Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Between Deception and Truth ❯ The Pervert's Return ( Chapter 6 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lord Archive 
Jiraiya visits Ai and Jiro to see how they have done and to help them with their training.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 10.26.2007 | Updated On: 10.26.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Jiraiya visits Ai and Jiro to see how they have done and to help them with their training.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 10.26.2007 | Updated On: 10.26.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Between Deception and Truth
Chapter 6 - The Pervert's Return
By: Lord Archive
Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, all rights reserved. I'm only borrowing them.
---------------------
The secluded grove was beset by furious combat. Weapons, blood and bodies flew in every direction. And the lone observer of this spectacle yawned, covering his mouth with his webbed forelimb.
Ai panted hard, glaring at her opponent. Jiro had become the best sparring partner possible with the activation of Sharigan. Not only were her fake husband's abilities growing by leaps and bounds, but it would also help her fight against Itachi and Sasuke. Together they had puzzled through most of the scrolls Tsunade had given them. Though when testing them out, Ai was usually the one to do it first. While Jiro seemed different from Hinata to the girl's eyes, he still tended to be hesitant before trying anything new.
"You're still having trouble controlling your chakra," Jiro observed.
Ai blinked. "I've got good control!"
Jiro shook his head. "Make five shadow clones. Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Five images of the young man appeared.
Ai followed suit and lined up her clones in front of Jiro's. At once, all five of Jiro's copies launched into the same exact attack. With the first punch, one of Ai's clones exploded into smoke. The follow-up kick removed two more. The remaining two copies of Ai attempted to fight back, and did so by completely different means. One went for the face, while the other tried to trip her attacker. Neither had much luck and the counter attack removed them.
Folding her arms, Ai demanded, "And what was the point of that?"
"Make five more shadows and have them attack my copies with the exact same attack," Jiro merely requested.
Ai scowled and did as he requested. There was some noticeable differences in the way Ai's clones punched and then kicked, but they were similar enough. On the third hit, all of Jiro's copies exploded into smoke.
"If you had better chakra control, your clones would be able to take a consistent amount of abuse before dispersing. Not to mention you'd have better control of what they do," Jiro pointed out.
Ai huffed. "I don't see how that's much of a problem."
"Better control would lead to stronger copies, capable of lasting longer in fights and being able to work out better plans and teamwork. When you do massive number of clones, you spread your chakra so thin that a single weak hit can disrupt them. Improving you chakra distribution can allow them to withstand some attacks," Jiro explained.
"The boy has a point," Gamakichi pointed out. "Though watching you fight is less boring than when you train."
Ai pouted, trying to think of a retort when a giant frog jumped into the grove. She glared at the man standing atop it. "Where the fuck have you been?"
"I have a different idea for the girl to use her chakra!" Jiraiya announced, pointedly ignoring Ai's question. That proved to be a mistake as she decked him.
"Where the hell were you when the Kyuubi bled through?! Why didn't you at least show up last week to see what having a period does to the damned seal?!" Ai demanded angrily.
"I was busy searching for information on the Akatsuki," Jiraiya retorted as he stood up.
"Likely story!" Ai spat. "You were probably being a pervert."
Jiraiya folded his arms. "Do you want my help in controlling the Kyuubi and possibly improve Rasengan, or do you want me to leave?"
"I've been waiting for your so-called 'help' for weeks," Ai growled. "You better do something to help me or I'll show you how weak that seal is. I don't want to hurt people I don't intend to."
"I would like your help as well," Jiro added, his eyes still marked with the initial stage of Sharigan.
Jiraiya stared at the young man for a second. He then laughed. "Distant cousin, eh? Tsunade, you..." He shook his head. "I'll see about sparring with you, though I want to teach you how to form seals in case your wife gets out of hand and I'm not around."
Ai bristled more with anger at the man while Jiro merely nodded.
---------------------
"So, what 'great' training do you have planned?" Ai grumbled.
"I want you to make Rasengan your own. Find a way to advance the technique. Make it stronger," Jiraiya grinned, seemingly at his own 'brilliance.'
"And why didn't you suggest I start working on this before?!" Ai yelled at him.
"I don't like telling the reason for things in training, but I guess I should warn you." Jiraiya folded his arms irritably. "There's a real simple reason. Rasengan takes a large amount of chakra to use properly. When you try to work on improving it, you'll be tapping into the Kyuubi."
Ai stared at him in disbelief. "Won't that cause the seal to become weaker?!"
"Yes and no." Jiraiya roughed up Ai's hair. "Just work with your chakra and the Kyuubi's. I'll be here if something goes wrong."
"Yeah, right," Ai spat as she stomped away.
---------------------
Jiraiya did not particularly like this village. All the females were either middle-aged and married or younger than Ai. As such there was little scenery available for him to 'watch.' He had been updated on the changes to the cover story that Ai and Jiro were using and took an image of a seemingly frail and elderly one-armed man to act as the one who had been the girl's mentor. After all, a ninja that was missing an arm would be allowed to retire peacefully so long as he carried no damaging secrets.
Jiro was doing well in learning how to create seals. Unfortunately, Sharigan offered no quick means of knowing them. Seals required special knowledge that had to be learned and could not be easily copied. If the boy had full mastery of his new eyes, it would likely speed things up by seeing the chakra flow while forming the seals. However, being new to the bloodline limit, this would have to be done the hard way.
Jiraiya didn't want to be bothered as he took a break from watching Jiro and Ai, but knew as soon as the door to the inn opened, he wasn't going to be left alone.
"Hello, I'm Terasen. I guess you could call me mayor of this town," a man on the verge of going from middle-age to elderly greeted. "I've heard you were Ai's teacher."
Jiraiya nodded, thankful for his disguise. These people were a bit too noisy and word of his true appearance could get out of the village far too easily. "I'm Miroku. I guess I should say 'thanks' for watching after the girl."
Terasen frowned at him. "Do you disapprove of Jiro?"
'Miroku' shook his head. "The boy is good for her."
"You didn't abandon her, did you?" Terasen questioned, but then scowled as the man flinched. "How could you leave her? She been left behind so often, it's a wonder she can even trust Jiro."
"It's not as simple as you make it. There are responsibilities I can't speak of," 'Miroku' defended.
Terasen shook his head. "Ai is still young. She needs her family. Without her real father around, she adopted you for that role, didn't she?"
'Miroku' took a solid drink from his glass. "Ai understands there are duties that have to be taken care of. She's just upset that when she needed me, I wasn't there. She'll understand in time."
"She may understand it now, but it doesn't change that she feels hurt because you weren't there for her. You may not be her father and possibly never asked for the role, but you're the one she wants to look to for guidance," Terasen pointed out.
"I don't know how to help her. I've never had any children." 'Miroku' gazed into his now empty glass. "She has needs and wants I don't know how to help her with."
"So you try to keep your distance instead," Terasen commented with disdain. "Children don't really want answers to their problems. They want someone to listen to them and to offer suggestions. Just be there for her. These past couple months have been rather trying on her. Heard her periods have been a real beast."
'Miroku' chuckled softly. "You have no idea."
---------------------
In the field stood a dozen copies of Ai along with the original girl, each of them focused on the same task, performing the Rasengan one-handed.
Jiraiya nodded as he watched the girl and her clones become increasingly frustrated. The path she was taking would be the safest one, but it would still require massive amounts of chakra. She would be tapping into the Kyuubi soon enough, but would give him more time to work with the boy on making sure the beast would stay sealed.
Jiro watched his fake wife with his special eyes. "I can't be sure if she's getting closer to it, or not. I can see the chakra moving but I'm having a hard time discerning how."
Jiraiya laughed. "You'll probably be copying it before long. Now let's see about getting your fighting skills up a notch."
Several scowls were directed at the pair as they moved off and began to spar using strictly taijutsu.
"Ai seems to be extremely upset with you," Jiro observed. "Why didn't you show up here while she was having her period. She's afraid of the Kyuubi getting free."
"She needs to get over that fear if the Kyuubi is ever going to be an asset to her." Jiraiya glanced toward where Ai was training. "Yes, it will leak when she doesn't want it too. However, if she's ever to face the Akatsuki, she will have to use the demon's chakra as her own. She can't do that if we lock that power deep inside her."
"Why don't you tell her that?" Jiro asked. Concern etched on his face for both his fake wife and from being on the defensive from Jiraiya's attacks.
"You're a ninja. You know that too much information can be more damaging than not enough. Without realizing things for herself, she won't get as strong as she needs to be," Jiraiya lectured. "There is nothing more that I want than seeing her succeed. And I'll see that happen even if I have to hurt her myself."
Jiro managed to grab Jiraiya into a grapple. He whispered into the man's ear, "And how long have you known Ai has been eavesdropping on us?"
"Since before we started," Jiraiya returned before breaking out of the hold and throwing the boy. He made it look like he was frowning at his opponent, but it did not escape him that the copy of the girl watching them was crying.
---------------------
---------------------
"I was NOT crying!" Ai protested, folding her arms irritably.
Jiro shook his head, but said nothing.
Sakura patted her on the back comfortingly. "Crying isn't something to be ashamed of."
"The old lech is full of crap. I didn't miss him. He's a complete jerk." Ai turned away from them. "Bastard was probably lying, too."
Jiraiya leapt over the table and in front of the girl. He pointed at her nose. "The day you become Hokage will be the proudest day of my life. I really do want you to achieve all your goals."
Ai punched him in the gut. "I still say I wasn't crying."
---------------------
---------------------
Ai looked haggard and was panting slightly, but she grinned in triumph as she stood alone holding the Rasengan in her hand. No clone had been used to aid her forming the whirling sphere of condensed chakra. "I did it!"
Jiraiya nodded. "You certainly mastered the base of Rasengan. Now advance it. Make it your own."
"How do I do that?" Ai demanded.
Jiraiya poked her forehead. "I've never pushed it beyond what the Fourth devised. No one has. What you do with it will be your own. Not mine, not the Fourth's, but your own move."
"My own move, huh?" Ai looked at the whirling ball of chakra she still held. "What more can I do with you?"
Jiraiya walked off as the girl gazed into the ball she had made. If he didn't want to see her press the seals of the Kyuubi, he would've told her to rest. The girl's chakra was just about used up. Soon it would only be the Kyuubi's energy she would be pulling from.
Jiraiya soon found Jiro with two clones reading through scrolls on how to create seals. He chuckled at how quickly these two were able to advance. With the loss of Byakugan, Jiro would've been unlikely to be considered a chuunin. Now the boy would soon be pushing jounin, especially if he could advance Sharigan to its upper levels.
Answering questions and demonstrating how to form certain seals, Jiraiya was becoming pleased with Jiro's growing ability to leash Ai if the Kyuubi were to get out of control.
Jiraiya was about to call it a day when a wave of heat preceded a bestial howl.
Jiro and his copies leapt past Jiraiya before the sannin could turn around. What they saw upon finding Ai wasn't something they had seen before. The girl was covered in orange chakra than gave her a rough appearance of a one-tailed fox.
"What is happening?" Jiro wondered with great concern.
"Ai finally tapped directly into the Kyuubi," Jiraiya observed. He then took a step back as the fox cloaked girl glared at him. He rushed a dodge as the girl attacked him.
Jiro dismissed his copies and nodded gravely to himself before he pulled out a small piece of paper and began writing upon it.
Jiraiya was losing ground against the girl. A second tail began to form as Jiro came up from behind, leapt over his fake wife and slapped the seal on her forehead. Ai took a few steps forward as the orange chakra boiled away and she fell bonelessly to the ground.
"So, that's the Kyuubi?" Jiro asked rhetorically, shaking his head.
"At its lowest levels, yes." Jiraiya nodded gravely. "I had hoped she'd have more control over that form."
"Guess she's still upset at you," Jiro commented dryly.
"I have that effect on girls," Jiraiya joked hollowly.
---------------------
Ai blearily woke up in her bed. Her glazed eyes focused on her fake husband sitting next to the bed. "What happened?"
Jiro frowned. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was trying to form a second Rasengan in my other hand. I know how to do it, but the thing just wouldn't form," Ai explained. "Did I use up too much chakra, or something?"
"You tapped into the Kyuubi and some of it came out." Jiro sighed. "You tried to attack Jiraiya. I was able to force back the Kyuubi before you did anything to him."
"Shoulda let me rough him up a bit," Ai groused. "I really let the beast out?"
Jiro nodded gravely. "Jiraiya was hoping you'd have more conscious control when accessing that power."
Ai stared off into space. "I'm not sure if anyone was in control. I think I might've been fighting the Kyuubi inside my head."
"I see." Jiro gave her a comforting hug. "That would explain why it was so animalistic. There was power, but little guidance to it. From what I heard of the Kyuubi, it has at least some intelligence."
"More than 'some.' I just wish I understood the beast." Ai sighed. "I know it has some sort of plan."
"Whatever problems you face, I'll be right there with you," Jiro vowed.
"Thanks, but right now my biggest problem is food. I'm starving!" Ai grinned.
---------------------
Jiraiya patted Ai on the shoulder. "I'm afraid I can't stay in the village much longer. You don't have to worry about the Kyuubi getting loose. You've got someone watching your back."
Ai nodded slowly. "I figured you wouldn't stay around when there aren't any sexy girls around for you to ogle."
"I've got more important things to do than watch some girl's delicious curves and firm round..." Jiraiya froze for a second, and then coughed. "The Akatsuki aren't going to take a vacation. I need to keep on top of them. To make sure you're safe."
"Make sure those bastards don't screw with Gaara while you're at it," Ai hissed.
Jiraiya smirked as he nodded. "Apparently the Akatsuki made a grab for him recently. The one who tried it lost both his arms. But he was apparently a new and minor member. They seem to rotate a lot through the seat Orochimaru once held."
Ai laughed. "Serves them right for trying to take Gaara. I'll have my new move perfected by the time you return."
"You do that." Jiraiya ruffled her hair. "I'll see you again." The legendary sannin began to walk away, knowing he had one more 'good-bye' to say before he left. Jiro appeared before him after Ai was out of sight. The boy made a couple simple requests that Jiraiya hoped to fulfill.
---------------------
Author's Notes:
Coming next: Chapter 7 - Truth Uncovered.
Ai would say life at the village was boring, but a party changes her mind.
I'm putting out a call for some new pre-readers. I have only one consistent pre-reader, thanks Jeremy Mullin, and a couple that give comments on rare occasions. While I do not expect immediate replies or even a reply to every chapter I send, I would like more input on my drafts before posting them. While my chief concern is grammar, making sure I don't mess up characterization or continuity is also appreciated. If you are interested, send an email to lord_archive@yahoo.com with which anime series you'd be willing to help me with: Card Captor Sakura, Digimon, Naruto, Ranma 1/2, Medabots, Harry Potter, Patlabor, and/or The Slayers (the last four may or may not see anything.)
Chapter 6 - The Pervert's Return
By: Lord Archive
Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, all rights reserved. I'm only borrowing them.
---------------------
The secluded grove was beset by furious combat. Weapons, blood and bodies flew in every direction. And the lone observer of this spectacle yawned, covering his mouth with his webbed forelimb.
Ai panted hard, glaring at her opponent. Jiro had become the best sparring partner possible with the activation of Sharigan. Not only were her fake husband's abilities growing by leaps and bounds, but it would also help her fight against Itachi and Sasuke. Together they had puzzled through most of the scrolls Tsunade had given them. Though when testing them out, Ai was usually the one to do it first. While Jiro seemed different from Hinata to the girl's eyes, he still tended to be hesitant before trying anything new.
"You're still having trouble controlling your chakra," Jiro observed.
Ai blinked. "I've got good control!"
Jiro shook his head. "Make five shadow clones. Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Five images of the young man appeared.
Ai followed suit and lined up her clones in front of Jiro's. At once, all five of Jiro's copies launched into the same exact attack. With the first punch, one of Ai's clones exploded into smoke. The follow-up kick removed two more. The remaining two copies of Ai attempted to fight back, and did so by completely different means. One went for the face, while the other tried to trip her attacker. Neither had much luck and the counter attack removed them.
Folding her arms, Ai demanded, "And what was the point of that?"
"Make five more shadows and have them attack my copies with the exact same attack," Jiro merely requested.
Ai scowled and did as he requested. There was some noticeable differences in the way Ai's clones punched and then kicked, but they were similar enough. On the third hit, all of Jiro's copies exploded into smoke.
"If you had better chakra control, your clones would be able to take a consistent amount of abuse before dispersing. Not to mention you'd have better control of what they do," Jiro pointed out.
Ai huffed. "I don't see how that's much of a problem."
"Better control would lead to stronger copies, capable of lasting longer in fights and being able to work out better plans and teamwork. When you do massive number of clones, you spread your chakra so thin that a single weak hit can disrupt them. Improving you chakra distribution can allow them to withstand some attacks," Jiro explained.
"The boy has a point," Gamakichi pointed out. "Though watching you fight is less boring than when you train."
Ai pouted, trying to think of a retort when a giant frog jumped into the grove. She glared at the man standing atop it. "Where the fuck have you been?"
"I have a different idea for the girl to use her chakra!" Jiraiya announced, pointedly ignoring Ai's question. That proved to be a mistake as she decked him.
"Where the hell were you when the Kyuubi bled through?! Why didn't you at least show up last week to see what having a period does to the damned seal?!" Ai demanded angrily.
"I was busy searching for information on the Akatsuki," Jiraiya retorted as he stood up.
"Likely story!" Ai spat. "You were probably being a pervert."
Jiraiya folded his arms. "Do you want my help in controlling the Kyuubi and possibly improve Rasengan, or do you want me to leave?"
"I've been waiting for your so-called 'help' for weeks," Ai growled. "You better do something to help me or I'll show you how weak that seal is. I don't want to hurt people I don't intend to."
"I would like your help as well," Jiro added, his eyes still marked with the initial stage of Sharigan.
Jiraiya stared at the young man for a second. He then laughed. "Distant cousin, eh? Tsunade, you..." He shook his head. "I'll see about sparring with you, though I want to teach you how to form seals in case your wife gets out of hand and I'm not around."
Ai bristled more with anger at the man while Jiro merely nodded.
---------------------
"So, what 'great' training do you have planned?" Ai grumbled.
"I want you to make Rasengan your own. Find a way to advance the technique. Make it stronger," Jiraiya grinned, seemingly at his own 'brilliance.'
"And why didn't you suggest I start working on this before?!" Ai yelled at him.
"I don't like telling the reason for things in training, but I guess I should warn you." Jiraiya folded his arms irritably. "There's a real simple reason. Rasengan takes a large amount of chakra to use properly. When you try to work on improving it, you'll be tapping into the Kyuubi."
Ai stared at him in disbelief. "Won't that cause the seal to become weaker?!"
"Yes and no." Jiraiya roughed up Ai's hair. "Just work with your chakra and the Kyuubi's. I'll be here if something goes wrong."
"Yeah, right," Ai spat as she stomped away.
---------------------
Jiraiya did not particularly like this village. All the females were either middle-aged and married or younger than Ai. As such there was little scenery available for him to 'watch.' He had been updated on the changes to the cover story that Ai and Jiro were using and took an image of a seemingly frail and elderly one-armed man to act as the one who had been the girl's mentor. After all, a ninja that was missing an arm would be allowed to retire peacefully so long as he carried no damaging secrets.
Jiro was doing well in learning how to create seals. Unfortunately, Sharigan offered no quick means of knowing them. Seals required special knowledge that had to be learned and could not be easily copied. If the boy had full mastery of his new eyes, it would likely speed things up by seeing the chakra flow while forming the seals. However, being new to the bloodline limit, this would have to be done the hard way.
Jiraiya didn't want to be bothered as he took a break from watching Jiro and Ai, but knew as soon as the door to the inn opened, he wasn't going to be left alone.
"Hello, I'm Terasen. I guess you could call me mayor of this town," a man on the verge of going from middle-age to elderly greeted. "I've heard you were Ai's teacher."
Jiraiya nodded, thankful for his disguise. These people were a bit too noisy and word of his true appearance could get out of the village far too easily. "I'm Miroku. I guess I should say 'thanks' for watching after the girl."
Terasen frowned at him. "Do you disapprove of Jiro?"
'Miroku' shook his head. "The boy is good for her."
"You didn't abandon her, did you?" Terasen questioned, but then scowled as the man flinched. "How could you leave her? She been left behind so often, it's a wonder she can even trust Jiro."
"It's not as simple as you make it. There are responsibilities I can't speak of," 'Miroku' defended.
Terasen shook his head. "Ai is still young. She needs her family. Without her real father around, she adopted you for that role, didn't she?"
'Miroku' took a solid drink from his glass. "Ai understands there are duties that have to be taken care of. She's just upset that when she needed me, I wasn't there. She'll understand in time."
"She may understand it now, but it doesn't change that she feels hurt because you weren't there for her. You may not be her father and possibly never asked for the role, but you're the one she wants to look to for guidance," Terasen pointed out.
"I don't know how to help her. I've never had any children." 'Miroku' gazed into his now empty glass. "She has needs and wants I don't know how to help her with."
"So you try to keep your distance instead," Terasen commented with disdain. "Children don't really want answers to their problems. They want someone to listen to them and to offer suggestions. Just be there for her. These past couple months have been rather trying on her. Heard her periods have been a real beast."
'Miroku' chuckled softly. "You have no idea."
---------------------
In the field stood a dozen copies of Ai along with the original girl, each of them focused on the same task, performing the Rasengan one-handed.
Jiraiya nodded as he watched the girl and her clones become increasingly frustrated. The path she was taking would be the safest one, but it would still require massive amounts of chakra. She would be tapping into the Kyuubi soon enough, but would give him more time to work with the boy on making sure the beast would stay sealed.
Jiro watched his fake wife with his special eyes. "I can't be sure if she's getting closer to it, or not. I can see the chakra moving but I'm having a hard time discerning how."
Jiraiya laughed. "You'll probably be copying it before long. Now let's see about getting your fighting skills up a notch."
Several scowls were directed at the pair as they moved off and began to spar using strictly taijutsu.
"Ai seems to be extremely upset with you," Jiro observed. "Why didn't you show up here while she was having her period. She's afraid of the Kyuubi getting free."
"She needs to get over that fear if the Kyuubi is ever going to be an asset to her." Jiraiya glanced toward where Ai was training. "Yes, it will leak when she doesn't want it too. However, if she's ever to face the Akatsuki, she will have to use the demon's chakra as her own. She can't do that if we lock that power deep inside her."
"Why don't you tell her that?" Jiro asked. Concern etched on his face for both his fake wife and from being on the defensive from Jiraiya's attacks.
"You're a ninja. You know that too much information can be more damaging than not enough. Without realizing things for herself, she won't get as strong as she needs to be," Jiraiya lectured. "There is nothing more that I want than seeing her succeed. And I'll see that happen even if I have to hurt her myself."
Jiro managed to grab Jiraiya into a grapple. He whispered into the man's ear, "And how long have you known Ai has been eavesdropping on us?"
"Since before we started," Jiraiya returned before breaking out of the hold and throwing the boy. He made it look like he was frowning at his opponent, but it did not escape him that the copy of the girl watching them was crying.
---------------------
---------------------
"I was NOT crying!" Ai protested, folding her arms irritably.
Jiro shook his head, but said nothing.
Sakura patted her on the back comfortingly. "Crying isn't something to be ashamed of."
"The old lech is full of crap. I didn't miss him. He's a complete jerk." Ai turned away from them. "Bastard was probably lying, too."
Jiraiya leapt over the table and in front of the girl. He pointed at her nose. "The day you become Hokage will be the proudest day of my life. I really do want you to achieve all your goals."
Ai punched him in the gut. "I still say I wasn't crying."
---------------------
---------------------
Ai looked haggard and was panting slightly, but she grinned in triumph as she stood alone holding the Rasengan in her hand. No clone had been used to aid her forming the whirling sphere of condensed chakra. "I did it!"
Jiraiya nodded. "You certainly mastered the base of Rasengan. Now advance it. Make it your own."
"How do I do that?" Ai demanded.
Jiraiya poked her forehead. "I've never pushed it beyond what the Fourth devised. No one has. What you do with it will be your own. Not mine, not the Fourth's, but your own move."
"My own move, huh?" Ai looked at the whirling ball of chakra she still held. "What more can I do with you?"
Jiraiya walked off as the girl gazed into the ball she had made. If he didn't want to see her press the seals of the Kyuubi, he would've told her to rest. The girl's chakra was just about used up. Soon it would only be the Kyuubi's energy she would be pulling from.
Jiraiya soon found Jiro with two clones reading through scrolls on how to create seals. He chuckled at how quickly these two were able to advance. With the loss of Byakugan, Jiro would've been unlikely to be considered a chuunin. Now the boy would soon be pushing jounin, especially if he could advance Sharigan to its upper levels.
Answering questions and demonstrating how to form certain seals, Jiraiya was becoming pleased with Jiro's growing ability to leash Ai if the Kyuubi were to get out of control.
Jiraiya was about to call it a day when a wave of heat preceded a bestial howl.
Jiro and his copies leapt past Jiraiya before the sannin could turn around. What they saw upon finding Ai wasn't something they had seen before. The girl was covered in orange chakra than gave her a rough appearance of a one-tailed fox.
"What is happening?" Jiro wondered with great concern.
"Ai finally tapped directly into the Kyuubi," Jiraiya observed. He then took a step back as the fox cloaked girl glared at him. He rushed a dodge as the girl attacked him.
Jiro dismissed his copies and nodded gravely to himself before he pulled out a small piece of paper and began writing upon it.
Jiraiya was losing ground against the girl. A second tail began to form as Jiro came up from behind, leapt over his fake wife and slapped the seal on her forehead. Ai took a few steps forward as the orange chakra boiled away and she fell bonelessly to the ground.
"So, that's the Kyuubi?" Jiro asked rhetorically, shaking his head.
"At its lowest levels, yes." Jiraiya nodded gravely. "I had hoped she'd have more control over that form."
"Guess she's still upset at you," Jiro commented dryly.
"I have that effect on girls," Jiraiya joked hollowly.
---------------------
Ai blearily woke up in her bed. Her glazed eyes focused on her fake husband sitting next to the bed. "What happened?"
Jiro frowned. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was trying to form a second Rasengan in my other hand. I know how to do it, but the thing just wouldn't form," Ai explained. "Did I use up too much chakra, or something?"
"You tapped into the Kyuubi and some of it came out." Jiro sighed. "You tried to attack Jiraiya. I was able to force back the Kyuubi before you did anything to him."
"Shoulda let me rough him up a bit," Ai groused. "I really let the beast out?"
Jiro nodded gravely. "Jiraiya was hoping you'd have more conscious control when accessing that power."
Ai stared off into space. "I'm not sure if anyone was in control. I think I might've been fighting the Kyuubi inside my head."
"I see." Jiro gave her a comforting hug. "That would explain why it was so animalistic. There was power, but little guidance to it. From what I heard of the Kyuubi, it has at least some intelligence."
"More than 'some.' I just wish I understood the beast." Ai sighed. "I know it has some sort of plan."
"Whatever problems you face, I'll be right there with you," Jiro vowed.
"Thanks, but right now my biggest problem is food. I'm starving!" Ai grinned.
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Jiraiya patted Ai on the shoulder. "I'm afraid I can't stay in the village much longer. You don't have to worry about the Kyuubi getting loose. You've got someone watching your back."
Ai nodded slowly. "I figured you wouldn't stay around when there aren't any sexy girls around for you to ogle."
"I've got more important things to do than watch some girl's delicious curves and firm round..." Jiraiya froze for a second, and then coughed. "The Akatsuki aren't going to take a vacation. I need to keep on top of them. To make sure you're safe."
"Make sure those bastards don't screw with Gaara while you're at it," Ai hissed.
Jiraiya smirked as he nodded. "Apparently the Akatsuki made a grab for him recently. The one who tried it lost both his arms. But he was apparently a new and minor member. They seem to rotate a lot through the seat Orochimaru once held."
Ai laughed. "Serves them right for trying to take Gaara. I'll have my new move perfected by the time you return."
"You do that." Jiraiya ruffled her hair. "I'll see you again." The legendary sannin began to walk away, knowing he had one more 'good-bye' to say before he left. Jiro appeared before him after Ai was out of sight. The boy made a couple simple requests that Jiraiya hoped to fulfill.
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Author's Notes:
Coming next: Chapter 7 - Truth Uncovered.
Ai would say life at the village was boring, but a party changes her mind.
I'm putting out a call for some new pre-readers. I have only one consistent pre-reader, thanks Jeremy Mullin, and a couple that give comments on rare occasions. While I do not expect immediate replies or even a reply to every chapter I send, I would like more input on my drafts before posting them. While my chief concern is grammar, making sure I don't mess up characterization or continuity is also appreciated. If you are interested, send an email to lord_archive@yahoo.com with which anime series you'd be willing to help me with: Card Captor Sakura, Digimon, Naruto, Ranma 1/2, Medabots, Harry Potter, Patlabor, and/or The Slayers (the last four may or may not see anything.)