Chapter 9

Akame let out a frustrated sigh.

She had been sitting in the same spot for the past thirty minutes. She'd been trying to meditate with little success.

She was in the wilderness outside their new base. No animal nor Danger Beast dared venture near her, so the area around her was silent as death. The late-afternoon sun had turned the sky burnt orange. A few sparse wildflowers dotted the clearing with color like a painter's brush.

"Why," she finally said, frustration mounting. "Why is it so difficult to clear my mind?" She had left the base to try and prepare herself for her job that night, but her usual meditation routine had proved fruitless.

They had returned to the Capital a week ago, and, ever since, Akame's mind would not calm.

The primary causes of strife were thoughts regarding her sister. In particular, how would their next meeting play out? Would she be able to kill her, or would Akame honor their master's wishes and spare Kurome?

Akame was never one to boast, so, when she knew for certain that she was the mightier, she had no reason to doubt that conclusion. The past few months' training with Naruto had elevated her abilities further than anyone could have predicted. It was certain now that she could best her sister – no matter if the Capital had created newer drugs for her.

The only wild card in their duel would be Yatsufusa's puppets. What kind of slaves had Kurome gathered since she'd left? Had Kurome been able to attune better with her Teigu and control her zombies more effectively and easily? Without these answers, Akame could not completely know if she could defeat Kurome at full strength on her own, yet she was confident in her chances even then.

But she chose those thoughts over the others that crept into her mind every now and then.

Akame felt the warmth of the summer on her face. A small breeze fluttered her hair behind her. She closed her eyes and the thought returned, unbidden. Can I kill Kurome?

Had Naruto never returned, she knew what her answer would have remained—yes. Her sister, regardless of how much she loved her, was a monster. Kurome had no empathy left, as demonstrated every time she utilized her Teigu. Between the drugs and the conditioning, there was nothing left of the girl she would gladly die for.

It would take nothing short of a miracle for Kurome to regain her former humanity, and Akame had learned from her own painful experiences that miracles do not exist in this world.

Yet she had witnessed one with her own eyes.

Naruto had returned from the grave after everyone had know that he had died. No one could escape Esdeath; it's foolish to think that you can. Yet he had. He had accomplished the impossible.

Naruto's very existence now was proof that miracles could actually live. Akame just didn't know if it came from some kind of divine intervention or if he had made his own. If the latter were true…then it could actually be possible to save Kurome.

"A man-made miracle," Akame murmured to herself. She mulled over the possibilities such a thing could present, and they filled her with equal measures of both hope and apprehension. Hopeful that her sister could indeed be spared from her hellish life, but apprehensive because she'd seen first-hand what became of those naïve enough to believe in hope.

The sun sinking below the tree line shook her from her thoughts. She needed to return to their base and meet with her partner for the evening, Leone.

Akame stood from the ground, dusted off her legs and skirt, and started walking back. To keep her mind from wandering again, she began thinking about all that had transpired the past week.

Before everyone had left the cabin, both Mine and Tatsumi had left together. Tatsumi had mentioned something about going back home, but Akame had been surprised that Najenda had allowed it. It hadn't been shocking then when it had come out that Naruto had been the one to convince her. Mine initially was against traveling alone with Tatsumi, but a few private words with Najenda and Naruto had warmed her to the idea somewhat. They both left together then for Tatsumi's home village.

Once the rest of Night Raid had arrived at their new secret hideaway, there was no down time. Najenda immediately launched everyone into their responsibilities, both old and new. Lubbock was manning his bookstore in order to both gather information and hopefully keep the guards' eyes elsewhere after setting up the barriers for the area. Leone went back to both observing and the gathering of new contracts. Chelsea had been taking care of the built-up contracts of the past few months that she could handle alone. Susanoo had taken to cleaning the base, sparring with whoever wanted to, and being at his master's side as often as possible. Akame, since her face was known to the public, had spent the past week handling contracts in the night's shadows when she wasn't meditating, eating, or sleeping. Najenda had met with her web of spies in order to gather all of the Capital's news in their absence. And Naruto, when he wasn't causing mischief at the base, was out scouting and researching the new Danger Beasts that had appeared.

According to the research he'd been able to steal, these new Beasts seemed to have once been humans. The current theory of the Capital's scientists was that these things were the result of some inhuman and unholy experiments, and it would seem that both Naruto and Najenda agreed. They, however, went so far as to say with every confidence that the experiments originated with the now-deceases Stylish, and Akame believed they were correct.

As things stood, it was just a matter of finding whoever was using the twisted research and stopping them. Naruto had assured everyone that he alone was more than enough to handle that part, so everyone else was working on their normal and new duties.

Akame felt someone's presence nearby. It must be Leone. After she focused a little, she confirmed her thoughts.

She directed the tension out of her body with practiced ease and walked toward her friend. Terse mumbling carried over the wind as she approached. A small stream bubbled near Leone.

Leone grumbled as she came into view, "I'm really gonna' kill him this time."

"Leone," she called, startling the woman. Akame stopped when she saw the new whiskers painted on the blonde's face.

Whereas the last time, the painted whiskers had been little more than six thin lines, these new ones were absurdly large. They were each thicker than a normal person's finger, and each whisker was a different color of the rainbow. Her nose was painted red like a cat's, and the other six primary colors adorned both cheeks.

"Oh. It's you, Akame." Leone turned back to the water. She cupped both hands together and threw the water on her face. She looked at her reflection and snarled. "Jerk-off got me again, and spit didn't get it off this time. Water don't either. I'd kill Root if I could catch him."

A sudden elation caught Akame by surprise. One lone giggle escaped her.

Neither woman moved, as they were each too shocked to even react. Leone looked oddly curious at her, and Akame couldn't believe that it had even come from her. For a few minutes, the only sound was the gurgling of the stream.

Leone broke the silence, her voice full of disbelief. "Was that… Did you just laugh, Akame?"

She had no idea how to respond. In a way, she still didn't believe it herself. She didn't know what to say, so she nodded once, unsure of how Leone would react.

Leone surprised her by growing quite possibly the largest grin she'd ever seen. The woman's smile was so large and toothy that it put even Naruto's to shame. It practically glowed as it split her face from ear to ear.

Leone bounded across the small clearing and threw an arm around her shoulder. "Ya' know," she said through her smile. "I think that's the first time I've ever seen you actually laugh."

Akame thought back to when she first joined Night Raid. She's right, she realized after some thought. She then started searching her memories for the last time she remembered laughing. I haven't laughed in years. The last time I remember was… Her eyes widened in shock.

"Huh?" Leone looked at her, confused by her sudden actions. "What's up?"

"I…" Akame started to shake. She opened her palms and looked at them.

Leone gripped both of her shoulders with a firm grasp and stood in front of her. She said soothingly, "Hey. Somethin' wrong?"

The weight of this discovery shook Akame to her very core. "I thought…" she trailed off, fighting back the emotions.

"What is it?"

Akame took in a shuddering breath to calm herself down. She won her brief emotional war and replied, "Leone… I just realized that I haven't…I haven't actually laughed since Sensei was framed."

Her friend's golden eyes widened in realization before softening in affection. "Oh…" She pulled Akame's head to her bosom and held her there with her enhanced strength. "Is our favorite monster finally remembering how to have fun?"

Akame didn't struggle against the hold. Instead, she reveled in it. She let Leone's warm, protective, and caring aura envelop her. As she did, she could feel something shift within her. What it was, she knew not, but she felt like she'd find out one day.

She decided to try and test something. Akame reached inside herself and latched onto this new…something. Her lips twitched up as she said, "Hey, Leone?"

"Yeah? What is it, hun?"

"Have you tried using alcohol on them yet?" she asked, referring to her new whiskers. "Sensei had other ink that would only wash off in alcohol."

Leone blinked for a minute. She asked her, "Just how man inks does Root keep handy?"

Tatsumi thanked the innkeeper and went back to the booth Mine was sitting.

"So?" she asked, her face expectant.

He nodded. Tatsumi held out the key and said, "He had one upstairs."

Mine's eyes lit up, but she contained her excitement. She pulled her large bag – Teigu within – onto her shoulder and stood up. "What are you waiting for then? Let's go!"

Tatsumi suppressed a smile. He threw his small bag of essentials over his shoulder, checked that Incursio's blade was still secure, and led his partner upstairs to their room. He unlocked the door and closed it behind them, making sure to lock it back.

Mine, face humorless, directed, "We should check it – just to be safe."

"Sure," he agreed with a nod. He couldn't fault her for her paranoia even though little news traveled this far from the Capital. Hell, he thought back to when he left. I had no idea there was even a Revolution going on when I left. He doubted they'd find anything, but he humored her and looked around for any bugs or recording devices.

The inn was surprisingly modern for this far out. There was actual indoor plumbing for starters, and Tatsumi remembered fondly how that discovery had blown both Ieyasu and Sayo away. The room was around standard size. It had one medium-sized bed, a nightstand on either side of it, and a stained couch across the room. It had an attached bathroom as well with a shower and sink.

After ten minutes of searching, they found no hint of any untoward activities by the innkeeper. Mine did stumble across a few unused condoms in one of the nightstands, and both of them blushed near the point of steam. Other than that though, there was nothing present that someone wouldn't expect in a normal inn room.

Mine at last set her overly huge baggage next to the room's lone window with a solid 'thunk'. She pulled the curtains shut after checking the sill one last time. She looked at him and stated flatly, "I'm taking a bath. Don't even think about peeking."

Tatsumi nearly rolled his eyes. He simply shooed her into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. One time – one time! And now she thinks I'm a damn pervert. He halted and thought back. Did me seeing in her underwear count?

He heard the water start running and shrugged, choosing not the further think about it. Instead, he walked over to bed, shrugged off his bag and sword, and fell onto it back-down.

He took in a deep sigh. He closed his eyes and felt the expected lumps beneath him. Still, he thought, and believed his companion would agree, this is better than camping on the forest floor. His eyes opened. He murmured, "Can't believe we're nearly there. I'll get to see everyone again tomorrow. Wonder how they've been."

For some reason, he lacked the ache of homesickness. He felt very little as he neared where he had grown up. He dreaded having to tell Ieyasu's parents and Sayo's mom the news, but he was neither eager nor anxious to return.

He rolled onto his side. "I wonder how Maki-nee is doing?" he absently wondered. He returned to his back. "Has she missed me? Maybe I should've written?" He stifled a dry chuckle. "What would I tell her? 'Hey, Sis! Your idiot little brother got himself into a heap of trouble on his first day in the Capital. Don't wanna' bore you with the details, but one thing led to another and now I'm an assassin! By the way, did you know there was an actual revolution going on?' Yeah. That'd go over nicely."

He closed his eyes and went over his recent travels in his head. Both he and Mine had not been happy they'd be traveling together, but they'd accepted Najenda's decision when she had explained why it had to be her.

Of course, with the hot spring incident still fresh, things were quite tense the first few days. Those days were an exact routine. They woke up, broke camp, ate as they walked, stopped for lunch when the sun was highest, resumed trekking, and made camp and dinner at nightfall. All of this happened with Mine refusing to say a single word to him. Even though he wasn't traveling alone this time, those days were even lonelier than when he did travel with no one.

She did eventually warm enough to actually hold a conversation. Tatsumi believed it was more boredom than anything, but he was wise enough to not push Mine back to how she'd been up to that point. Instead, he did what he could to make up for being 'an ass' as she'd described his actions.

He tried to regale her with tales of his journey to the Capital. Mine, he found out, had rarely if ever left the civilized world for an extended time, and she ate up his stories like a child at story-time. She tried to hide her interest, but, over their time together, Tatsumi was able to notice the slight smile and widening of her eyes whenever he starting talking.

While she'd been attentive to his stories about the monsters – when she wasn't mocking his former ineptitude – it was his stories of his village that she paid especially close attention to. Tatsumi recounted stories about Ieyasu and Sayo that made him long for the past a little as he spoke. She'd laughed like a drunken loon when he told her about the time Sayo had forced both boys into dresses; the dresses being pink was just icing on the cake to her.

Tatsumi smiled fondly. In the small light, he couldn't help but think her laugh was infectious. Idly, he had thought he liked her better when she wasn't trying to belittle or scold him.

The door to the room's bathroom opened a crack, and Mine's face poked through. Her hair was down and water dripped off its ends. "H-Hey, Tatsumi," she called nervously.

He sat up. "Yeah?"

She looked away from him. "I, uh, kind of forgot my towel when you pushed me in here. Turns out the innkeep doesn't provide one. Can you bring me mine from my bag?"

Tatsumi raised an eyebrow. No towels? He wondered why, as it was supposed to be courtesy. Mine developed a small blush – from embarrassment was his guess. "Sure," he answered, remembering that he was technically at fault. As he stood, he asked, "Want your sleeping clothes as well?"

Her bashful look turned into a heated glare, cowing him. She hissed, "Don't even think about going through my underwear!"

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay. Okay," he placated her. He walked over to her bag and mumbled, "Sheesh. Just trying to do a favor." He grabbed her towel – pink, who'd have guessed – and handed it to her. "Here," he said and held it out.

She took it. She looked at her towel and then him briefly. She mumbled, "Thanks," and shut the door in his face.

Tatsumi stood still and blinked for a moment. Did she just thank me? he idly wondered. He shrugged off the thought and returned to the bed.

The bathroom door opened again a minute later. Without prompt, he turned his back to Mine to let her get dressed with some semblance of privacy. Because of their close proximity with one another recently, this was the best method they could agree on for changing over their trip. He heard Mine walk across the floor and start rummaging through her bag.

After a few minutes, Mine told him, "Okay. You can turn around now." It had become routine for the both of them at this point.

He turned in time to see Mine hang her moist towel on the room's coat rack to dry. She was garbed in her baggy, pink one-piece sleeping dress. Her hair was let down and still dripped water in some areas.

She informed him, "There's no hot water at all, so don't blame me for there not being any."

A yawn tore through his throat. "Eh. I think I'll just take one in the morning then." He took off his shirt, grabbed his blanket from his bag, and walked over to the room's couch.

"H-Hey!" Mine stuttered, red-faced.

"Yeah?" he asked while looking over his shoulder.

"We need to decide what our cover story is going to be!" she reminded him – loudly. "And put your shirt back on!"

He caught how her eyes lingered for a moment on his toned torso. A swell of confidence welled up within him. He was tempted to tease her but decided against it after a little thought. It looked like Naruto's training paid off even better than it'd been advertised, and that's not including the side lessons he threw in on recognizing body language. He sat down on the sofa then and deliberately avoided her latter demand. He instead asked, "Aren't we going with Boss and Naruto's idea?"

Her growing so flustered was one of his proudest moments. It felt like sweet payback to see her hunger and embarrassment.

Mine took a minute to collect herself without looking like a fool. Her face remained red, but she now locked her eyes to his and refused to look anywhere else. "I am not pretending to be your girlfriend, Tatsumi."

"Then can you think of a better cover then?" He pointed out, "I've never written home since I left, not even to let them know I'm coming now, and this lets us forego any outright lies about how we met and such. We met during one of your unit's operations and you guys saved me after mine was wiped out – taking Ieyasu and Sayo as well." He paused a moment to push back the emotions once more from remembering that night.

He then continued, "I then joined with you guys and was put under your tutelage for a bit. We then became friends and it built into a relationship. It's textbook, and I don't want to lie to my family more than necessary. It's an easy way to keep our stories consistent. All we do is say our operations are secret and covert – which they are – and can't go into too much detail."

Mine retorted, "We could manage all that as just friends. There's no need to go so far as saying we're in a…relationship." She said the last word like it tasted funny.

Tatsumi shook his head. "Everyone'll assume it anyway. Why not cut down the amount of questions everyone's gonna' ask? Trust me, the more we deny it, the more they will believe it's true, and then they'll wonder why we're hiding that and it could lead to even more questions we don't want to answer." He finished, "It's best to limit how many questions they'll ask about how we know each other."

She crossed her arms and pouted. "Naruto told you all that, didn't he? No way you came up with all that on your own."

"A little," he admitted with an uncaring shrug. "Most of it's all me though. Still against it?"

"Yes," she answered, petulant. "But," she conceded, "you're right." She sighed. "We do need to keep the questions about…us to a minimum. Fine. I don't like it, but I'll be your pretend girlfriend for a few days."

"Good," he nodded once, feeling a little vindication. "I'll give you the rundown on everyone tomorrow on the way. I need some rest." He fell on the couch, resting his head on its lumpy arm, and covered himself with the blanked.

There was a pregnant silence in the room as he closed his eyes. Mine was standing in the same place, fidgeting and blushing.

Mine soon called out. "H-Hey. Tatsumi?"

He didn't bother opening his eyes or turning. He responded, "What?"

"Is…Is the couch comfy?"

Huh? He wondered why she'd ask. "No," he answered flatly. "But it's a lot better than the floor."

She fidgeted a little more. "I, uh… I owe you."

That confused him. He rolled over and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Mine wouldn't look at him. "You've got the food every day, and you cooked it for us both," she told him. "And I haven't even thanked you for it yet."

Really? That's what's eating her up? He didn't know if he should be worried or not, as Mine hadn't thanked him for anything in months. "It's no problem," he said. "But…you're welcome, I guess. That it?"

She turned away so that he couldn't see her face. Her head shook, her hair swaying back and forth. Her next words were barely even a whisper. "Do…Do you want the bed?"

His eyebrows shot up. He could scarcely believe he'd heard that. Certain he'd imagined it, he asked, "Can you repeat that? I think I misheard you."

Mine's hands clenched and shook at her sides. She suddenly turned around and shouted, "I asked if you wanted the bed, you musclehead! I'd feel terrible if I didn't at least offer! Since I hate owing you anything, I'm letting you have the bed this one time!"

"Okay. Okay. I get it." He sat up, holding his hands out in surrender. Mine calmed down, and he answered carefully so as to not set her off again, "I appreciate it, Mine – really I do. But I'm good over here. You can have the bed." He hoped that would be the end of it, and it was.

Mine puffed out her cheeks. She looked like she had more to say, but she bit her tongue and turned away.

"Fine," she huffed. "Have it your way. But don't you dare say I didn't try to help."

"I won't," he promised, oddly amused.

Mine climbed into the bed and covered herself with a grunt. "And turn off the light, will you?" she demanded.

He groaned but obliged. He caught her eyeing him with her mouth covered by the sheets. He said no words, only raising a single eyebrow at her. Mine's face went scarlet and she turned away from him.

Tatsumi smiled as he turned off the light. He chuckled lightly as he fell back onto the rock-hard sofa.

He was still smiling as he drifted into sleep.

Naruto sat atop one of the tallest plateaus in the area.

The moon was high in the sky with not a cloud to be seen – perfect night scouting weather. Tall towers of stone stretched across the landscape as far as could be seen in every direction. The few Danger Beasts that lived in this ravine had long since scurried away from his presence.

Naruto took in a deep breath to help gather his focus. It's been a while since I've done this, he thought. Here goes. He exhaled through his nose.

His senses were bombarded by each of his clones' sensations. All four clones' thoughts, sights, smells, tastes, hearing, and touch overlapped on top of his own with a crash mighty as a tsunami. He was able to not be overwhelmed through a combination of prior experience and sheer force of will.

He and his clones shared a true mental link, which connected all of their psyches and senses as one. This ability was useful when scouting and granted a grand field of vision in battle, but there was a serious drawback to it.

There was no way to turn the link off so long as the clones were awake, so the stream of information into Naruto's head was continuous, constantly pummeling his mind with separate consciousnesses on top of his own. At times, it was difficult to maintain which one he truly was. He had trained for years to simply be able to function autonomous of his clones whenever they were active.

He had managed to successfully handle a single clone's existence after months of constant training when he had gained this ability, and that had been all he could use when he had battled Esdeath prior to his 'death'. Over the past few years, however, he'd managed to survive four clones active at once sending him everything they experienced.

Because of this issue, he had not been able to truly test his cloning ability's upper limits. Was there a limit to how many he could produce? Could he project his self into one of them and control them from afar like another skin? Is there a point where his clones become substantially weaker than they already were? Did each clone have a certain specialty to them aside from mere personality quirks? He did not yet have concrete, firm answers to any of those questions. He had suspicions for a few, but he had nothing he could depend on.

He had sent each of his clones in different directions in order to maximize the search range. Naruto believed that the suspect behind these new Danger Beasts' creation was in this mountain range, but he didn't know where they were precisely or even if this villain was still here.

One of his clones had discovered a pattern in these Beasts' attacks. They attacked only remote locations far beyond the Capital's direct reach. However, the first three villages were actually equidistant from one another, making an equilateral triangle on the map. He had nothing concrete, so he kept this information from Night Raid, but he believed that those three were the original tests. And, if that were true, then the source of the Beasts had to be someplace in the area between or around those three villages, and he now sat at the exact center of the geographical triangle.

If nothing else, he thought as he experienced his clones' movements, I should find some sort of sign of human existence. Now, if I were a megalomaniac bent on destruction, where would I hide my secret lab? There's no volcanoes out here, so that's out.

His clones combed every inch of the area in every direction from him. One of them, the one he sent east, discovered a few campsites that had long been abandoned, but there wasn't enough physical evidence to draw any conclusions. It was entirely possible that this lab was self-sustaining, as Stylish himself had designed and built it.

The man was mad, but he was also startlingly brilliant, he thought of the crazed, morally-lacking scientist.

The only other signs of life his clones found were of natural animals and Danger Beasts. Piles of dung, a few goat trails, some half-eaten explorers. As this area was so arid as well, there was very little vegetation, and what little there was would kill a normal person.

His face twitched and his jaw tightened as time continued to move on without results. He noted, annoyed, Whoever this guy is, he certainly knows how to cover his tracks. You'd think I trained this little shit myself.

The wind crossed his face, carrying with it a familiar scent. He sniffed twice and froze. He quickly retreated from his copies' minds and looked downwind.

"Shit!" he cursed, perturbed at himself now. "How'd I not notice her until now?"

A flying silhouette was moving towards him at fast speeds, the moon serving as an eerie backdrop. It's wings stretched greater than ten meters, and riding atop this great Beast strode a woman with stunning blue hair.

"She's noticed me by now. Fuck!" He had not intended on encountering Esdeath tonight, and delving into multiple clones' minds like that put his powers on the fritz for hours.

Esdeath's Beast tucked its wings into its sides and dive-bombed right at him, snapping him into his battle-ready mindset. He avoided the suicidal attack with ease, dashing across the plateau. The Beast collided with the unforgiving stone head-first. Bits of its bones, scales, and innards flew through the air in every direction like hundreds of tiny daggers.

The air above him cooled too rapidly to be natural, so he rolled to the side as a half-dozen icicles pierced the ground where he had just been. As he rolled, he tossed a knife in the air towards where he believed Esdeath to be, but it was immediately incased in ice and shattered once it left his hand.

"Hello, Naruto," Esdeath's calm, cool voice cut through the air like an icy wind. "I hadn't imagined I'd find you out here."

Neither did I, he silently replied. He eyed Esdeath carefully as she fell to the ground, her boots' heels clicking on the stone. He stood up and asked, "What are you doing out here?"

She raised an eye at him. "I believe that is my question."

"I said it first."

Esdeath didn't indulge in their usual playful banter. She answered, "I am on patrol. I am searching for those Beasts' source."

"What a coincidence! I am too!" He was deliberately overplaying. He hoped to keep her talking to delay her as long as possible. "Care to know why?"

"No," she rejected coldly.

Naruto's shoulders slumped, dejected. He held out his hand and a small ice dagger pierced through his palm. A few drops of his blood splattered onto his cheek. He looked up. "Now that wasn't nice," he scolded as he pulled the blood-covered ice out and tossed it to the side.

Esdeath didn't flinch from the accusation. She merely stated, "You left me an opening."

"And you rushed to fill it." He grinned at her playfully. "Trying to be like me, Esdeath?"

She rolled her eyes and snorted, exasperated. Her gaze and demeanor was without humor as she said, "Your crude sense of humor knows no bounds."

"I thought that was one of the things you liked about me," he replied offhandedly. He hid his injured hand behind him as a faint red glow coated the wound. His skin began to sew itself back together.

Esdeath's mouth twitched up as she traded a verbal jab. "It wears on the patience."

He blew a raspberry at her. "You've got no patience – except when you're torturing," he added. "You've never liked waiting." He ducked under an ice shard that came from behind. "Case in point."

"Enough," she ended the conversation. She held out her hand and a caged dome of ice formed over the mountaintop, allowing no escape. She drew her rapier and brandished it towards him. "I've been awaiting this opportunity, Naruto. Here we may—"

Naruto didn't hear anything else she said, as a familiar scent traveled with the changed wind. He sprinted across the landing and shattered a large stone with a single blow, revealing a cloaked figure.

Both assassin and observer's eyes met, and they both immediately recognized the other. "You!" they both shouted, rage in their voices.

Naruto's eyes began to turn from blue to red again, sending shockwaves across the clearing that cracked Esdeath's icy prison. He reached out and grasped the onlooker by the throat before they could escape. His mouth twisted into a wicked, demonic smile. "I've wondered where you were, little boy," he spoke, his voice laced with power beyond the mortal realm.

The stranger's hood fell as Naruto lifted him, revealing his face. The intruder was a young, adult male with tanned skin, green eyes, and hair as white as a bone. Most noticeably, there was a large 'x'-shaped scar that covered a good portion of his face.

Naruto was forced to drop his target though when Esdeath's rapier stabbed down from the sky at his arm. Esdeath spun around, coating her leg in a thick layer of ice, and aimed her shin at his head. Naruto held up his arm to block, but the added density and weight of her ice allowed her to break his guard, forcing him to leap away or risk her sword's point.

Naruto growled, frustrated and annoyed at the interruption, but Esdeath was upon him again before he could do anything. They both then danced their deadly routine, with every step as beautiful as it was life-threatening. Esdeath stabbed and slashed, and Naruto dodged or deflected.

Naruto carefully watched his opponent for any openings, and he soon spotted one. Esdeath over-reached with one of her stabs and he took full advantage. He grabbed her arm, twisted his body, and executed a textbook judo throw, sending her across the clearing.

Seizing this opportunity, he sprinted toward the observer, who was now smiling. The scarred man was holding a pendant in his hand, and Naruto recognized the Teigu immediately. He tried to get to him before the pendant could be used.

But he was too late. The target's pendant began to glow with a purple light. The man shouted, "Shambhala!"

A giant yin-yang symbol appeared then, covering the entire plateau. Naruto cursed as he too began to shine under the Teigu's power.

The cloaked youth smirked at him. "You should've stayed dead, Naruto-sensei."

"Syura!" Naruto snarled. He reached for Syura's neck, but he never reached it.

Both Naruto and Esdeath vanished.

A/N: Still alive, as you can see. Been busy with school, work, and trying to get officially published. I'll be sure to let everyone know where they could be found if they're published.

Nothing new to really say. Hope you enjoyed the read so far.