A World of Sin

Kushino got up off of the ground, her body had taken a large toll but she would be fine. The journey to their destination was quiet, both Shitai and Takeru were as quiet as could be, a sad look crossed her face. She wanted to say something but decided it wasn't the best time. Kushino followed closely behind the two so she wouldn't get lost, keeping a good distance at the same time to not cause anymore hassles.

Takeru led the way inside the house, it was one of the few left remotely intact after the destruction of Korigakure. Once inside he lit a small fire for the two and collected some of the meat he had stored, placing it over the fire to roast, he had been interrupted from his nap and the Hachibi was restless. While they sat he poured the two a drink and slid it towards him, he himself drank out of a large barrel of sake, the Hachibi's presence and insatiable appetite had also made it nigh impossible for him to become intoxicated. He sat in silence as he stared into the flames, lost in his own thoughts.

I took my drink and downed it in one go, it brought a warmth to me that I had been longing for for two days since we entered this frozen hell of a country. I looked the meat over for a minute and then snatched it off the fire, it had barely had any time to cook but the nibi had a craving for semi raw meat and his presence was still near the surface of my mind though it was slowly fading. "What is this, penguin? Way to lean under normal circumstances."

Kushino sat in front of the fire, the warmth was helping her body alot, she took the drink and took a huge gulp, it was warming and tasted pretty good. Shitai was right about the meat though, it did taste kind of gross but it was better then nothing. If she just pictured it was fish she would be fine. She was happy someone had finally broken the silence, things were starting to get slightly awkward though Kushino still didn't feel brave enough to speak. She stared at the fire thinking of the events that had led up to this moment, she was hanging out in a house with two possibly dangerous due to their Bijuu roles and yet she still felt so comfortable around them.

Takeru chuckled when shitai asked what kind of meat it was, "It's a rather large and nasty breed of orca my friend. Tastes like shit but there's plenty of it, you kind of get used to it after a while." Takeru finished his last piece of meat and threw the bone behind him, joining the remainder of the orca carcass which he had predominantly eaten on his own. They had eaten in almost silence with only Shitai's brief comment to break the monotony, he had expected the mouthy girl to talk after her fearless confrontation with him earlier but it seemed he had spooked her. "It looks like you aren't going anywhere miss. I'd either have to kill you or force you to leave, which i don't think you will do willingly anytime soon and i'm not much fond of killing little girls. If you want this path, this life, it is your for the taking. However! You will do as i say at all times, you will listen and learn. It will be hard, harder than anything you've done before. This is not a task for the weak of heart."

As I finished my meat I threw the bone into the pile as the older man had. "Well then, I feel I will need to go hunting with you next time to pick out something less rancid." I then listened and chuckled, Takeru was putting on a rather tough face to say that he just didnt enjoy killing kids though the part about absolute obedience from this girl was a totally different reason to laugh.

Kushino's attention shot straight toward Takeru as he spoke to her, it seemed he had gotten past his stubborness and the funny fact was he was much like she was, her stubborness had gotten her this far afterall. Kushino nodded as she was spoken to being sure to take everything, she didn't want to miss a single thing he said. Kushino cackled a laugh at the mention of her not leaving if she were told and that he didn't like killing little girls, at first it caused a slight frown at the thought of little girl but she decided to let it slide. Kushino felt herself become excited and she was about to blurt out a whole bunch of crap but she was stopped by the pain of her body, luckily for her. ''Your right you would need to kill me as leaving isn't an option'' she replied playfully before bringing back a serious attitude ''I will not let you down, everything and anything you say I shall abide by fully, I will not disobey an order you give me I swear!'' She said trying to sound trueful. ''The Weak of Heart? I took on your Orca meat without breaking a sweat so I deserve some credit'' she chuckled.

Takeru could only shake his head as this flighty girl completely ignored the fact she had almost been savaged by a half crazed jinchuuriki. He couldn't fathom what life with the bubbly red head would be like and he found he wasn't looking forward to it. "You make promises like that far too easy girl, you're innocence will get you killed. So lesson number one, get rid of those clothes and go find the throne of ice in the centre of the village, you'll sit there until you don't find it cold anymore. If you think you're getting frostbit you'll come back and warm up until you can go back outside without it killing you. If it takes you more than a week you'll do the same thing but in the ocean, understand? You're going to keep your promise right?" He kept a straight face the entire time he spoke and to emphasise his words idly scratched his bare chest.

I would stand up and without unbuttoning it remove my shirt to expose my own bare chest, "Climates aren't a big deal for people like us I guess, still a bit nippy but a few more hours and I'll have adjusted. Also since we aren't going to kill you guess I can take these back." I snapped my fingers and the kikaichu that had been resting on the girl's neck flew back to me and crawled in one of the small holes in my abdomen to return to the rest of the colony. "And with that I bid you good night." I walked over to a flat corner of the room and bundled up my shirt as a pillow before drifting off to sleep.

Kushino's face spread with shock, he wanted what now? What was the point of this, she understood she would need to grow accustomed to the cold but naked? NAKED? Kushino was about to shake her head but stopped herself. Kushino nodded ''I will do as you please'' She said unbuttoning her clothing. Her clothing was now in a small pile on the floor, she was now uterly and completely naked standing there shivering. She could feel the cold now more then ever, Kushino made her way to the front door and walked out through into the snow. ''I will not give up!'' She called running away from the house to the location of the throne.

Takeru threw back his head and laughed after he was sure the girl was well and truly out of earshot, it was a full bellied sound and his shoulders shook while he wiped his watering eyes. he had never expected the child to go completely bare into the elements, for one it was incredibly indecent with other people around, one of whom was still young enough to find such a display titillating. He wondered how long it would take her to break and disobey his orders, judging from her performance a moment before he thought it might be a very long time I am an illiterate pig with no vocabulary. "Where DID you find this girl Shitai my friend, she's absolutely droll." Before he had even finished speaking a wave of sleepiness overtook him and he found himself slipping into the trance like sleep he had grown accustomed to. He fell back onto the cold floor and let out a loud snore as he drifted off into the world of dreams.

I had slept through Kushino stripping down but when Takeru asked where I found her I half awake turned and replied, "What?" I then looked around the room and saw the girl missing but her clothes, including undergarments, all in a pile. It took me a moment to register what this meant but then a mental image of her popped into my head and my nose started bleeding. In shock I let out a nervous twitch and banged my head on the hard floor, knocking myself out for the rest of the night.

[end]