Once again, a bit short. I've actually written quite a bit more than this, but after reading it through, I decided that it was best for the flow of the story to cut it off here. Thus, the fight and its aftermath are now for chapter 3. On the bright side, that means chapter 2 got out much faster than I expected it to. Yay?
Disclaimer:...
Chuunin exams ignite! Mystery Stranger's first appearance
Recap:
The man chuckled, "My name is Tatari, Nero Tatari. But you will call me master from now on. And you are alive because, I have turned you into a vampire. With that, welcome to the realm of the night."
Naruto was surprised, "What?! You mean I'm…a vampire? As in, no longer human?"
Nero raised an eyebrow, "Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, but-"
"Then come, you have much to learn about being a child of the night. Don't worry about your village. I have already taken care of faking your death. Oh, and it seems that right before the seal took Kyuubi out of your 'dead' body for the stomach of the god of death, you managed to rip out its eyes. Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of a bloodline, Kyuubi's famous 'Hakkyou no akaime' (red eyes of insanity)."
Now rather stunned, Naruto could only follow along quietly.
End Recap:
5 (or so) years later):
Konoha was bustling as the Chuunin exams were already well under way, and the markets were busy with the many guests that usually come around for this event. It was the end of the month-long break between the second and third Chuunin exams, and already many delegates, rich people, and daimyo were here to witness (and bet on) the results of the most exciting final Chuunin exam.
These were the circumstances that a figure, cloaked in charcoal black and carrying a rather dense bamboo parasol, walked in on. The gates were thrown wide open as a gesture of welcome to guests, but the figure knew that there would always be watchers atop the gate. With that in mind, the cloaked one sped as fast as he dared (he didn't want the cloak blown off by the wind) through the trees so as not to be seen, and climbed up the wall instead of going through the door.
Dropping through to the other side, the person took a few seconds to check he wasn't spotted, before rushing into a nearby alleyway and blending in as if there was never anyone there.
Waiting for the evening, the figure took off his cloak, revealing formal clothing in a red and black scheme, long blond hair tied in a ponytail, and eyes of deep crimson that seemed at the moment to lack pupils. This, combined with his pristine unscarred face made for a very attractive man, as he was around six feet four inches tall, with a lithe and wiry build.
The man, looking to be around 20 years old, then proceeded to walk into the nearest hotel, requesting a room with no windows. After receiving his keys, the man was about to walk off when the clerk called out to him, "Sir? Sir! Excuse me, but due to the danger of the Chuunin exams, this hotel is temporarily requiring all residents to pay their fees in advance, so…"
Said blonde simply smiled, stating, "Then there is no problem. I've already paid."
The clerk looked worried, "But sir, I-"
Pointing a finger at the clerk's forehead, the blonde fixed him with a significant look, saying, "I've. Already. Paid."
The clerk stared ahead blankly for a moment before replying, "Yes sir, sorry sir." The blonde man proceeded to his room without further incident.
------
The next day, fireworks were already bursting as the Chuunin exam finals were about to start. The stadium was already filled with spectators, and the blonde could be seen standing in the back of one of the more shaded sections, watching over the proceedings in silence.
However, if one looked closely, one could see that the man looked sleepy and inattentive, dozing off every now and again. That is, until he was nearly bowled over by a young group of five ninja, most likely genin, and from Konoha, judging from their hitai-ate. "Oh, I'm sorry!" said the pink-haired one from the group, apologizing for the fat one that bowled the man over, "The crowd's so thick, so when he noticed you he couldn't stop…"
"No worries," the blonde said, his voice smooth, "I should thank you for waking me up before the show started."
As the man turned around, the pink haired girl (and the blonde in the back) noticed for the first time how attractive he was, as well as the fact that although definitely older, the man was still to be considered inside their age bracket. Of course, this prompted the pink one (who now seemed to be their spokesperson) to speak up, "Hey, why don't you come sit with us? Our seats are better than being back here, and there are a couple people that won't be coming until later anyway."
The blond shook his head, "I couldn't do that, I barely know you."
At this, the pink one's blonde companion shook her head emphatically, "Nonsense! Besides, we need to pay you back for being so nice after we bumped into you." Of course, this was a rather desperate draw at getting the man to accompany them, and the blonde could see that. So, he crushed the doubt in his head and agreed.
The five of them smiled, "Great!" the pink one spoke up again, "The seats are just this way. By the way, my name's Sakura, the blonde is Ino, and the three back there from the one with the dog to the fa- overweight one that bumped into you are Kiba, Hinata, and Chouji, respectively. What's your name?"
The blonde paused for a second, seemingly in thought, before replying, "Yakumo Murasaki-Hourai."
The genin raised their eyebrows, "Three names?"
Yakumo paused for a second, scratching the back of his head while smiling sheepishly I can't just tell them I couldn't decide which one to use he thought, so he replied, "My parents couldn't decide on my first name, so instead of arguing about it, they just used both."
"Really? Which parent wanted which name?"
The blonde sweatdropped slightly, these genin were too curious. Oh well, can't go back on the lie now, "My dad wanted to name me Hourai after the hourai elixir, which is said to grant immortality to those who drink it. He always said it was a lucky name that destined me for great things. My mom, however, wanted to name me Murasaki for her favorite color, purple."
The genin sweatdropped as well, "Oh…then which one should we use?"
Yakumo shrugged, "You can really use whichever, I don't care."
"Cool." Kiba piped up, "Hey, you're probably foreign. What brings you here, anyway? Aside from the obvious."
Yakumo shrugged again, "I'm just travelling around places, and I haven't been to Konoha in a while. Besides, everyone in Fire is going on about the last Uchiha and how great he'll perform today, so I came to see."
Reaching the front row, the group sat down just as the event started. After the introduction of the examinees, the fights ensued, each one spectacular in its own right. The leaf genin Nara Shikamaru showed great tactical skill, even through a lack of physical ability and a crippling amount of lethargy and general lack of enthusiasm for what the blond assumed to apply to almost anything that implied active movement. Likewise, the leaf genin Aburame Shino also displayed a propensity for tactical prowess, though it was backed up by a large amount of skill in taijutsu and very useful clan abilities and techniques. Curiously, though, Shino seemed to lack abilities in general ninjutsu and genjutsu.
The third Konoha ninja was prevented from fighting the first round due to the forfeiture of his opponent from sand. During all this time, however, what Yakumo found most curious was the absence of one Uchiha Sasuke, whose fight was already postponed…twice.
When said genin finally appeared, though, it was to a rousing swell of cheers (and a fair amount of catcalls from the ladies in the stands) and general approval. When his teacher (who arrived with him) poofed away, the referee started Sasuke's match immediately.
However, Yakumo had just met Sasuke's teacher and introduced himself (apparently the group of genin he was with were at least acquaintances of both Sasuke and his teacher) when the fight was interrupted as feathers (obviously a genjutsu to those who are educated in such matters, namely ninja) fell from the sky, causing whoever touched them to fall asleep.
The ninja around the blond immediately canceled the genjutsu's effect on themselves before turning to the culprit, or rather, group of culprits, as already a force more than fifty strong had invaded the arena.
Meanwhile, Yakumo, who had pretended to fall asleep under the genjutsu's effects, took this chance to escape from the fray. Seemingly just melting into the floor, Yakumo reappeared just outside the stadium. Pausing to thank the powers above that saw fit to make the day as cloudy as possible so he could use his powers, Yakumo was just about to leave when he was promptly accosted by a group of invading ninja.
Smiling blithely, Yakumo asked, "Could you all please move? I mean you no harm. I merely wish to move out of the danger zone."
Of course, the ninja had to smirk, the one in the center however, also added in a pompous and self-important voice, "Oh no you don't. Orochimaru-sama himself has ordered us to ensure no one escapes this onslaught."
The blonde was still smiling as his face hardened, "That's too bad. It seems your mission is going to be a failure, because I'm getting out of here, whether you like it or not."
"Oh really? Then try and escape…this!" the group of ninja charged at the blonde, only for all of them to drop to the floor, unmoving.
"Indolence: Mind Stopper." The blonde stated, "One of the nine (currently, anyway) techniques born from my doujutsu, the Hakkyou no Akaime. I'm afraid you'll die soon. With your brain functions completely stopped, not only are you not breathing, but your heart will stop beating soon, as well. Though, I suppose this explanation's useless. You're probably not conscious enough to hear it, anyway." With that, the blonde walked off, looking rather peaceful for being on a battlefield.
By now, Yakumo had entered the forest situated between the great wall and the outskirts of the village proper, intending to escape this way so as to be as unseen as possible. However, much to the blonde's dismay, this was not to be, as halfway through the forest, his path was blocked by a fight between the last Uchiha, and what seemed to be a crazy sand monster.
Yakumo sighed, "Why does nothing ever go my way when it counts?" After watching the fight for a while, it became clear that the Uchiha was losing. So, seeing as how he had already been seen and the fact that the Uchiha was clearly the one less likely to try and kill him after the fight was finished, the blonde decided to help the Uchiha.
With that thought in mind, Yakumo leapt into the fray.
Hakkyou no Akaime: introduced in the first chapter. But just in case you don't know, it means Red eyes of Insanity.
well, I know it was short and alot of people who've alerted or favorited this story will be disappointed after such a long wait, but on the bright side, that means part of chapter 3 is already done and you might not have to wait as long for the next chapter (that's hopefully longer than this one).
Soooo...even if you're disappointed, drop a review anyway...please?