Violet Beast in Konoha

Violet Beast in Konoha: Chapter 1

 

A/N: I forgot to put that the last chapter as merely a prologue to the whole story, so forgive me. I don't often write full fledged stories, so I'll hope you'll forgive me for my oversights. Also, another note... As my story is not following the same plot as the original anime/manga, I don't want to hear any complaining about things like why Sasuke is back. I'll either explain it in the story, or I'll just do what I want and not bother giving an explanation. My story, my way. That is all for now.

---

 

Sakura packed for the mission three times, removing and replacing everything until she was properly satisfied with the contents of her backpack. Her stomach fluttered nervously everytime she thought about the mission and its details. Though she was not someone who scared easily, there was something no right about the whole thing. No human, ninja or not, could do such a horrible set of crimes, could they? It had been horrible, seeing how mutilated and torn those corpses had been, knowing that only some time before they had been living, breathing people who felt everything she did. The morgue was nothing compared to all of this.

Though she had matured and learned all that had to be learned from Lady Tsunade, and was no longer someone who obsessed over Sasuke every day, she still felt like a little girl as she curled up on the bed, her curvaceous for hugging one of the pillows to her chest. She was still slender at the waist, with muscle cording her lithe arms and legs, giving her a more powerful frame than most guys found attractive. Despite that, she was still beautful, with C-cup breasts and a firm, round ass that Naruto playfully grabbed every so often. Sure, they'd been dating for a while now, once she got over Sasuke, but she still thought he was an idiot.

Sasuke....handsome, sure, but far too obsessed with mourning the past and training to one day destroy Itachi. Naruto had convinced him to come back to the village that horrible day, and they'd sealed Orochimaru's power, but it hadn't changed his desires. Only once Itachi was dead, would he bother with trying for a normal life.

"Stupid boys." she thought, then sighed. How had she gotten off her train of thought? Oh well. Back to the subject of the mission, she stared out the window, and contemplated the forest. Something about it looked...off. Again, she couldn't place it, but it almost seemed more lush than she remembered. More wild. Maybe it was her imagination, but something about it stirred her insides around oddly.

"Fucking weird..." she muttered, shutting the blinds and rolling over with a sigh. When she closed her eyes to sleep that night, her dreams were filled with strange heat and sounds she couldn't place, not to mention eyes...white eyes without a single drop of color to them, and woke with a cry at the sound of her alarm going off. Heart racing, she knew something was going to go terribly wrong. She just knew it!

---

 

In spite of her premonition, she got up and got dressed, collecting her ninja gear before heading to the main gate. Shikamaru, Neji and Hinata were already there. "G-Good morning, Sakura-chan.." Hinata said softly, fidgeting with her own gear absenty.

"Morning Hinata. Seems like everyone else is taking their time..." she noted, leaning against one of the giant doors, closing her eyes.

"Y-Yes... um..." the pale-eyed girl hesitated, then moved closer, speaking in a softer voice. "D-Did you.....um...Have any strange...d-d-dreams...?" She seemed embarrassed by the question, but the expression on Sakura's face told her that she had experienced it too.

"...Yeah..." the med-nin said softly, curiously. "I was looking out at the forest before I went to sleep. When I did.... I don't know. It aws all so confusing, but I woke up thinking something horrible was going on..."

They were both dead silent, their gaze meeting and both knowing that they had felt the exact same thing. Sakura suddenly gave a nervous laugh and waved her hand dismissively. "Its probably nothing. I mean, we'll be alright with so many powerful ninja's on the team."

Hinata smiled tremulously and nodded. "R-Right..." she said, though she didn't think either of them really meant it. Within the next five minutes, the others began to show up, Naruto arriving last of courrse. Most of them looked worn and tired---not Naruto, oddly enough.

"Alright, now that we're all here, lets get down to business." Shikamaru said, motioning them to gather round. "We'll be running in a new pattern I thought up last night. Due to the large, uneven number, we'll be running what I'm calling a double-helix line."

"Double-what?" Naruto wondered, scowling intently in confusion.

"Don't trouble yourself over the name, Naruto. Just listen." Shikamaru sighed. "Kiba and Neji, you two will run at the front of the line, side-by-side. Neji will be using Byakugan to look for traps and ambushes. Kiba and Akamaru will smell for anything out of the ordiinary, try to track the enemy to its base."

"We got this, right Akamaru?" Kiba grinned at the huge furry beast. A resounding bark was the answer.

"Next will be Lee and Sakura. You two will handle any physical obstacles in our way, and make room for the others to jump into the fray, if we do get ambushed. I will be in the middle, alone, giving orders to the front and back line."

"This is kinda like the way we ran that time when Sasuke got captured, isn't it?" Naruto suddenly realized. Sasuke blinked and looked around, curious at that. He'd been told the details of that nearly disastrous mission, but it hadn't occured to anyone to tell him the formation they used.

Shikamaru grinned lazily. "That's right, Naruto. Next, we'll have Ino and Hinata---you'll be doing the same as Neji, Hinata---and finally... Sasuke and Naruto will gaurd us from behind. We will use an aggressive approach, seeing as the other ninja who were cut down probably tried to sneak through that area. It obviously didn't work, so while we won't run in screaming, we won't be hiding ourselves either."

"A show of brute force to scare the enemy?" Neji offered, earning a nod from Shikamaru.

"Yes. Hopefully, this will cause caution on the enemy's side, allowing us to gain a little time within the red-zoned area." Shikamaru said reasonably. "Alright, form up, and lets go."

After some moving around and organizing, they set off towards their target.

---

 

Hours of tree-hopping through the forest hadn't garnered them any information, though Akamaru insisted he could smell something 'funny' about the whole forest they were in. Kiba said he sort of could too, but it wasn't traceable. "Its like someone spread the smell all over the place on purpose. There's just no way to track it, because its everywhere!" he had declared huffily.

Now they were taking a break in a fair sized clearing, having lunch as they discussed their strategy and kept a look out. At the moment, it was Neji watching the forest around them, his skin veined around his eyes as the Byakugan did its job and scanned everything in sight.

"I don't understand. Why hasn't anything tried...anything?" Naruto complained, scowling as he shoved a rice ball into his mouth and chewed ferociously.

"Either the enemy hasn't noticed us yet, or they're keeping an eye on us from a distance. I can't think of anyone suicidal enough to take on so many ninja, even young ones like we appear to be." Shikamaru replied quietly, his gaze on the forest. There was something off about the way the things....well, how things were.

At first, he had trouble placing it, and it was only by someone else noticing that he even put two and two together. Neji walked over and crouched by him, lightly touching his shoulder. "We are being watched, and closely. " the Hyuuga breathed, so as not to alarm the others.

"Where?" Shikamaru asked just as quietly, his eyes on his food.

"Twelve yards to our left. I cannot ...see what it is. Or who it is. The chakra I'm seeing is...twisted, sick, I guess. Its all over the place, so wild I can't put a shape to it. "

"You mean its leaking out of them?"

"Yes, that is an accurate description. Its flaring outwards, leaking all over the place, but somehow I cannot sense it. Can you?"

"No." the leader said, glancing towards the others who were eating and talking amongst themselves. Except for Sakura and Hinata. They sat next to one another, seeming almost...out of it, distracted to the point it took Naruto a couple of tries to get Sakura's attention. She played it off lik it was nothing and seemed embarrassed about it.

"Sakura, Hinata, are you two alright?" Shikamaru finally asked, eyeing them both carefully. They looked up and then at one another, then back to him. It would have been comical, if Shikamaru's expression left any doubt to how serious he was.

"I don't know..." Sakura finally answered, seeming nervous. "I just feel....I don't know...fevered, I guess."

"You're sick?" Ino said sharply, moving over to touch the other girl's forehead thoughtfully, scowling. "You don't seem to be running a fever."

"I don't know, alright? I just feel strange. I can't really explain it." she said, getting irritated and swatting the blonde's hand away.

"And you, Hinata?" Shikamaru asked. The pale eyed heiress flushed and looked away, shaking her head and shrugging a little. She couldn't explain it either, and didn't bother to try. "..Both of you, use the release jutsu, now."

That caused a ripple of tension in the group as they looked at the girls. "A genjutsu?" Lee asked, surprised. Sakura and Hinata glanced at one another and then placed their hands together. They called out as one, "Release!" and suddenly....they felt much better.

"I...can't feel it anymore!" Sakura said, surprised.

Shikamaru nodded and stood, along with the others. "Its a subtle trick. A dangerous one, too. Whoever is out there, they wanted only to catch Sakura and Hinata's attention...but why?" he murmured. The group shifted nervously, while Neji stood beside Shikamaru, catching his attention once more.

"6 yards now."

"I can't smell anything." Kiba hissed under his breath, and Akamaru whined, trembling somewhat. Kiba looked surprised. "What's the matter, boy? Do you smell something?"

A whimper and a low, timid bark. "Huh? what do you mean its not a smell? The chakra is...is what?" He listened intently as Akamaru seemed to explain himself.

"The chakra is...a demon? I don't understand, boy." But Akamaru only huddled close to the ground, unwilling to say anymore.

"A...demon...?" Naruto said, absently clutching at his stomach. Only Sakura and Sasuke knew what this could mean to the energetic blonde, and quietly glanced at one another in a meaningful fashion.

"Closer." Neji warned them. "I think whatever it is, its about to attack."

"Circle formation, now!" Shikamaru growled, and they jumped to obey. They formed into a rough circle, facing outwards, though the most attention was on the spot Neji was glaring at so intently.  "We know you're there!" Shikamaru called. "Come on out and surrender, and we won't have to kill you."

A chill ran down everyone's spine as a deep, masucline laugh rumble out of the underbrush, rough and growling like the voice of a wild beast.

---

 

The scent of females, clean and pure reached his nose. Untouched by any male, though ripe for the taking. Nostrils flared as he breathed deep, a shiver running through his large and powerful body, mounds of muscle quivering in a wave down it. Both were powerful females in their own rights, he could tell, just by their scent. One held the scent of cherry blossoms, and the strong musk of one who based a lot of their power into physical strength, though there was the undercurrent of mint....

The smell of a healer, as well.

The other was harder to place, but just as tantalizing. Faint, airy, most definitely a lavender scent. The beast hiding from the view of the ninja could imagine that this was a female who probably didn't express herself well, maybe even appeared timid, yet held a power that could threaten even him----dangerous predator though he was.

Those were the two he wanted for his own. Yes, there were others in the group that he wanted, but those were the most attractive things he desired right then. When the cocky boy who smelled of sour things---tabacco, laziness, smoke---he laughed in amusement. These runts, kill him? He was an ancient beast, who's power hadn't faded over the centuries of being locked away. When that first ninja had accidentally broken his seal and released him intot he world, he had slaughtered aimlessly, eager to tear at the world.

But now it was to defend his territory, as he had so many centuries ago. And to find...a mate. Someone to be his and his alone! Someone to keep him company , and someone powerful. The beast crawled from the shadows on all fours and watched as the horror and fear spread on their faces....

---

Sakura shuddered violently as the beast came into view, crouched on all fours---though it soon stood and showed its true strength to them all. The thing, for she hesitated to call it a man, stood at a frightening 6'7", with huge broad shoulders, and a body most men would have loved to have. The pink-haired ninja had the perverse desire to run her hands over the rippling eight pack, but fought against that morbid bit of curiousity. His skin was tan, and, if it weren't for the extra....stuff...on his body, the creature would have been considered smoking hot.

White hair capped his head, spiky and ruffled, but that wasn't all. Six  short horns were on his head like a mohawk, two-by-two down the middle of his skull. On his back were huge violet wings, that seemed to shimmer and flash with every movement that caught the light of the sun. They were beautiful, terrifyng, but beautiful in a way Sakura just couldn't explain.

Below his hair, eyes seemed to stare at everyone and no one, but then....when blind eyes pass over you, it doesn't mean they're actually looking at you, obviously. Gray filmed over eyes searched the clearing aimlessly, set into a heart-breakingly handsome face as a pair of full, kissable lips curled into a cruel smile, baring sharp upper and lower canines that looked more like dog fangs. The strange being wore only a pair of tattered, black leather pants that had definitely seen better days. Each finger and toe was tipped with a white claw that had to be an inch long at least, razor sharp and gleaming as if he had just polished them.

"W-what is that thing?" Saskue whispered, eyes wide as he started at the strange being.

"Is...it some kind of Jutsu?" Rock Lee wondered uncertainly, feeling timid for the first time in his life. They were all tense and battle ready, but none of them looked very eager to leap into battle with such a foe.

{ Its blind. } Shikamaru noted, licking his lips thoughtfully. { But not helpless. That's probably what gave it such an advantage over the other ninja. They underestimated it because of the lack of vision. But I bet it has enhanced scent and hearing to make up for it. Maybe as good as Kiba's scent. }

"Are you the one who has been killing ninja's of the Hidden Leaf Village?" Shikamaru asked with a calm he didn't feel. The creature's eyes turned towards him and its smile grew wider, blind eyes narrowing dangerously.

"I kill all who trespeass. My territory, my law." it growled in a thickly spoken string of words.

"This forest belongs to the Hidden Leaf Village. You're the one who is trespassing." Shikamaru reasoned, as his shadow began to subtly inch forward.

"No. I was here first. Kei has always been here. Ninja steal Kei's forest, lock away like animal." the stranger, Kei, snarled, huge, violet wings flaring sharply. "Now Kei become animal, tear all intruders apart!"

{So, he has a grudge against ninja that sealed him.... He must be some sort of demon, like Akamaru said. I know there's only supposed to be the tailed beast but...why not?} Shikamaru thought.  He gathered his courage and decided to see if he could reason with it--no, him..

"I'm sorry to hear that you were wronged by ninja. But things have changed. Maybe if you would come talk to our Hokage..." he started, only to be interrupted by a snarl from Kei.

"No! No, no, no! Kei will not go to village! Kei will stay here, and protect what is his. You go! All go except...except them." Kei said, calming down with a wicked smile on his face as he turned his head towards Hinata and Sakura, who happened to be standing together.

"Sakura and Hinata? I'm afraid we can't do that."

"In your dreams!" Sakura spat, as Hinata trembled. Naruto took a few aggressive steps forward, his kunai at the ready.

"You arrogant jerk! I'd like to see you try and take them!" he yelled angrily, his blue eyes flashing. Kei studied him for a long moment, then smiled coolly.

"Very well, fox-scent. I fight you, kill you all, and take girls. I take what I want, cause Kei always take what he want." the beast-man growled, flexing his wings as he lowered himself into a crouch, then launched himself at the group fearlessly, a roar on his lips. 

 

The first claim had been made, and the battle for it begun.