Chapter 3: Deals with Demons

Leiko rubbed her raw wrists viciously, trying to ease the slight burn that slithered around them from where the ropes had been only moments ago. With a fierce scowl on her face, she sat and proudly displayed one thing: she was not happy. And who would be, having been tackled, squashed, and then led around town for all to see like some kind of rabid dog? Definitely not her. If nothing else, she took the highest offence to the thought. So, not happy.

She proceeded to make this known by glaring at the male who had attacked her in the first place, his black, spiky hair enough to draw attention to himself. He seemed content in sticking around. She figured probably because it was still thought that she was some kind of threat. That they would need heavy guard in case they tried something. But what could they possibly try? Was she expected to try and kill the old man?

Another insult.

Suddenly, a hand fell on her head to ruffle her hair. "So, what village are you-" she cut the voice off, standing abruptly and swinging her arm backwards at the intruding hand, smacking it away. Stumbling lightly, lips parted, she scowled at the perpetrator. "-From..."

An awkward silence fell as Kakashi stared down at Leiko, her hair falling in front of her face in ragged pieces, and giving her a strange appearance. An appearance that Yasashiku was quick to draw attention from, his smooth voice slithering through the room. "Leiko has a 'no-touch' policy..." he trailed off, turning his dark blue gaze on Kakashi. "And we're not from a village."

At this, the silver-haired man frowned. His unspoken question was answered before he even got the chance to part his lips. "We woke up in the forest, and that's all we know," Yasashiku stated firmly, staring the older male in the eye. It was silent for some time as his words seemed to drift through the air, never really sinking in anywhere. Merely floating about, unheard.

"So you're really not from around here, are you?" the old man's voice suddenly rang out, making the two girls who had been ignored until that point, jump. Kohana and Keiko- wide eyed and startled by the sudden noise- swallowed hard, likely trying to ease their racing hearts back out of their throats, and into their chests. Finally, the blonde was able to shake her head no in response, since no one else seemed capable of reply.

Leiko watched as the old man's face wrinkled some more, maybe in a frown as he contemplated the new information. He took a long time to think, during which time everyone watched, staying silent. Until finally, it seemed, someone got impatient enough- or maybe it was curiosity- to gather enough courage to interrupt his thought process.

"Hokage-sama?" a man in the corner called cautiously.

The old man finally moved, leaning up straight and grabbing the fude he had left on his desk, and began writing on the paper he had left unattended the entire time. "Educate them, Kakashi-san," came the simple order.

There was instant protest from the other men in the room. "B-but Hokage-sama!"

"They are of no threat," he silenced the commotion instantly and turned his gaze up to look Leiko in the eye. He held that contact for a brief second before returning to his paperwork. "I know how to tell a lie, from the truth."

Though the men around his desk still seemed unsure- as did the other two females accompanying Leiko- Kakashi nodded quickly, and agreed. As he beckoned the small group from the room, Leiko only then realized how claustrophobic she had been feeling under the circumstances. How cornered she had truly felt. And how relieved she was to be out of that room.

They received looks as they were lead through town again. She wasn't ignorant to this. In fact, it annoyed her so. People were so nosey it was astounding. They didn't even try to hide their stares. It wasn't until they reached a grassy field, that Leiko even felt relatively at ease- though never completely- and that the stares had died down.

But that was when the noise began.

"So what was that all about Kakashi-sensei!? We just wasted a whole bunch of time for nothing!" Naruto began shouting, causing Leiko to cringe from the volume. She made mental notes not to walk near the boy. Ever.

Kakashi turned, sitting himself on a rock that sat plainly in the middle of the grass, and sighed. Clearly Naruto was getting on more than one person's nerves. "It wasn't for nothing, Naruto." He turned his gaze one the three that had been accompanying him since the strangers had stumbled upon them in the forest, and searched for the right words to explain to both sides at the same time. Repetition was such a bother, after all, and took up much needed reading time.

"Not just anyone can wander into the village," he explained. He turned his gaze on Leiko, directing conversation towards her. "You had neither travel papers, nor forehead protectors to indicate where you were from. It was a little too suspicious..." He paused. "And it still is."

There was silence for a moment, and she wasn't sure if perhaps he expected some kind of answer from her or not. But when it wasn't apparent he wasn't going to get one, he spoke again. "But since you seem to be lacking in the intelligence department, I'll do my best to fill you in," he smiled beneath the mask on his face, making Leiko's eyebrow twitch with the urge to furrow in a scowl.

He opened his mouth again, but Keiko cut him off. "That's okay," she openly frowned, arms crossed. She was one moment away from tapping her foot, Leiko was sure. But the young female was determined, and she was insulted. "We can educate ourselves," she declared. Scowling still, she uncrossed her arms and turned her head to make eye contact with Leiko. Receiving a nod in return, accompanied by a sigh, the young blonde glared at Kakashi and turned to give herself some space between herself and Leiko, and the rest of spying subjects.

Kakashi merely blinked. Kohana did nothing to hide her excitement, which served to confuse him more, it seemed. So, being the more mature and sole male of the group, Yasashiku gave in to allowing the four onlookers in on the inside secret. After all, he couldn't have them interfering and having someone getting hurt.

"It's a spell," he voiced to those left behind as Keiko sat on the grass, and Leiko positioned herself on her back, head in her sister's lap. Once he had Kakashi's attention, he explained further. "You're looking at two of the best Witches I've ever had the..." he hissed softly, shifting on the spot, "pleasure of knowing."

Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed and his gaze was instantly back on the two females as Keiko placed her hands on either side of Leiko's temples, and everything went silent.

There was no breeze.

There were no birds.

There was nothing.

Keiko's head fell forward, and slowly her eyes slit open, revealing the deepest pools of black. A slight gasp was heard from far back, but went unheard to the pair as the younger sister leaned forward, down towards Leiko, and pressed her lips to hers briefly. A light wisp passed between their mouths as she parted once more, and sitting straight once again, she let her head droop, her blonde hair providing somewhat of a curtain for the older sister. She watched with eyes of black, as the other female's defenses fell, opening the door to any and all information that they were privy to.

Behind Leiko's closed lids, all she could see was black. There wasn't the usual swirl of colour that could be seen when typically her eyes were closed. She dug deeper, seeing first a flash of an image flash through the darkness. Focusing, she brought it to full light, allowing her to see it properly. Slowly, piece after piece of the history around her began to unwind and reveal itself.

On the outside, Leiko's eyes merely flickered.

Many things passed by her, very real, and some potentially dangerous. Everything suddenly stopped when she had seen the most basic of information, and blackness surrounded her once more. But before her, a bright, red mist began to form, taking shape slowly. She raised her chin to stare up quietly at a great red fox. Its harsh ruby eyes stared back, a snarl on its face as it growled deep and loud. The least she expected of the great creature was for it to lunge at her, with the way its tails- all nine of them- flailed behind it. But she stared it down, dominant in all of her natures.

"You dare trespass here... Witch?" he spoke, a low, thick growl.

Leiko blinked, raising her chin higher in surprise as her lips parted. She had not expected at all for the great creature to be able to speak. The darkness around it seemed to grow blacker as he awaited her response, impatience radiating from his coarse fur.

Carefully, her lips formed words- the feeling almost foreign after so long, even if it was within herself.

"I seek... only knowledge." She could see the way his fur rose on its hackles at the sound of her voice; airy and yet somehow... deadly.

But regardless, the fox snarled, laughing darkly while baring his teeth for her to see. "Only knowledge?" he mocked. "Witch..." he trailed off, pausing to smile and giving Leiko the appropriate amount of time to be insulted by his name calling. "I will give you... knowledge," he promised, leaning towards her with a grin dark enough to allow anyone to know, there would always be something unsaid, "if you let me taste your power."

And she knew well, there was something unsaid.

But she stared the fox down, his ruby eyes somehow less intimidating with his new promise. It was like a deal with a demon- one she knew she shouldn't make, but oh, so irresistible. She raised her hand slowly, staring him down as she drew it closer to his thick, red fur.

"Deal."

Her hand made contact with him only briefly before a loud cackle rang fierce over the darkness and the great fox quickly vaporized into the same red mist he had materialized from. Leiko's hand hung in mid-air as she watched it swirl around her, black eyes shimmering cautiously.

Then it collided with her, softly swirling around her form and lifting her from the non-existent ground that she stood on. Spiking sensations ran through her form as her head tilted back, and her lips parted to let out a sigh. It didn't hurt, like she thought it might. It was more... pleasurable.

And as promised, more images began to flash passed her now closed eyes, revealing much more information than she could have ever accessed on her own.

Naruto suddenly grabbed his chest, a heaving breath coming from his lips as he began to pant. His form trembled lightly, and instantly there were questions whizzing by his ears. Was he alright? What was wrong? But he didn't know...

He gasped, eyes flashing deadly ruby as a thick, red chakra began to swirl slowly, sensually around him. His teeth ground together, not in pain, but effort. What was it that he was feeling, suddenly piercing through him, running over him like a lover's touch?

Behind the red ruby of the great fox's eyes, black began to swirl, making Naruto pant more as power began to infect his body. He could hear the cackling laughter of the demon inside, almost see its shining, sharp teeth as it thrashed about behind the bars that contained it. He raised his eyes when he heard shouting, red on black spying the two sisters in the slight distance.

"Stop it! What are you doing to Naruto?!" Sakura shouted. He wouldn't have thought, for a moment, that it was the two, almost innocent sisters doing anything- least of all the pure blonde. But as he looked closer, he could see red sparks licking at the air around Leiko as she writhed lightly, a look of pure ecstasy on her features, lips parted.

Keiko seemed unaffected, eyes traveling the form of her sister while trying hard not to break her concentration. She was, perhaps, just as confused.

However, Naruto was the first to notice the black haired female's features change, when he felt a wave of sadistic pleasure course through his own body- the feeling, never his own.

That wonderful, red mist still coursed around her form, stilling the darkness around her as Leiko was held in dead air. So much history filled her mind. She could see everything. The great, Nine Tailed Fox, the pure destruction he had caused, the pleasure he had felt while doing so. The ninja, their training methods, their different villages, their ways. Enemies, allies... she knew everything.

She knew everything up until the present, and yet the images kept coming.

She furrowed her eyebrows in slight confusion, but did nothing to resist the knowledge being passed to her. It was all jumbled, she understood that the moment she began to see anything clearly. The series of visions that flickered around her mind were in no order, sometimes appearing a few at a time- making it difficult to watch each one and see clearly.

"Alright, Leiko-san... I understand," a familiar, but unrecognizable voice rang.

She frowned further, unable to understand fully. She was in these images? It took very little thinking afterwards to realize what the fox was showing her. And like a child given candy, she asked for more.

"You don't get it. In three days, when that sun sets, everyone will die." She could see Keiko with a blonde woman.

"The little female is... broken." A grin shone in the darkness.

"Leiko-san..." Everything seemed to halt for that one voice. Male, deep, and luscious. It was intoxicating instantly, and she focused on it, almost desperately. She searched for any remains of it, digging deeper into the fox's power.

"Something the matter, Leiko-san?"

A sudden sense of dread filled her, making her frown further as her eyebrows knit together. But she still searched further. She felt abruptly short of breath, gasping for air. A figure appeared before her, a pair of dark, red eyes shining from its shadowed form- not the fox's... but somehow still demonic.

"I'm afraid." She shuddered. Her own voice? "I'm sorry..."

"Leiko-chan!"

A scream.

Leiko's eyes snapped open suddenly, black pools shining with fear that she couldn't understand. She gasped for breath still, unable to catch the air in her lungs as the image of her sister entered her vision, worried and pale.

"Leiko... Leiko are you okay?!" she cried almost instantly, shaking her shoulders as if she were still asleep. "What did you do?!"

Leiko took another moment before sitting up, away from her sister, and lightly pressing her fingertips to her head where a clear pain was evident. From her peripherals, she could see Naruto recovering from something that seemed to have struck him hard while she was searching, though she chose to ignore it. She was being gazed upon expectantly, but for once... she felt her magical energies had been... diminished. Yet somehow, there was something there that had changed.

Closing her eyes, she tried to ease the pain in her head. Through the black, the red eyes of the shadow flashed, forcing her eyes open once more. She glared, turning her gaze towards the forest line nearby. There was nothing to see, but somehow, she didn't think that really mattered.

Fude - Writing utensil for Calligraphy