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A Human Monster

Chapter Five: Nearly There

A couple days had passed since her defection from the Hidden Leaf, and Akiko was following the trail from where her old team had declared their mission a failure. She was searching through an abandoned camp, noting how it looked to have been assaulted by someone; proven by the disturbed earth, dried blood on the grass, and three distinct locations where the ground had been eaten away by some corrosion.

"Naruto-kun…" she whispered in concern. "Did you really have to use the fox's power?"

Having been a student and apprentice of the previous container, Akiko was familiar with how Bijuu chakra reacted to whatever it encountered. Kushina had been adamant about teaching her seals that helped repress or absorb that corrosive chakra, just in case she ever lost control.

As such, Akiko had at least half a dozen of those specific sealing tags stored away in her leg pouch. Part of her worried about needing to use them all on Killer Bee if it came to blows.

"I've got a scent," her summon spoke up, grabbing her attention. Sniffing the ground was a small green lizard that had leathery wings and a ridge-covered spine that let to its tail. This was one of her Dragon Summons.

"Which way?" Akiko asked.

"Heading for the mountains. From what I can smell, there's a cavern that travels through them."

She nodded, beckoning her summon to her shoulder before taking off after the scent. Her eyes brimmed with determination as she raced for the mountains.

After a light breakfast, Bee and his two new students had resumed traveling for the border of Fire and Hot Water. Along the way, he and Naruto had helped Tionishia awaken her chakra core, and the young Oni was currently practicing control over it with the Leaf Exercise that was a standard for the Hidden Villages. As for Naruto, he was doing the same thing, but with more leaves to increase the difficulty.

Because of his Uzumaki reserves and housing a Bijuu, Naruto had a massive chakra pool that he needed to learn control over. The problem that all Jinchūriki face is control, for it was the foundation that helped them get a grasp on Bijuu chakra. That chakra was much more intense than regular chakra, so control was a must for harnessing it.

During their breaks from walking, Bee had also started the two on surface walking. Because of the abundance of trees, they trained on them. Tionishia was slowly getting the hang of it, having a decent grasp of her chakra that caught Bee by surprise. Unsurprisingly, Naruto was having difficulty with the training; again, because of his reserves.

The Cloud Jonin put it this way for Naruto: it was like trying to dump a pool into a bucket without spilling.

When they weren't training, Naruto and Tionishia would sit and talk about how they grew up. Seeing her move away from the bad memories and hearing her speaking so fondly about her family made Naruto smile; for it showed that his new friend was going to be okay. She had been through a traumatic experience that would no doubt leave some scars, but he would be there to help her move past them.

As for Tionishia, she was happy to have Naruto around. They could've been sitting quietly, and she wouldn't have cared so long as they were together. He was the nicest and bravest boy she had ever met, and she would be forever grateful to him for rescuing her.

Unknown to her at the time, she had already placed Naruto inside a special part of her heart; one that she would forever cherish.

Currently, the Oni was seated on a stump as she watched Naruto study a scroll on a fire jutsu. She had taken a gander at it and was shocked at the power described for the technique; comparing it to a forest fire that you could direct. It was a frightening jutsu for sure.

Thankfully, Naruto wasn't going to be making any attempts with the jutsu for a while. The scroll had given steps for him to follow so that he could understand how fire jutsu worked. The first step was taking a leaf, or anything flammable, and igniting it with his chakra. This was to help him train in changing the nature of his chakra from a neutral state to Fire Style.

"It says that you might find this more difficult if you aren't naturally attuned to fire, Naruto-kun," Tionishia informed him as she studied his scroll.

"What does that mean?" he asked in confusion.

"I don't know," she replied. "I'm as new to this as you are."

They both turned to Bee, who was off to the side jotting something in his notebook. He would do that on occasion, and they would wonder what the book held. "Yo, sensei!"

Hearing Naruto call him, Bee looked up from his notebook and replied, "Sup, Lil Nine?"

"What does it mean to be naturally attuned to fire?" he asked, gesturing to Tionishia who held up the scroll for their teacher to read.

Bee got up and walked over to her, looking over the notes written down in the scroll for what his fellow Jinchūriki was asking about. "Oh, that. You see, everyone has a natural affinity, or calling, for a certain nature of chakra. For example, I'm attuned to Lightning Style. What this means is that lightning based jutsu will be easier for me to learn compared to the other four elements."

"What are the others, sensei?" Tionishia asked.

"The others are fire, wind, water, and earth. What the scroll is saying is that you'll have more trouble learning it if you aren't naturally fire based."

"Then…how do we know what element we lean towards?" Naruto questioned.

"There are these slips called Chakra Paper that tell you what element you are best suited for. However, that doesn't mean that you can't use the other elements. It just means it'll be harder for you to do so."

Naruto hummed in thought while Tionishia rolled up the scroll and grabbed a fallen leaf. While her friend would train with fire, she planned to keep training her control. She wanted it to be the best it could so that, in the future, she could help Naruto.

All she needed to do was keep practicing.

"What the hell…?" Akiko gasped out, slowly moving through the ruins of a mountain village. The homes had been ransacked and burnt down, and it was practically a ghost town.

"The kid's scent is mixed with two others here," her summon informed her, sniffing the ground. "One of them is distinctly female."

"Female?" Akiko repeated.

"Yes. Their scent started back at that campsite that was attacked."

Akiko looked surprised at that. If Naruto was with Killer Bee, then who was the new scent? Did they have anything to do with the destroyed cage back at that camp? Were they some captive that had been rescued by Naruto and Killer Bee?

"Which way did they go, Ren?"

The dragon, Ren, sniffed around some more before he perked up and took off to the other side of the ruined village. Akiko was quick to follow, hoping that she was getting closer to Naruto.

Naruto was sweating slightly as he ran laps around a clearing Bee declared would be their campsite for the night. The Cloud Jonin had informed him and Tionishia that chakra was a mix of physical and spiritual energies. The physical aspect took its title literally, and it improved with physical fitness and training. The spiritual was centered around mental training; things like studying or meditation.

So, while Naruto did physical training, Tionishia was looking over some of the scrolls and books Naruto had taken from that old bunker. She needed a better understanding of chakra and what it could do. Something that peaked her curiosity was how chakra could augment one's body and muscles, giving them extra power.

She knew her race of Monster was famous for their raw power. If she could use her chakra to enhance that power? A small shiver of excitement went down her spine, and she eagerly went back to studying the scroll.

Another hour passed, and the two young blondes were seen resting in a tent, sleeping in separate bedrolls. What made Bee chuckle was how Tionishia had placed her bedroll so close to Naruto's, showing the man just how fondly she thought of the young Uzumaki.

"To think that Monsters actually existed… The world still holds many secrets to uncover."

'I think Lil Nine will be the one to find them. He's got the heart for it, and it's a gem.'

"I'm inclined to agree with you, partner," Gyūki replied with a chuckle. "I think those two might be the bridge needed for Humans, Monsters, and Bijuu to live together harmoniously."

'That's a lot of pride I hear, yo. How do you think he'll handle my bro?'

"It's not that hard to guess. The boy's got his heart worn on his sleeve, and your brother is more militaristic, despite his emotional outbursts. They'll be butting heads quite a bit, I figure."

'Yeah, I can see that going down. Though, hearing the Uzumaki name will make bro frown.'

"That's true. So, what's the plan? Are you going to keep leading them to the village where they may be captured and locked away? Or are you going to keep them out of sight and risk being a traitor?"

'Both choices are hard to decide… But those kids being mistreated is something I won't let slide.' He smiled fondly at Naruto and Tionishia, knowing that the two younger blondes had already grown on him. 'I'll stick around a little while longer, helping them grow and keep getting stronger. The kid's got a dream, the girl's on his team, and together they're more than they seem.'

"Glad to hear it, Bee," Gyūki declared, mentally thinking how the young Uzumaki could be the one the Old Sage told him and his siblings about.

Akiko was staying on the trail, ignoring the small settlement in favor of decreasing the distance between herself and Naruto. Ren was perched on her shoulder, helping her stay out of sight yet still on track.

"The scents are getting stronger, Akiko," he informed her, noting how she was showing signs of exhaustion. "You sure you don't want to rest? You'll need all your strength if you're gonna be fighting a Jinchūriki."

Akiko said nothing, silently leaping through trees as she kept to the trail.

"Look…I understand that this Naruto kid means a lot to you, but you won't do him or yourself any good if you reach him just in time to keel over."

"Ren," Akiko cut in. "Please, just…"

He sighed and nodded. "I hear ya… Just try not to kill yourself over this. You're my partner."

"And you're mine, Ren. I appreciate the concern, though." She gave her friend a smile before she caught a dim light in the distance; only visible because of the darkness of the night. She slowed to a stop when she was about half a mile away from it. "Ren, do you smell Naruto over by that fire?"

The dragon sniffed the air for a moment before he nodded. "His scent is strong in that direction. What are you going to do?"

Akiko took a breath and settled herself onto a large branch with a good vantage point. "Do you mind keeping watch while I rest? You're right about me needing my strength."

"Of course. Get some sleep, Akiko. I'll wake you in a few hours."

She smiled and patted his head. "Thank you, my friend."

Killer Bee woke up after a few hours' rest, Gyūki having roused him when he sensed a faint chakra in the distance. The Jinchūriki made no visual signs that he was aware of the unknown scout, instead starting another fire and grabbing one of the leftover fish he had caught the night before.

He had two fish cooking and settled himself on a fallen log before he called out, "You hungry?"

Some rustling was heard before he saw a young woman with brown hair and green eyes, dressed in Leaf ANBU gear with a Dragon mask clipped to her belt. "Killer Bee of the Hidden Cloud, I presume?"

"I usually go by Lord Killer Bee, but I'm not that arrogant, see? You sure traveled far, but I don't know who you are."

She gave him a stiff bow, keeping her eyes on him in case he tried anything. "I am Akiko Suzuki, formerly of the Hidden Leaf. I'm searching for someone that I care for, and I left the village when they refused to keep looking for him."

Bee hummed in thought, deciding not to drag out the situation with his rapping. "You here for Lil Nine, then?"

Her heart stopped briefly. "…Yes, I'm here for Naruto." Her eyes flicked to the tent. "He's resting?"

Nodding, Killer Bee offered her one of the cooked fish, which she hesitantly took. "I met Lil Nine back in Otafuku Gai, and I offered to help him out. I take it he wasn't treated well back in the Leaf?"

Sitting down, Akiko shook her head sadly. "No… He was shunned and hated for what he carried, for what Lord Fourth sealed into him. The villagers never cared that their hero was the one who sealed the fox. All they saw was the fox taking the form of a little boy." She stared at the fire, absently taking a bite of the fish. "I wanted to take him in, but I was still an ANBU and the best I could do was watch him from the shadows. In a village of thousands, he only had two people that showed genuine care for him."

Bee was silent as she spoke, eating his own fish and listening intently as she told him of Naruto's past.

"I knew his parents," she continued. "I was apprenticed to his mother and I wanted nothing more than to keep him safe; to make him happy." Looking up from the fire, she turned back to him and asked, "Where were you going to take him?"

"The plan was to search the mountain regions of the Land of Lightning."

"Search for what?" she questioned in confusion.

"We're going to look for Oni."

She blinked at that, taken aback. "…Oni? You mean…like from faery tales?"

He chuckled at that, standing up to move over to the tent flaps. Pulling one of them open, he allowed her to see the sleeping blondes. He saw her green eyes lock onto the spiky hair of Naruto, softening considerably and even watering at the sight of him.

"Naruto-kun…" she whispered, one of her tears falling. She then looked to the girl, spotting the horn that was naturally extending from her forehead. "She's an Oni?"

The surprise in her voice made him chuckle again as he closed the flap and sat back down. "I never knew that Monsters existed until I met Lil Nine. He found a book on them in some old bunker."

"That was more than just a bunker," she informed him. "It was an abandoned lab of Orochimaru's."

"The White Snake? Damn, does the kid have devilish luck. He helped me win some money in cards when I first met him. Got a Royal Straight Flush on his first try."

"What else did he find in that lab?" Akiko asked, taking another bite of her fish.

"A couple of relics that belonged to Madara Uchiha…"

The following morning, Naruto gently shook Tionishia awake and she greeted him with a sleepy smile. "Good morning, Naruto-kun."

"Morning, Tio-chan. You want the tent?" he asked her, offering her the chance to dress in private.

"Yes, please. Thank you," she answered as he left the tent, stopping at the entrance and looking outside. "Naruto-kun?"

She stood up and moved over to him, standing beside him and looking to the unknown woman that was sitting on the other side of their small fire. She was smiling warmly at Naruto, and Tionishia saw that her eyes were growing misty.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked curiously, his head tilted slightly as Tionishia moved a bit behind him.

Green eyes stared tenderly into blue as the woman answered, "I'm someone who knew your mother, Naruto-kun. My name is Akiko."

And done.

Short, I know; but I wanted to get to Akiko reaching Naruto.

I promise that next chapter will be longer and will finally have another Monster Girl!

I hope to see some nice reviews and that you all have a good holiday!

Until next time!

~pain17ification~