Demons, Snow And Kunai

The rest of chapter 5. It was too long and I had to split it.

From now on, except for two members, the rest will be found in groups of three.

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Tifa looked at him, stunned “sealed? But how?”



“I don’t know, I’d have to find a seal and I can only do that by examining him from head to toes with ‘Nade’s help. For that I’d need both his and your permission. I wouldn’t do that without consent. But that’s not all, the girl can already use her bloodline ability. She used it the minute she got home, but HIS is locked away with his chakra. Whatever the boy’s ability is, SOMEONE was so afraid of it and what he could do, they locked it away, maybe forever.”



Tifa asked, numb with shock and concern “you said Marlene used hers when she got home.What did she do?”



“I sensed her reach out with her chakra and scan everyone inside. She seemed confused by me, probably because my chakra was developed and controlled and no one else she knows has. That’s why she was so curious about me when you introduced us. She kept asking me about where I was from and being a ninja.” He looked sternly at her “I think once she realized I had been trained to control and use my chakra she wanted to learn how, but thought if she came out and asked...”



“She would reveal the truth.”



“Exactly” the man nodded, “perhaps you should have one of us teach them-for self defense of course.”



Tifa frowned “Cloud and Zack would consent with Denzel if we tell them this, they may even want to help by doing some training themselves. But Barrett...” she slowly shook her head “he has this image of Marlene that he refuses to shake. To him she is his sweet, innocent CHILD. He refuses to see her as other than that, he won’t even see she’s growing up.”



The man nodded “I understand that. He wants to keep her innocent and carefree as long as possible. However he’s endangering her also. Her bloodline ability is obviously a passive one, it is not going to save her alone, and you won’t be there always to protect her, and neither will he.”



He started stroking his chin thoughtfully “her chakra is a lot like ‘Nades. Perhaps we can convince him to let HER train her. That way we can say she’s training to be a healer and sneak in other lessons ‘to learn chakra manipulation’ for her studies. ‘Nade can be very convincing when she sets her mind and heart to something.”



Tifa frowned though thoughtfully as well “But can we really lie to Barrett, can I? And for what?”



“For the good of the children and their protection, yes you can.”



“What do you mean?” she frowned at him.



“Sooner or later someone else is going to find out about them. Do you really think they’ll see anything but a potential weapon? ESPECIALLY the boy. They’ll take them away from you and use them, I don’t want to think of what they might do to them to turn them. There is ALWAYS people out there willing to do whatever it takes to hurt others, who step on those around them and don’t care, just to be better than everyone else.”



Tifa realized he was right. First Regenald Shinra, then Hojo, then Sephiroth (although now Tifa knew that wasn’t his fault), then Rufus and the clones, then Hojo again (or maybe that was STILL) then Deepground.



And before them all, Jenovah.



And if Naruto’s dream was true, either Jenovah-possessed Sephiroth or Jenovah herself was going to return, along with a bigger and better Aeris. Because, let’s face it, as the daughter of a fox and wolf demon and ninjas, granddaughter of The Squire Of Omega, last of the Ancients and surrounded by ninja’s. ex SOLDIERS, healers and fighters of all types-including hand to hand, guns, swords and staffs or spears, Aeris Uchiha would not only be the most versatile and highly trained warrior ever to exist, she would be the most powerful and well protected girl out there.



Could Tifa really leave the kids vulnerable and unable to protect themselves when the ‘shit hit the fan’? Especially since Denzel had shown such promise against that hell-hound?



“I’ll do it” Tifa pursed her lips in determination “if you can persuade Tsunade, I’ll tell Zack and Cloud. Then we can all work on Barrett. If all of us do it...” a sudden idea hit Tifa “...we need to ask the kids themselves tonight. If Marlene asks her father herself....he’s never been able to say no to her.”



“Actually” the man smiled at her “I was talking about the others last night before you opened the bar. The girl wants to be a healer like ‘Nade. She mentioned how she tried to help the boy when he had some sickness before...”



“Geostigmata, yes she did.”



“...And how helpless she felt not being able to. She asked me if ‘Nade would teach her and I said I’d ask her. As for the boy, he idolizes both you and the blonde. If given the chance to ‘become a hero’-his words-like the both of you, he’d jump at the chance.”



Tifa nodded “then we tell Zack, Cloud and Lady Tsunade when we get there, and work out our plan of what to say to Barrett together.” The older man nodded back at the plan.





They were almost at the office when they received three new members of the misplaced blonde’s friends.



They were just walking past the glass window of an cafe when they heard a shrieking cry of surprise and desperation “JIRAYIA-SAN?!”



Spinning around both were just in time to see a blur as someone threw themselves into the man’s arms with a sob of relief and repressed fear. The man’s eyes widened as he saw her, stuttering “Shizune?”



Tifa frowned at him “another of Naruto’s friends?”



“Sort of” the man started, only to have the woman’s head snap up with “NARUTO?! You know where Naruto is?!”



“Not just know, we’re headed there now” he told her. “Jirayia-san, is Lady Tsunade..” The man smiled at her “is with Naruto, Shiz. In fact, we have team Seven minus Sakura, Sai and the Nara heir.”



“Jirayia-san” the woman said seriously “WHAT IS GOING ON!?”



“We’ll explain on the way” the man started to turn her away in the direction they were heading when she stopped him “Wait!” and dashed back into the cafe.



Once gone Tifa turned to the Sanin “Who was that?”



“Tsunade’s apprentice” he explained “her uncle was Tsuande’s lover years ago. So when he died and ‘Nade left Hidden Leaf, she took it on herself to help and protect ‘Nade and went with her. The two are practically inseparable since then. ‘Nade’s been so worried about her since we arrived here.”



Tifa understood this.



The woman returned within ten minutes and then insisted they wait a few more.



When the Sanin’s PHS went off, he answered it with “Yeah I know we’re late, ‘Nade, but we have a good reason. You’ll see when we get there....” his face went red and he began to splutter “NO! I AM NOT RESEARCHING!!”



So Tifa took the mobile from him and spoke for him “No he’s actually been a gentlemen the entire time. We were discussing some concerns  about Denzel and Marlene. No, we’ll explain when we get there, just don’t mention anything to others or you’ll freak them out. We want to talk to YOU first before we do or say anything else.” When both ninja’s suddenly perked up, seeing something she couldn’t yet, “we’ll be there in a few minutes.”



They both smiled and the woman waved to catch someone’s attention.



The next thing Tifa knew two other young women had run to their sides, both with the same bands as the others, one around her neck and the other like a headband. And both were overjoyed to see the Sanin with them, both’s first question of the blonde.



“Naruto’s fine” the Sanin said “he’s with ‘Nade, the Nara heir, the Uchiha, that kid Sai,” he looked at the girl with the headband “and your sensai.”



“Thank the gods” she breathed in releif. The girls then seemed to notice Tifa as she handed the mobile back to the man. “Hi” Tifa reached out to shake their hands while she introduced herself. When the women did so in in turn she raised an eyebrow at their identities “Naruto is very worried about you both. Come with us, we’ll take you to them.”



On the way to the office they quickly recapped what had happened.



“So Naruto’s pregnant to Sasuke and having dreams of some big evil in this world returning? That we are ALL here, everyone who means anything to Naruto. That we have to FIND them from scattered all over. That not only is there no way back, but even if there was, Hidden Leaf is gone anyway. And the guy the tailed beasts came from is here and INSIDE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS!”



essentially yeah” Tifa said.



“I don’t know this guys story, but I’ve met him and he DOES feel like Naruto and you should see how he and the Uchiha and Naruto act around each other. Like overprotective family. He even looks like an Uchiha, pale with red eyes and black hair.”



So for the rest of the walk, Tifa told them Vincent’s story.



One of the women frowned “I don’t understand, how can an older male’s body handle 4 demons inhabiting it along with his own chakra? I mean Naruto always had such trouble trying to control the nine-tailed, how can one guy survive not just the distraction of 4 wills against his own, let alone a creature infinitely more powerful than the fox?”



“One HE DIDN’T, Hojo killed him, experimenting on his corpse before Dr Crescent took him back. Two it’s the protomateria, it’s the only one of it’s kind, created by the planet for Vincent with the express purpose of allowing him control over the horde inside him. Dr Crescent had visions during her pregnancy of Sephiroth and what he would become, so she tried to turn Vincent into her champion-even though she knew she would never be there to help him herself. She echoes constantly from the lifestream of her guilt, her greif that it was THEIR child that caused it, driven mad by an insane scientist calling himself his father and a demon calling itself his mother. The General never knew the truth.” She looked at them “hopefully THIS time around we can kill the demon and give Vincent his son back.”



“Which means that Naruto will have a brother if we do” one of the women said “well, half brother.”



“Jirayia-san, have you seen any of these demons?”



“Not yet” he answered ‘but apparently everyone but ‘Nade, myself and the Nara have. Kakashi states he is quite powerful and was able to dominate both Naruto in demon form  and Sasuke in second stage quite easily.”



All three girls gasped in shock and surprise. Tifa nodded “it’s true, I saw it, I was there.”



Before they could question any further, they arrived at the office to feel the flair of Chaos’ manachakra.



The three women tensed in alarm, only to have Jirayia raise a hand with “it’s safe, ladies. Tsunade last night mentioned wanting to examine him, compare him to Naruto and the other tailed beasts. She must have decided to do so while they wait for us.”



As he finished speaking they all heard the two blondes arguing and the woman yell something about brats being even more of a brat because of pregnancy hormones. The next thing they knew the blonde was storming out the door, mate close behind silently, yelling back “AT LEAST I’M NOT PMSING!!”



“NARUTO!!!” the blonde woman roared back “THE ONLY REASON YOU’RE NOT FLYING OUT THAT DOOR IS I DON’T WANT TO RISK HARMING AERIS!!!!!”



“Humph” the blonde sniffed at her “don’t do me any favors now, old hag!!” He turned towards them, only to be immediately covered by three sobbing but joyful women, all sobbing out his name and promoting the emotional hormone-driven pregnant male to burst out too, babbling their names over and over again while the Sanin rolled his eyes and mumbled about women and waterworks.



The crying groups reaction was as one without looking up to punch the Sanin, hard enough to send him down the road like a rocket.



With a shake of her head Tifa entered the building into the outer office of the WRO headquarters.



In the ‘lobby’ of the outer office all the group stood, most of them on one side while Chaos and the blonde woman stood on the other.



The winged demon stood tall and almost regal, towering over everyone in the room, wings spread fully the entire width of their side of the room, standing still and patiently while the woman examined him, her hands glowing green.



“You are truly an amazing being, Chaos, intelligent and unique.”



“Thank you” the demon said with a slight chuckle “I rarely get to have an intelligent conversation with anyone. My host seems to think I’m corrupting him when I do. As for the others, Hellmasker and Death Gigas think more in terms of ‘can I kill it?’ and ‘can I eat it?’ and as for my son Galian...” he laughed heartily “I’m sorry to say he’s simple. ‘Fight’, ‘Flee’ and ‘food’” he suddenly looked at the silver haired cyclops and grinned widely “and ‘mate’.”



As the silver haired man paled dramatically the woman glanced back with an evil grin. “Attracted to Silver Wolves, is he?”



Chaos laughed evilly “silver, just like Galian’s own fur. On a human he finds it fasinating.”



The ninja paled even further.



Tifa laughed as well as she entered, approaching the large group. Tsunade frowned at her when she saw she was alone “where’s the pervert now?”



Tifa grinned wider “he pissed the girls and Naruto off” her grin was almost evil as she went on with “he’s probably halfway to Kalm Town by now. Not that he didn’t disserve it.”



“I have no doubt” the Sanin sighed “I suppose he was the usual pervert at your home last night as well.”



“Actually” she said “he was the perfect gentlemen.” She told them about his attentiveness and play with the kids, then his body guarding her in the bar, her eyes on the woman silently saying “we’ll talk about THE OTHER THING later.”



The woman nodded minutely to show she understood then frowned “the girls?”



Before she could explain Naruto peaked in “you guys finished talking? The girls want to come in. And Reno’s here with some other guys.”



“Yeah come in” Tifa answered for them.



The first in was Naruto himself, followed by his silent mate of course. They joined the group on the opposite side to the demon and woman, although Naruto soon wondered over to be hugged by both the demon and woman, obviously seeking comfort and emotional support.



While he did he mumbled an apology to the woman who accepted it easily.



While Tifa made her way to Zack and Cloud to start a whispered conversation of about Denzel and his seal, the first girl walked in, looking around. She gasped at the sight of Naruto cradled in Tsunade and the demons arms before spotting the silver haired man, crying out “sensai!!” before running into his arms.



“Sakura?” the man asked in shock, arms surrounding and holding his lost student tight.



Behind her came the other, who joined the ninja’s shyly. The last in was the one who had initially found them, somehow ending up in the middle of the other group, being held fiercely tight and close by the blonde woman.



The pervert came next and when Tifa next looked the two Sanins, demon, pregnant blonde and assistant  were deep in conversation, probably-she hoped-about the problem with the children.



Turning back to the rest of the group she was soon deep in conversation with them.



Tifa didn’t know how long it was before she looked around again to find the pregnant blonde and his pink-haired teammate in a corner together, but there was something about the way she was moving, and her hands....



She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in shock to try and muffle the sound, she knew what that movement meant! After all, she had been watching Naruto do it since they met!



Unfortunately her gasp caught nearly everyone’s attention. “Tifa? What is it?” Not looking away from the two, Tifa spoke to the girl “you’re pregnant too, aren’t you.”



The girls eyes widened nearly all the way and her hand flew to her stomach almost protectively “how did you...”



“You keep touching your stomach almost comfortingly like Naruto does, and you stroke it too, like you’re comforting him or her and are assuring yourself they’re safe and comfortable.”



“Sakura?” the Sanin woman looked at her in shock. The girl pursed her lips, tears gathering in her eyes and nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me? No wonder your chakra’s been going haywire lately. Why didn’t you tell me, I should be keeping an eye on you both.”



True to the boy’s raging hormones, the blonde screamed furiously “IT’S ALL THAT BITCHES FAULT! SHE’S THE REASON SHE’S HAD TO HIDE IT FROM EVERYONE, EVEN THE FATHER!!”



“What bitch?” they asked “what did she do to Sakura?”



“My mother” the girl whispered.



“What do you mean?” they asked her.



Slowly the girl looked up, eyes tortured and sad “my mother. Do you remember a few years ago when Lee almost died protecting me?” The ninja’s nodded together “you wouldn’t leave his bedside while he was unconscious.”



The girl nodded herself this time “Lee has loved me since the Chunin exams. I was too obsessed with  Sasuke though to see. But as I sat there by his side I began to seriously think on everything.” She looked up at the group “It has always been just me and my parents. We aren’t rich or have any clans like other people. When my mother found out I was in the same class as Sasuke she started pushing me to be with him. Mother fancied herself an socialite and to have her daughter be the new and only Lady Uchiha.....” she grimaced visibly and they understood, privilage.



“For years over and over she drilled it into me, I was the next Lady Uchiha and NOTHING was to stand in my way, even my friendship to Ino” she choked back a sob “I ignored Lee, even though his feelings were true to me and mine for Sasuke were not. After Sasuke left, she made me feel like it was my fault he was gone” she choked on a sob “like I didn’t try hard enough.”



This pissed everyone off. How could a mother treat her daughter like that? Naruto was right, she was a bitch. They felt guilty about it but they were glad she was dead with the village.



“When Sasuke returned she started pushing my again. But Naruto had risked himself so many times for him when I realized that they were in love with each other I couldn’t do it. They are my best friends and teammates, the brothers I never had, I couldn’t risk hurting that, what we had together, no matter how much she hated me and hurt me, blackmailed me.”



Tsunade’s eyes narrowed dangerously “blackmailed you, how?”



“She would disown me if I didn’t seduce Sasuke. She would throw me out on my own. So in public I pretended to try but I was starting to crack. I thought I was going to just fall apart every time I saw Sasuke and how happy he and Naruto were together and having to try and take him away from Naru” her shoulders started to shake with sobs.



“If Sasuke belonged to anyone it was Naruto! When we all gave up on him, Naruto didn’t, even when he almost killed him! They were destined!” The blonde took her in his arms in a soothing hug, followed to their surprise, by the wolf who received a dazzling smile of gratitude from his mate in thanks.



When she had calmed down somewhat, the grey haired cyclops asked “what’s that got to do with Gai’s student?”



“One day it just got too much. I found a place outside the village to do just break down and loose it, to cry and scream and break things, Lee found me there. I thought he was going to make fun of me or something , but he seemed to know what was going on-or guess-and just told me that if I ever wanted someone to talk to that he would listen and NEVER judge me in, in an serious voice and then left before I could speak.”



“Did you?”



“It took a while. I was sure he was going to use it against me somehow but it just got too much. He never judged me and he listened seriously and only would touch me if I allowed it at first, like a hug or touch of comfort. It was a side of Lee I never realized as behind his ‘Bushy Brows’ act. But then I should have realized we are all more than we show others, even those we care for.”



They nodded at this.



“Then he nearly died trying to protect me. I decided there and then I wanted something more for him then just my bitching, he deserved dates, more than that, he deserved ME. So I made up with Ino, I no longer would go after Sasuke, I would date Lee in public and proudly like he had earned, like he deserved. There was something oddly freeing in this decision, I wouldn’t have to hide anymore. I could be open about how I truly felt!”



They understood the appeal in this.



“But then he told me he didn’t want me to be disowned, to be separated from my parents, how close he knew I was to them. He said to keep up pursuing Sasuke in public and in private we would get to really know each other and even date. He called me ‘My Little Sakura Blossom’ and I couldn’t help it, I fell in love with him! About three weeks ago we made love” she buried her face in hands  and sobbed louder “now I’m pregnant and he’s not here, I want my Rock! I didn’t even get to tell him yet! I need the father of my baby!!”



Naruto pulled her closer, tighter as his mate did them both “we’ll find his Sakura, he’s here somewhere looking for you, for ALL of us. We’ll find him then you can tell him.”



“How!” she nearly screamed “how!? He can’t track us through our chakra and we can’t track him through HIS, he doesn’t have it!!”



“What does she mean?” Tifa asked the silver haired cyclops.



“Rock Lee doesn’t have chakra like ours to use. No bloodline ability, no genjitsu’s or Ninjitsu’s. Instead he has had to learn forbidden techniques and taijutsu.”



“Taijutsu?”



“Taijutsu Literally meaning ‘Body Techniques’ and is a basic form of techniques and refers to any techniques involving the martial arts or the optimization of natural human abilities. Taijutsu is executed by directly accessing the user's physical and mental energies, relying on the stamina and strength gained through training. It typically does not require chakra, though chakra may be used to enhance its techniques. Taijutsu generally require no hand seals to perform, occasionally making use of certain stances or poses, and are much quicker to use than ninjutsu or genjutsu. Taijutsu is simply put: hand-to-hand combat.”



Tifa got it, the young man was like them, not the ninja’s, it would make him harder to find. Unless he managed to meet up with another one of the group.



The pink haired young woman was sobbing brokenly in the blonde and dark hair men’s arms, breaking Tifa’s heart. What would it be like to be in her shoes? A woman who had suffered so much at the hands of her own mother, pregnant and unwed and now her only true emotional support, the man she loved and father to her child was gone, missing, most likely worried to death about her too.



She resolved to find this guy and reunite the lovers, the two had a baby on the way, they deserved to be together and happy after what they had been through. HE deserved to know he was going to be a father.



“We have to find him!” the young woman clutched to the blonde, eyes wide and begging “please, Naruto find him, please! HOW do we find him?!”



“Perhaps I can help” said a dignified voice from the doorway.



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