Angel's Touch

Artemis: *giggles maniacally* All right. I’ll let you know now, I sometimes leave very evil cliff hangars. Especially when I know the telling will span two updates. I try and chose the most appropriate time to leave my readers on the edge of their seat wanting the update to come. XD And that moment in the last chapter was absolutely perfect for that.

*bows continuously* Sorry about the sudden switch to horror. But I started this story with the original intent on fluff, romance, and supernatural battles between heaven, hell, and everything IN BETWEEN! *cough* Anywho’s, I hate bad endings so you won’t have to be afraid of any of those in my stories. ^^’ Angst just really depresses me… -__-'

Oh, two new characters have a cameo appearance at the end… ^^

Note: I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to make this a three part. So this chapter…is VERY long. I’m sure none of you will complain though. But this will not be a common occurrence. I try to keep my chapters 6 to 7 pages long only. XD This chapter was actually 12 pages long, not including viewer responses.

Please enjoy the bloopers at the end, the offered angel stuff/word/Japanese folklore info at the end. And remember, reviews make me really happy and hyper and thus I write and update fast. ^^


IMPORTANT!!!!: ok, I'm going to do a Halloween special chap for fun. It's going to involve the characters in the story thus far answering any questions you guys want to ask personally. So when you review, include a question to a character if you want and they'll answer it! Only a few days to Halloween, so be quicky if you want to participate. ^^

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Chapter 6: Confrontation at the Stadium Pt.2

Neji was barely visible among the shadows, but Naruto could see that he was hunched over and leaning heavily against the support beam in the middle of the hall. The other seemed to be panting heavily, as if he’d just finished running for his life. But that wasn’t what made Naruto stop his advancement towards the other. It was Neji’s eyes. The eyes looking up past his fallen bangs towards Naruto. They weren’t the odd white that the Hyuuga’s seemed to all have in common.

This Neji’s eyes…were like a snake…

“N-Neji-baka?” Naruto hesitantly asked, taking a step back from the other.

Neji continued to pant heavily, staring at Naruto without blinking. After a moment he pushed himself away from the support beam, straightening up slowly as if his body was too heavy for himself. It was then that Naruto got a clearer view of the other boy and had to stifle a startled gasp. Wrapped around Neji’s body, slithering and twisting around his neck and limbs and through his tussled hair, was a green snake with eyes matching Neji’s.

All of Naruto’s senses went on the alert, his nostrils picking up the unmistakable scent of a demon.

Naruto quickly took a few more steps back in fear, unable to react in time as Neji suddenly charged forward at an unnaturally fast pace for a normal human. Naruto quickly drew his arms up in front of him to block the oncoming attack just as Neji stopped in front of him and thrust his palm in Naruto’s direction, hitting him with a powerful wave of chakra that sent Naruto flying off his feet into the wall behind them.

Naruto’s body hit the wall heavily and he let out a painful cry, slumping down the wall to the ground. Before he even hit the floor Neji was suddenly in his face again, an unhealthy cold hand wrapping around his neck and pinning him up against the wall just a few inches from the ground. The blonde gasped reflexively for air, looking into Neji’s snake-like eyes and snickering face.

“Give me…your heart…” Neji hissed out softly, raising his hand up slowly.

Naruto’s eyes widened in horrified shock and he quickly grasped at the hand that had him pinned, trying to break the strong grip. “N-Neji! Neji, stop!!”

“I must have…a heart!” Neji rasped out, flexing his fingers and turning his gaze intently to Naruto’s chest.

Naruto paled, realizing he was about to have his heart ripped right out of his body. And he couldn’t do anything! Neji’s grip was inhumanely powerful, even against his strength as an angel! He was going to die! Naruto cried out and closed his eyes as Neji’s hand shot forward, preparing for the worst. Then suddenly a cracking sound split through the tense moment and the hand clutching his neck let go and vanished.

Naruto fell roughly to his bottom on the floor, opening his eyes to see what had happened. Neji laid on the floor a foot away, blood dripping down the side of his head and a broken broom lying on the floor by him. The snake around him was hissing violently and looking outright pissed off. Naruto quickly looked beside him in confusion as a hand suddenly grabbed his arm and lifted him to his feet, and before he could fully register what was going on he was being led quickly through the hallways by Sasuke.

Wait…Sasuke!? Sasuke!! He was alive! He was ok and he’d just saved him from a possibly painful experience! But how…what was going on!? Naruto wasn’t given the chance to really say anything or come out of his slight shock. Sasuke was leading them at a breathless sprint through several halls and through a few doors, not glancing back once in their escape.

The next instant Naruto found himself pulled into a broom closet with his charge, Sasuke quickly shutting the door and barring it with a mop handle behind them. Hinata was already there and squeaked in terror when they burst in, shaking badly and looking paler then ever.

Naruto stood shaking as well, his mind slowly coming back to the present moment. Two very important facts helped him to calm down again. Hinata-chan was ok though obviously quite terrified, and most importantly Sasuke was there. He could feel Sasuke’s life force again and even better, he could see Sasuke there making sure the door was secured.

“N-Naruto-kun…are you ok?” Hinata quietly spoke up, resting her hand hesitantly on Naruto’s shoulder. She sounded quieter and smaller then usual, though understandably the poor girl probably had no idea what the hell was going on.

Sasuke sighed and turned to the other two once he was sure their place was secure, looking at his shaken angel with open relief. Thank goodness…he’d been so scared…

“S-Sasuke…” Naruto whined slightly, stepping forward and reaching out, touching Sasuke’s cheek with his hand.

Sasuke smiled thankfully and pulled Naruto into a hug, holding the blonde tightly to him. “God…dobe. I called out to you but you ran by so quickly. Baka…Didn’t you hear me?”

Naruto shook his head no, hugging back and taking in the reassurance that they were both ok. Had he ran right past Sasuke and Hinata without even noticing them? Naruto blushed in embarrassment and shame, knowing he probably had in his fear ridden state. Kakashi-sensei would lecture him for hours on this if he were here right now. But of course, if Kakashi-sensei was here right now then everything would be all right.

‘All right…you found Sasuke and Hinata-chan. See? Everything’s ok after all.’ Naruto told himself, smiling in relief and hugging Sasuke a bit tighter.

Hinata staid in her corner, poking her fingers together with a blush and not wanting to interrupt the reunion of her two friends. She was so glad Naruto was ok. They’d both been worried when the blonde had torn by screaming for them and not even noticing them there at the door.

“What…what happened here?” Naruto finally asked after he’d calmed down enough in Sasuke’s embrace. He pulled away slightly, looking between Hinata and Sasuke for the answer.

Hinata looked down at her feet, wrapping her arms around herself, “A…a bit after you had left…the power in the stadium suddenly shut down. A strange gas then filled up the building, and everyone suddenly collapsed to the ground unconscious. Sasuke-kun had seemed to realize what was about to happen and he’d told me to cover my nose with my coat and try not to breath to much of the gas. Then…Neji-niisan showed up. But he wasn’t himself…”

Hinata chocked lightly and sank down to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest with a shiver, “He wasn’t Neji-niisan. He tried…he tried to kill us.”

Naruto frowned and pulled out of Sasuke’s arms, kneeling and hugging Hinata in an attempt to help her calm down. Sasuke’s left eye twitched slightly out of annoyance, but he forced himself to ignore that familiar urge to strangle something. This was ok. Hinata was their friend and she was terrified, so it was silly to get worked up in a situation like this.

“It’s ok, Hinata-chan. I…I think I know what to do. It’ll be ok,” Naruto reassured her, pulling away and giving her a confident smile. He then looked her seriously in the eyes, needing to know one thing. “But…tell me…what organ was it. What organ did Neji’s father give up to save your father’s life?”

Hinata blinked, furrowing her eyebrows with worry and fright. Sasuke sighed and look calmly at Naruto. “Isn’t it obvious? It was the heart.”

Naruto stood back up and looked at Sasuke, making sure his charge wasn’t joking. Seeing that Sasuke wasn’t joking, Naruto slumped with a frown. This was all starting to ring a bell in the back of his mind. Way, way way back…back to demonology class in the angel academy. Oh what was that lesson on…damnit…he should have paid more attention to the teacher and less to carving his name into the desk. Figures he’d actually regret it one day.

Sasuke sighed, crossing his arms with a frown. “Naruto…do you know anything about the folklore of snakes?”

Naruto blinked as Sasuke’s dropped hint suddenly brought the whole lesson back into his head. That’s right! He turned and looked at Sasuke with a small frown of his own. “Yeah…I remember now. Sometimes an evil or miserable person’s soul will turn into a demon snake when they die. It’s also common for a vengeful spirit to also become a demon snake. But…how do you know, Sasuke? I mean…how did you know about the gas?”

Sasuke shuffled uneasily where he stood, turning his gaze away, “…I haven’t really told anyone but my mother…but…I’ve always been able to see and sense things like this. Ever since I was little…”

Naruto blinked, looking surprised at that. Sasuke could connect with the spiritual realm? No one had told him about this. Sighing heavily, Naruto shook his head and crossed his arms as well. “So…Neji-baka’s soul…has clearly taken on a demonic snake form and possessed him. Possibly because of his vengeful feelings towards his father’s death. His father gave up his heart for Hinata-chan’s father, so that’s why the demon is after hearts.”

Naruto nodded. Now it was started to make sense. But that means that he couldn’t simply destroy the demon snake, or he’d end up killing Neji. The only thing left was to try and contact Neji and get him to let go of his hate. But that was dangerous, and Naruto didn’t want to put Sasuke and Hinata in danger. So the only logical thing was for them to stay in here while he went out there.

“Ok…this is what’s going to happen. Sasuke, stay in here and watch Hinata. I’m going out there to exorcise that demon,” Naruto stated firmly, moving to open the door.

Sasuke caught his hand firmly, scowling at Naruto, “No. You’re not going out there alone, Naruto. You almost got killed by him! There’s no way I’m letting you go.”

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a pout, “Sasuke. I have to! This is angel business.”

“I’m not letting you go,” Sasuke insisted, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He couldn’t…stand the thought. He’d almost been too late to stop Neji from ripping out Naruto’s heart. He knew for a fact he wouldn’t be able to stand losing Naruto. The angel had become important to him over the short week they’d known each other. He simply couldn’t go back to that lonely life before Naruto had come.

Naruto sighed and frowned, hating to have to do this. He pretended to give in to Sasuke’s will, but as soon as Sasuke’s hand loosened its grip he elbowed Sasuke hard in the stomach. While the other was winded, he threw open the door and rushed out into the hallway, turning and closing the closet door on them. He quickly used his chakra to lock the door and stepped back, listening to Sasuke banging against it on the other side.

“NARUTO! Open this door now! Get back in here!” Sasuke howled angrily as soon as he’d recovered from the surprise attack, hitting the door as hard as he could with his fists.

“I’m sorry, Sasuke. But I have to protect you and all these people,” Naruto stated, taking a step back and looking sadly at the door.

Finally he forced himself to turn and head off to where they’d left Neji on the ground. He hoped Sasuke would forgive him for this. He just couldn’t stand the idea of Sasuke being put into danger.

Hinata curled up even more, trying to forget and close out everything she’d just heard and seen.

Sasuke continued to beat on the door, becoming more frantic in his attempts to open it. Tears began to form in his eyes as he struggled with the knob, his mind suddenly recalling a terrible memory. He had been seven years old at the time it had happened. One night, he’d woken up from a nightmare he’d had a lot since that incident. Shivering and crying from the horrible memory, he’d crawled out of his bed and started to make his way to his parent’s room. He knew that in his mother’s arms, everything would be ok.

Halfway to the bedroom he heard a terrible series of noises. Then a scream of terror from his parent’s room. He stood there in the hallway, frozen with fear, not sure what was going on. Then his mother was there, rushing out of their room. When she saw him, her eyes had widened with horror. She yelled something at him, but he was too confused and afraid at the time to hear what she had been yelling. Suddenly she grabbed him and shoved him into the closet, locking the door behind him.

Standing there alone in the dark little room, all Sasuke could hear was yelling, screams, and then a sickening sound. Like someone gargling only in a way that made your stomach churn nauseatingly.

Sasuke shuddered violently at the memory, falling to his knees and suppressing the urge to throw up. This wasn’t like that. This wasn’t that time. But he’d been locked in a closet back then and had lived…while all his loved ones had died.

He didn’t…he didn’t want Naruto to die to……

He had to get the hell out of there!

Naruto slowed down as he drew close to where Neji had been, finding the boy’s body gone. Tensing, he walked down the hallway, looking slowly from left to right and feeling out with his powers. He knew the demon was close by, and this time he wouldn’t be caught by surprise.

“NEJI!? Where are you!? It’s over, Neji, stop this. You’re father died honorably. Don’t damn yourself with this hatred!!” Naruto called out, looking around for the other male.

“Shut up…what would you know…?” Neji’s voice suddenly whispered venomously at him, the possessed boy stepping out from behind a phone booth. He was slouched again, dried blood from the wound Sasuke had given him covering half of his face.

Naruto swallowed nervously and stopped walking, looking Neji steadily in the face despite the slight fear that had kicked in. “I know you’re father wouldn’t want this.”

Neji leaned against the phone book, head tilted sideways and an amused smirk spreading across his lips. The snake hissed and slithered over his shoulder and under his other arm, looking out at Naruto with slitted eyes.

“My father…my father was a victim of fate. I won’t follow that path…” Neji chuckled, and like a snake striking he was suddenly running at Naruto, sending out his palms with another strong blast of power.

Naruto blocked and was thrown back, but this time he spread his wings and twisted in the air, landing with his feet on the wall and pushing off. He flew at Neji and quickly made several hand gestures, throwing a rope of wind at the other that wrapped around him and tied him up. Naruto landed on his feet, keeping a firm hold on the rope.

“Neji, don’t listen to that snake! It’s true, we all share the fate of death! But there’s so much for us in life and after death…it’s not the end!!!” Naruto shouted at him, trying to get his voice heard over the demon snake’s whispers.

“LIES!” Neji shouted, breaking the rope easily with his power and throwing Naruto across the tiled floor.

Naruto guarded himself as he was thrown back and hit the floor, rolling and bouncing violently against the ground for a bit before his body finally came to a stop. Wincing, he pushed himself to his feet as quickly as he could, noticing immediately that Neji wasn’t where he’d been a second ago. Eyes widening, he realized too late that the demon was right behind him. With unnatural speed, Neji delivered a series of concentrated chakra strikes into Naruto’s body with his hands, finishing up with a ball of energy that sent Naruto flying across the room again and clear through one of the support beams.

Naruto rolled along the floor to a slow stop. He laid there, his whole body aching badly from that attack. Wincing, Naruto tried to move himself. He got up to a sitting position before he collapsed, leaning heavily against the wall. His body wasn’t responding quickly. Neji’s attacks had struck all his nerves. It would take a while before he would be able to move normally.

Naruto groaned and closed his eyes, his breathing labored by the pain. He had failed. He’d been unable to save Neji. He supposed…for his first battle against a real demon…he’d done fairly well. But he was sure that if it had been Kiba or Tenten, the victory would have been flawless.

‘I’m sorry Sasuke…I couldn’t be the best guardian you deserved…’ Naruto thought, opening his eyes and looking up into the snake demon’s eyes.

“Don’t worry. This is the way it was destined to end,” Neji stated calmly, making several hand seals.

Naruto recognized the technique immediately and attempted to move his arms, able to lift them slightly but having to quite out of exhaustion and pain.

“Die forever!” Neji exclaimed, finishing the seal combination and crossing his arms, an ‘x’ of green flames forming in front of him. With a grunt, he pushed the concoction forward, sending it soaring straight at Naruto.

“NARUTO!!!” Sasuke’s voice suddenly cut in.

Naruto watched with horror as Sasuke suddenly ran over, jumping in between him and the attack. Instead of hitting Naruto, the green flames collided with Sasuke’s back and exploded, wrapping around Sasuke’s body like snakes. Sasuke screamed out with pain and fell. All the while everything was happening slowly before Naruto’s eyes. A blinding pain shot through Naruto from his heart as he saw this, tears forming and falling from his eyes. He couldn’t hear anymore over the pain, yet he knew he screamed out Sasuke’s name. Unable to feel anything other then the agony in his chest, he was able to move his body and catch the falling boy before he could hit the floor.

“SASUKE! SASUKE, SASUKE!!!” Naruto shouted, shaking the now still young man in his arms, more tears soaking his face when his efforts drew no response from Sasuke. “SASUKE!!!!”

“Humph…foolish…To sacrifice himself for another already destined to die. Well…I suppose you can keep one another company in the nothingness that follows death.” Neji straightened slowly, looking on with a detached expression. “I think I’ll take his heart…a heart strong enough to die for a friend…is a heart worth my father’s.”

Neji stepped towards Naruto and Sasuke. When he got close enough, however, a sudden powerful blast of wind exploded from Naruto, catching him off guard and knocking Neji away and through a wall into the arcade room. Gasping in surprise, he shakily pushed himself back to his feet and looked at Naruto, eyes widening in shock.

Naruto had set Sasuke carefully down and had stood up on his feet, head bowed. A violent red wind was emitting from him, the wind acting strangely…as if it were alive and had form. Naruto’s wings had darkened and turned a red so dark it was almost black, the feathers no longer soft looking but sharp and menacing.

The snake around Neji reared up and hissed at the blonde, becoming upset by the other’s suddenly altered presence.

Naruto slowly raised his head up, opening his eyes to reveal brutal red eyes slitted like an animals and sharp fanged teeth. “You….I’LL KILL YOU!!!!”

Neji took a step back and moved to block, but hadn’t even got his arms half way up when Naruto charged into him, the tails of red chakra ripping through brick and tile on their own as the two combatants crashed through the stadium wall out into the storming weather, taking metal and stone with them.

Neji flipped in the air and caught his feet on a part of the stadium wall jutting out, using it as anchorage as he jumped onto the slick walls and started running as fast as he could for the roof of the building. Naruto’s chakra tails reached out everywhere, wrapping around light poles and acting like feet, helping him catch himself and turn back towards the building. Spreading his wings, he soared onto the building side but slipped. His tails unwound from the poles and thrust through into the walls while his hands and feet grabbed hold of the ledges. Finding his footing, Naruto started after Neji on all fours, using his tails for extra thrust up the stadium’s wall.

The two of them burst over the side of the building and landed on the roof, lunging at each other with clashing chakras and bloodied fists. They took and gave, jumping away from each other and then lunging back with another attack. They dodged and circled, ripping tears through out the structure and leaving gouges in each other’s flesh.

Against the rain and thunder, they continued. Each obviously intending on killing the other. It quickly became obvious that, against the tails and the cruelty of Naruto’s attacks, Neji was wearing down and losing. Finally Naruto dodged Neji’s last attack, coming up from under him and landing a punch into the boy’s face with so much gathered force it knocked the other out immediately and sent Neji sailing yards away from where he’d stood. The snake that had been wrapped around him screamed and dissolved as Neji flew over the side of the building and began his fall to earth.

Naruto watched this and straightened a little, panting as he watched the other falling to his death. And then with a crash of lightening, Neji’s fall was interrupted by the beat of angelic wings. Naruto’s eyes widened as he watched a distantly familiar angel appear and catch Neji, bringing an abrupt end to the execution. Anger surged through him as this angel dared to save the bastard that had killed his Sasuke.

Naruto made to lunge at the two, intent to rip them apart with his nails. But suddenly another angel appeared right behind Naruto. Making several very complicated movements with his hands, this angel struck Naruto in the back with the seal. A wave of gold light emitted around Naruto’s body and the angel drastically changed from the terrifyingly animalistic form he’d taken back into the gentle guardian angel he was.

The anger and pain suddenly died away completely, leaving Naruto feeling numb and exhausted. He closed his eyes and collapsed unconscious, his body caught by the angel that had performed the seal on him.


“Phew…that was a close one,” The angel carrying Neji sighed, flying over to join the other that held Naruto. “I think these two almost dragged the whole bloody stadium down with them.”

“If this is how Naruto’s going to react every time that human gets hurt, perhaps this guardian assignment is not such a good idea,” The angel holding Naruto sighed.

“Now, now, Michael-sama. Don’t be like that. This assignment is very important to Naruto,” The other sighed.

“I’m aware of that, Kakashi,” Michael frowned. “However, Naruto has yet to awaken.”

Kakashi chuckled in amusement and leered at the other slyly. “I’d say he just did.”

Michael scowled, annoyed with Kakashi’s ease over the situation, “I would not call this an awakening! I would call this a disaster!”

Kakashi shrugged and took Naruto from Michael’s arms. “Well…what do you expect? Saint Beasts always hit puberty on a bumpy slope.”

Michael snorted, not amused by the light joke. “That’s enough. Take them back inside and handle the situation in their. I’ll deal with this mess outside.”

“Yes sir,” Kakashi drawled, rolling his eyes and heading around and down the building’s side. Honestly, Michael could do with a bit more humor in his personality. But boy…Naruto sure did a number on the stadium. The blonde archangel was going to have a ball restoring the building to the way it was before this whole mess. Kakashi smiled in amusement. He, however, got the easy job.

Kakashi went through the hole the two boys had made and landed softly, folding his wings and letting out a whistle as he examined the inside damage to the building. Good thing Michael hadn’t looked inside or he’d be bitching even more. Kakashi walked around before spotting Sasuke lying on the floor. He went over and set Naruto and Neji down beside Sasuke, then went about checking the health of all three boys.

Neji seemed fine, the poison of the demon snake was leaving his body at a good pace and the boy would make a good recovery with only a few bruises. Kakashi formed a few hand seals and rest two fingers on Neji’s forehead, closing his eyes and wiping Neji’s memories of the whole demon possession event. When that was done, he slowly ran an open palm over Naruto’s face, calmly confirming the blonde’s steady health. His gaze then fell on Sasuke, who had been the catalyst to all of this. He rest two fingers against Sasuke’s neck, checking for a pulse. He then placed his open palm on Sasuke’s head and closed his eyes, focusing his magic there. With a gasp, Sasuke began breathing again, the poison from the green flame drawn out of his body into Kakashi’s hand.

Kakashi pulled away with a sigh, sitting down and shaking his head. All three of them would be fine, if a little worn for wear. He pulled out a bottle from his pocket and grasped the mouth with his palm, the poison drawn from Sasuke exiting his hand into the vial. He then plugged that up and slipped it back into his pocket. Making a few hand seals, Kakashi pressed his hand down on the tile and summoned his dog companions.

“Go around and find all the people here. Wipe their memories and release the poison from their bodies,” Kakashi instructed carefully, then watched them all scamper off to do his bidding.

Seeing that his job was done, he pulled out an orange book from his pocket and opened it up, beginning to read from where he’d left off. He had plenty of time to finish the chapter before Michael would be done.


***blooper time***


Sasuke: NARUTO!!!! *runs towards Naruto and Neji, but trips and falls on his face*
Neji: *sweatdrops*
Naruto: Sasuke? SASUKE! OH MY GOD!!! THEY KILLED SASUKE!! THOSE BASTARDS!!!!

Kyuubi Naruto: *stands up and raises his head* You…I’LL KI- *red contact falls out*
Neji: *sweatdrops*
Sasuke: *snorts, then can’t play dead any longer and bursts into laughter*
Kyuubi Naruto: HEY! No laughing from the dead guy!!! >_<

Neji: *sails through the air unconscious*
Neji: *keeps sailing…*
Neji: *still sailing…*
Neji: *lands splat on the cement* X_x
Artemis: CUT!!! Where the hell is Kakashi!?!
Kakashi: *pops up in a cloud of smoke* Sorry peeps. I got sidetracked helping a cloud find Sweden.
Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Artemis: LIES!!!!!!!
Neji: X-x


***Angel Stuff continued***

Chakra vs Magic – In my story, chakra is magic. It is referred to both ways, though the technical term for it is chakra. Magic is more of a slang adopted from the human lifestyle.

Saint Beast – Hee hee…in japan, there are four holy beasts, each representing north, south, east, and west. Any one who has seen Digimon Season 3 or watched the short Saint Beast anime will be familiar with the term. The four are a black tortoise of the north (winter), white tiger of the west (autumn), crimson phoenix of the south (summer), and azure dragon of the east (spring).

In my story, they are four holy beasts that once resided over the world when it was first created. One of wind, one of water, one of earth, and one of fire. As suggested, Naruto is one of them. More will be mentioned later on them as these play a huge part in my plot.

Death vs Angel – As you noticed, though angels are technically already dead…Naruto is still terrified of dieing. In my story, if an angel is killed before they are guaranteed a reincarnated human life, they vanish from existence forever. To obtain a reincarnation, they must first become true angels (with their halo) and go through a ceremony in heaven. So Naruto’s fear of dieing is understandable because yes, he could be destroyed forever.

***folklore visited***

Snakes in Japanese folklore – In Japanese folklore, snakes were believed to be the form of evil, vengeful, or miserable souls after death. They were depicted as both bad and good, but mostly viewed as heroic. They were also associated with nature, mostly floods or storms because such events drew them out of their dens and the people then believed they were the bringers of these watery events.

(See…thus why it started to storm during these past two chapters, as well as why Neji suddenly had a snaky around him. ^^)

***reviewer responses***

TimeFlys - Sorry. I hate cliffhangars to...unless I'm the author. Muahahaha...*cough* =P But I updated quicky, right? ^^

Artemis - ah hah! The other person with a similar name. XD you reviewer The Top Floor to, don't you? Hee hee. It was confusing at first cause I call myself Artemis, so I changed mine to Artemis-sensei. Anyways, I'm glad to see you reviewing mine! Thank you so much. ^^

Rasengan22 - The last chapter is rather unexpected, yes. But hopefully not awful? This does have action in it, so I should change that in my story description. ^^ And a glimpse of Naruto's past...that will be in the next chapter update. Yep. And you're like...the only one who mentioned that burnt cereal thing. It is funny isn't it. ^^

wendyghost - Thank you. ^^

Nomme de Plume - Actually...that's not Orochimaru. It's japanese folklore in action. ^^

lo - thank you. ^^

Donedin - Neji's just posessed. He's not evil. ^^ I love Neji to, and have plans for him. *cackles wickedly*

Yuri-san - Now ya know why Neji's eyes were like that. ^^

Miko hanyou - Please do send me the picture if you draw it! I haven't drawn it myself yet, but I know Pita-ten fox pajamas on Naruto will be so cute!

Anna - Um...a plot is happening. ^_^ lmao. Sorry. ^^ I know, but we have angels so there are still demons that will come along to threaten the angel and its charge. This is only a mini boss kinda thing though. I haven't brought the big badies in yet. ^^

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IMPORTANT!!!!: ok, I'm going to do a Halloween special chap for fun. It's going to involve the characters in the story thus far answering any questions you guys want to ask personally. So when you review, include a question to a character if you want and they'll answer it! Only a few days to Halloween, so be quicky if you want to participate. ^^