—Crackle! Vwhoom!
As screaming lightning and blazing fire clashed, another explosion shook the earth. Killer Bee watched, in awe, as the child before him squeezed his body of strength to fight and learn.
At first, the flame dragons moved clumsily, with uncharacteristic lumbering footsteps. Just a few minutes in, however, they now seemed more natural.
More organic.
They moved as if they were alive. Swiping their claws and swinging their tails to pour flames towards his position.
"Amazing, huh..." Bee couldn't help but remark. Another verse came to mind, and he took out his pen to write.
A new work of artful rap was about to be born.
Thus...
"..."
For a moment, the flames died down, seemingly sensitive to the presence of the bound stack of papers. No burning attempts made their way forward, allowing Bee the leisure to write down a few more verses.
"Hm, hm, this is good." Nodding to himself, Bee closed his notebook and glanced at the two dragons waiting for him to resume the fight. "...This is good, right?"
"...Oi,"
A hint of cold rationale seeped into Bee's voice. The rhyming verses stopped, piquing Suguru's interest.
"You... there's no way you're a simple rogue ninja." Bee's body suddenly exuded a terrifying killing intent. "Where are you from and what are you doing in Kumogakure?"
***
Suguru observed Killer Bee as the aura of the Hachibi slowly bled into the open. He wondered when this would happen, and having been tolerated for too long had caused him unnecessary anxiety.
After all, Bee's reaction was quite different from expected. He pulled his punches and gave Suguru the time to learn and adapt. Those flame dragons? Easy to annihilate with a breath from a fully-transformed jinchuriki.
It was clear that Suguru benefitted greatly, and now a price was most likely needed.
"...I was originally a shinobi of Konohagakure. I went rogue because of a few internal issues in the village — which aren't of your concern."
As the young boy spoke, fizzling flames danced around him. Suguru's jutsu, refined through combat, evaporated slowly. The chakra used to maintain the jutsu seemed to cycle back into his body, absorbed through every breath.
After briefly observing the state of his body, which bore several burns that were only now healing, Suguru continued to speak.
"As for what I'm doing in Kumo... Well, I'm here to learn about the Tailed Beasts and their jinchuriki."
—Shing!
Suddenly, Bee met Suguru's gaze, and the clear shine of the Sharingan in his eyes sent a jolt through the jinchuriki's spine. No insidious intention caused this creeping sensation; instead, what Bee felt was an instinctive fear.
A fear he never knew was possible with the power he held.
"Hm..?"
Inadvertently, Bee took a step back.
And the world went dark.
***
At the same time, Suguru appeared in the depths of Bee's consciousness, looking up at the man who sat on the Hachibi's muzzle. The massive ushi-oni rested on his limbs, looking down upon the young boy with only his eyes.
A gust of wind swirled like a tempest from the Hachibi's mere exhalation.
"Gyuuki-sama."
A thin smile adorned Suguru's lips.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"...?" Bee, who heard Suguru's words, frowned in confusion. The threats he wanted to spew were swallowed back down.
Gyuuki? Who was that? As if asking himself that question, Bee raised a brow.
However...
"...Human child," Gyuuki's entire body trembled, shifting as he gave Suguru a proper look. His rumbling voice held a tinge of perplexity, "Who told you of such a name?
The smile grew on Suguru's face. From a thin line into a manic grin.
"I've met Shukaku-sama, Matatabi-sama, and Kurama-sama already. Although one of those I mentioned was quite rude, I was able to converse with the other two. Of course, your name had been mentioned on a few occasions."
"...What's your play here?" A low chuckle from Gyuuki shook Suguru's bones. "To know our names and converse with us, huh?"
The chuckle turned into deep laughter. Gyuuki could sense something different from Suguru. The hatred and fear that humans usually bore when facing him were nonexistent.
Instead, it was Gyuuki who felt a sense of terror.
Suguru, whose grin had grown, was...
'Drooling...'
"Bee... who is this kid? How do you know him? And those eyes... Those are the Uchiha's Sharingan." Gyuuki spoke to his partner, unsure of what was happening.
"Yo! This guy is from Konohagakure, o! But aside from that I don't know!" Bee, with his hand gestures and rap, leaped off of Gyuuki's muzzle.
"Tell me, why do you have the Uchiha's eyes, when you made no claim of being one, yeah?"
Suguru licked his lips and shrugged. "I took some for myself. Obviously,"
Then, he stepped forward, his eyes dead set on Gyuuki, whom Bee had hidden behind him. The jinchuriki pair had already sensed the unnerving hunger from Suguru. Finding themselves faced with a child, both in the depths of their consciousness and in reality itself, they could not deny the absurdity.
'For a mere human child to exert this kind of pressure... It isn't even bloodlust.'
Analyzing the situation further, Gyuuki wondered if the child's claims were true.
'Shukaku... Matatabi... what kind of person have you given our names to?'
"Don't worry, you two~" Suguru's malicious grin suddenly shifted — turning gentle and mischievous at the same time. "As with the others, I am merely visiting for conversation."
Suguru continued, "Of course, due to the fact that the two of you are rather special, I can't deny that I have a few more ulterior motives. It's not every day that I get to talk to a perfect jinchuriki."
"How about it?" Suguru stood just a few feet away from Bee, looking up at the man with a curious glint in his gaze. "You've seen me fight. I'm not capable of doing anything to the two of you. However, I can guarantee that the inverse is the same."
There was confidence in Suguru's voice. One that claimed that his escape was already decided. Should Bee and Gyuuki decide to ensnare him, all their attempts would be meaningless.
"Let's talk," Suguru even sat down. "There's a lot we can talk about. Starting with the question..."
With smug laughter already leaking out, Suguru turned to Bee. His demeanor would make anyone want to smack him upside the head.
"Is this the first time you've heard of Gyuuki-sama's name?"
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Hi! I am back~
But not with daily uploads. I'm halfway through my thesis proposal and I'm no longer as burnt out. I'll be pacing myself with around 2-3 days per chapter.
Still, have five chapters today as an apology for being gone for a while!
Chapter 1/5.
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