Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Battle Lord Chronicles: Under A Bloody Moon ❯ The Valley ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Naruto. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

 

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and anything else related to them.

 

(1) - Hunter-nin is the term given to shinobi who hunt down criminals and Missing-nin. They are special unit within the hidden villages and are sometimes considered to be a part of the ANBU.

 

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Telepathy'

 

Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.

 

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Under A Bloody Moon

 

Chapter 5

The Valley

 

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The next day found Deidara, Sasori, and I dashing through the forest. We were headed for the valley where Itachi and I were staying.

 

Though at first Sasori had been very suspicious that I was some sort of hunter-nin(1) in disguise, but with some demonstrations I'd eventually managed to prove that I really was who I said I was. From there it'd taken a bit more convincing to get the redheaded shinobi to come with Deidara and I. He was still wary of me, but seemed to at least partially trust Deidara's judgment, if nothing else.

 

We were silent as we moved through the treetops. Even Deidara, whom I'd found to be an enthusiastic chatterbox, kept his thoughts to himself. For my part, I was excited. I'd managed to find two more Jinchuuriki! My plan to help Tasuki was already starting to fall into place. I wondered if I'd be able to speak with Deidara's and Sasori's youkai as well, to find out their sides of the story.

 

After nearly a full day of travel--we hadn't stopped for the night since it'd already been so late when we set out--we finally reached the entrance of the cave that led into the valley. Luckily we'd run into no more ANBU on the way. In fact, we'd managed to skirt human contact all together.

 

Deidara peered doubtfully into the cave. "This is where you're staying?"

 

I chuckled. "No, there's valley at the other end of the tunnel. You see, this mountain is actually an old, inactive volcano, though it's almost impossible to tell from the bottom of the base."

 

"Really?!" Deidara asked, his eyes instantly lighting up with curiosity. Even Sasori looked intrigued, though he didn't say anything.

 

As we entered the dark cave I suddenly paused and began to tap my tap my chin thoughtfully. "You know..." I said slowly. "I don't really feel like walking all the way down the tunnel--it's long, trust me--so why don't we try something...quicker..."

 

Both Deidara and Sasori stared at me with blank incomprehension for a moment before the blonde suddenly seemed to remember something. He began bouncing on the balls of his feet while smiling widely.

 

"Ooh ooh, are you going to do that shadow thing again?" he asked.

 

I matched Deidara grin for grin. "Of course!" I replied. "It'll get us there in an instant. I've never moved two people with me and never over such a distance, but it should be fine. And I won't know until I try, ne?"

 

With that I moved to rest my hands on the two missing-nin's shoulders, but Sasori instantly moved away before I could touch him. He then glared at me while crossing his arms in front of him.

 

"I've gone along with this so far," he said, "But do we know that you won't incapacitate us instead? Why should we trust you?"

 

Both Sasori and I ignored Deidara's immediate protest while matching each other's gazes.

 

"If I had wanted to kill you, don't you think that would have done so by now?" I said wryly. "And besides, what reason would I have to kill you?"

 

Sasori cocked an eyebrow. "Well, money, for one."

 

I blinked in surprise and quickly realized that, as missing-nin, Sasori and Deidara probably had bounties on their heads. Having no response to this, I instead shrugged.

 

"Well then," I replied, "I suppose that you don't really have any reason to trust me."

 

Sasori stared back at me for a moment. "...How the hell is that supposed to be reassuring?"

 

"It's not."

 

Sasori continued to glare at me for another minute before finally glancing away. I grinned then, knowing that I'd won the "argument", at least for now. Sasori would come with us.

 

Once again I placed my hands on Deidara and Sasori's shoulders, this time without a problem. I concentrated for a moment in order to gather up the massive youki that I would need. The world around us shifted for a moment and then, quite suddenly, we found ourselves stumbling forward from the shadows near the edge of the valley. While I panted a bit, the other two looked around us with surprise.

 

"No harm done, eh?" I commented dryly between breaths.

 

Deidara shook his head like a wet dog. "I will never get used to that sensation," he muttered while glancing back at the shadows we'd come from. “It's like moving through water, only the water is solid and you can still breathe. It's just plain weird."

 

Sasori let out a snort. "Very...eloquently...put."

 

As Deidara pouted at the redhead and I laughed I suddenly caught sight of something on Deidara's hand. Frowning, I peered closer at it.

 

"What is that?" I finally asked.

 

"Huh?" Deidara said before noticing what I was looking at. "Oh this?" A large grin came to the boy's face as he lifted up both his hands, palms toward me, to show me.

 

To my complete shock I found myself staring at two mouths, one on each of Deidara's palms. Mouths; teeth, tongues, and all. As I stared on in shock--and, I must admit, a bit of horror--the tongue came out of one of the mouths as if searching for something.

 

Just moments later Deidara broke into hysterics at the expression of my face. "Y-you should have seen--!" he managed out as he held his stomach while laughing. I wanted to be annoyed at him, but all I could do was shiver.

 

"What the hell was that?" I demanded once the blonde had calmed down.

 

Deidara grinned widely. "Jinchuuriki generally have some kind of trait from their youkai. Mine just happens to be these mouths. They're actually very useful; they produce bombs."

 

Curiosity overrode my disgust. "Bombs? So that's how you took out those ANBU back when I first met you, right? But...why mouths? Do you have to feed them or anything?"

 

"No, I don't; they're just kind of there," Deidara answered. "And I'm not really sure why they're there. Maybe the youkai was born with some genetic defect...?"

 

As we continued to chat we began to walk further into the valley. Just as we were approaching the center of the valley, where Itachi and I were staying, Itachi suddenly stepped into view. His katana was held loosely in one hand and a ferocious glare was on his face.

 

Though he said nothing, Itachi's dark eyes bored into my own, demanding an explanation. I was quite surprised to see that there was actually a touch of fear in his face, though he hid it very well.

 

I, however, simply grinned at the young boy. Said shinobi then blinked in surprise and his eyes moved to my two companions.

 

"Guys, this is Uchiha Itachi," I said clearly to Deidara and Sasori. "Itachi-kun, this is Deidara and Sasori." I paused then, my grin widening. "...They're both jinchuuriki." Instantly Itachi's eyes snapped back over to the other two. Extreme surprise showed on his face, as well as more than just a little suspicion.

 

Chuckling, I moved over next to Itachi and slung an arm over his shoulders. "I found them near the border of Earth Country. Deidara had run into a bit of trouble with some ANBU, so I helped them out. They need to lay low for a while--as Deidara is only newly a missing-nin--so I offered to let them stay with us. Is that alright with you?"

 

I expected Itachi to at least answer my question, be it positive or negative, but instead he just pinned me with a dry stare. "And you didn't get a builder, did you?" he asked.

 

I sweatdropped. "Um...no?"

 

"Figures," Itachi said with a sigh. He turned around then and began walking away.

 

"'Figures'?" I echoed. "What's that supposed to mean?" I began to quickly stride after Itachi. "Itachi? Itachi, wait! Itachi!"

 

"Builder?" Deidara asked from behind me. I paused in my chase to turn back around to him.

 

"Um, yeah. Since Itachi and I are staying here in this valley we decided that it'd be best to have an actual house to stay in. Neither of us has any knowledge in building though, so..."

 

Deidara blinked in surprise. "That's...actually a good idea. But do you really want someone else to know about this valley?"

 

I grinned toothily. "I never said that they had to remember helping us out."

 

"So you're going to force someone to help you and then basically leave him with no money?" Sasori asked with a dark grin and a quirked eyebrow.

 

"Oh, I'll pay the guy," I replied. "He just won't be able to remember where the money came from. It wouldn't be fair otherwise."

 

"And where, pray tell, are you going to get the money from?"

 

My grin faltered at that. "Uh, that's kind of where I'm stuck..." I answered while sweatdropping and awkwardly scratching the back of my head.

 

We fell into silence for a moment before Deidara abruptly began jumping up and down. "Ooh! Ooh! I have an idea!" he exclaimed. "Sasori, Itachi, and I are all high-level youkai, right? And you're a youkai, right? So then why don't we perform some missions as freelance shinobi? We can charge less than the Hidden Villages do so that they'll choose us over them!"

 

Now it was my turn to blink in surprise; I'd never thought of doing that. But, granted, I was new to this world and all things shinobi. Quickly, excitement grew within me as the possibilities of this idea made themselves present in my mind.

 

"Yes, yes!" I said happily. "That'd work perfectly! It's a great way to get money and it's sort of a way to train as well!"

 

Sasori didn't join in with mine and Deidara's enthusiasm. "Why the hell should I put myself at risk to help you?" he asked with a frown.

 

I gave the redhead a piercing glare. "Perhaps because I'm helping you out by even bringing you here? Plus you'll not only be helping Itachi and me but you as well. Or would you rather sleep on the ground than in a house?"

 

Sasori scowled at me, but made no other reply. Grinning, I turned back to where Itachi had gone.

 

"Itachi-kun!" I called while running off. "Guess what!"

 

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With a sigh I let my head fall back against the tree behind me. My eyes closed only momentarily before opening again to survey the scene before me.

 

I was currently resting against a tree near the center of the Valley. In said center was a mess of wood that appeared to be the beginnings of a large building. And indeed that was exactly what it was.

 

It'd been a month since I'd first met Deidara and Sasori and since then a lot had happened. We'd eventually managed to get in contact with a builder who was okay with working with semi-shady characters. He'd worked out a blueprint for our new home with the four of us and had now started the actual building.

 

The house that we'd finally decided on building was going to be big. As in manor-house big. Since I was aiming to bring all seven of the Biju together we needed those seven bedrooms and bathrooms, plus extras in case anyone else joined us, plus a kitchen, large living room, a couple sparring rooms, and several large storage rooms. ...Yeah, big.

 

The first problem that arose in connection with the building project was how to get the building materials into the Valley. After a bit of internal debate, I'd finally agreed to use shadows to transport everything. I currently had the builder convinced that it was a transportation jutsu--which, technically, it was...kind of...ish...

 

The second problem had been the need for more workers. After all, one man, no matter how skilled, can't build a house on his own, and especially not one so large. It'd taken quite a bit of debating between Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, and I before we'd finally agreed to allow more people--specifically one of the builder's teams--into the Valley. It was risky, yes, but also necessary. Their memories would also be erased as well, of course, and one of us was always watching them to make sure that they didn't run off or tell anyone about the Valley before their memories were erased.

 

One very good thing that came from using my shadows so much to transport people and things was that I quickly found myself able to control it better. The transitions from place to place got easier and I was slowly being able to transport more things and farther than I'd ever been able to before. The skill was like a muscle; the more I used it, the stronger it became.

 

It was at that moment, while I was relaxing, that Itachi landed softly on the grass next to me. Smiling, I looked up at him from my spot on the ground.

 

"Itachi-kun," I greeted. "There you are. Have Deidara-kun and Sasori-san returned yet?" Itachi mutely shook his head and I sighed in response. "Ah, of course not. I feel so alone!"

 

Itachi let out a quiet snort in response to my dramatics. Catching sight of the small smirk that flashed across his face, I let out a grin of my own.

 

"I saw that!" I said in a sing-song voice. "Now I just need to get you to laugh!"

 

Itachi scowled briefly at me, which caused me to break up into laughter. With a huff Itachi then began to stalk over to the builders. I just continued to laugh as he left though; both of us knew that I was making progress on getting him to show more emotions and he didn't like it one bit.

 

Deidara and Sasori were indeed gone at the moment. Out on a mission, actually. After Deidara's suggestion a month ago we'd started to take on missions--often assassination or protection--in order to make some money. Or, rather, Itachi, Sasori, and Deidara would take on mission. I was required to stay in the Valley at all times as I was the only person who could transport people in and out.

 

We'd decided that there would always be two of us together on a mission. Not only would this ensure a higher success rate, but it'd be safer in case any ANBU happened to come across us. Within the short time since we'd started taking on missions we'd also already gather a pretty good amount of money. With any luck we'd have more than enough by the time that the house was finished.

 

Standing up, I stretched my back to work the kinks from my muscles. I glanced over at the section of the wall where the cave exited into the Valley and was surprised to see a hand sticking through. A moment later it was followed by the rest of the body and then a bob of blonde hair.

 

Deidara.

 

Grinning, I raced over to where Deidara and Sasori were now standing and leapt onto Deidara's back. Though he was several years younger than me, he easily held my weight, short as I was. Once my arms were secured around his neck I leaned over his shoulder so that I could see his face.

 

"Hello Deidara-kun! Sasori-san!" I chirped. "How'd things go?"

 

"It was easy, of course!" the blonde shinobi replied with a grin of his own. "How about things here? Any progress?"

 

"Eh," I said while scratching my head. "I think so, but I don't really know. I don't know shit about building, after all..."

 

As we continued to chat--brining Sasori into the conversation as much as we could--we slowly drifted further into the Valley. Eventually we reached an open area which we tended to use as a training ground. Indeed, at this moment Itachi was there, running through some katas.

 

As I paused to watch Itachi fight his invisible opponent, I remembered the first time that I'd spoken to Tasuki, the youkai sealed within him. Or rather the only time that I'd spoken to him; I hadn't been able to do so again yet. That sparked an idea in my mind and I abruptly turned to Deidara and Sasori.

 

"That's right!" I exclaimed. "I haven't gotten a chance to speak with your youkai yet! Would you mind if I did so now? They might be able to tell me more about their situation."

 

Deidara stared blankly at me. "Huh?"

 

I rolled my eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Remember how I told you all about how the Biju came here? And about the Kuro Tournament and how I came here? It was the same time when I explained to Itachi about what the mark on my face means. Anyway, I found out all about the Biju by talking to Tasuki, the youkai sealed inside of Itachi. If I talk to the youkai inside both of you as well, then I might be able to piece even more of the puzzle together.”

 

While Deidara made a sound of understanding, Sasori frowned. He wasn't glaring, for once, but neither did he look too happy.

 

"So you're going to enter our minds then?" the older shinobi asked.

 

"Yeah, sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I'll do Deidara first."

 

"Oi!" Deidara squawked indignantly. "You're both so willing to sacrifice me, just like that? It's because I'm the youngest, isn't it!"

 

Surprisingly, both Sasori and I rolled our eyes in response. "Actually, Itachi is the youngest," I replied dryly.

 

Deidara paused to think. "He's the youngest of us and you've already gone into his mind...So he's the sacrifice!" Deidara began laughing insanely then while Sasori and I stared on, not quite able to follow his strange logic.

 

"Riiight," I said slowly. "Anyways, let's begin, shall we?"

 

"Do we need to sit down or anything?" the hyperactive blonde asked once he'd calmed down.

 

"...I was going to say no, but that's actually a good idea. When I did this to Itachi his youkai had a bad reaction to my youki...But don't worry; this will be over in just a second."

 

By the time all of us were settled I was sitting facing Deidara. I closed my eyes then, focusing on entering my friend's mind. It only took a moment for me to do so and I soon opened my eyes to the inside of Deidara's mind.

 

Unsurprisingly the room I was in was just like the one in Itachi's mind. Three stone walls were around me and impenetrable darkness stretched out before me. With an inaudible sigh, I began to walk forward; the youkai would be in here somewhere, doubtless near those strange cage bars...