perspective.
I think that's growing to be one of my favorite long-running jokes in this story so far that Hinata's clones seem to be getting increasingly unhinged and simultaneously badass as time goes on. The rather hilarious and funny part honestly has to be that, intellectually, we know these clones will basically get one-tapped by any form of harm, and yet, Hinata is such a complete murder-blender now that her clones -unleashed with much less restraint and "liberated" from hesitation- end up even more ridiculous murder-blenders. The slaughter that singular clone went on against neo-ROOT's(?) forces pretty much puts it in perspective.