Waking Up With Five -Tails

In the cramped room, a boy, a girl, and a little pup stared at each other, their minds running in overdrive while their bodies were frozen in place.

No, actually, the girl and the boy were the only ones who were deep in thoughts. The pup most likely just treated it as if they were playing a game. Look, his tail was even wagging...

Hikari swept her eyes toward the entrance. At least that rowdy kid had the decency to close the door after he entered. It simplified the problem.

Now then…

"Mmgh?!"

Kiba suddenly felt the wind knocked out of him as he was violently tackled down by the brown-haired girl. When his head finally cleared up, she was already straddling over him, her hand pressed over his mouth to prevent him from making any noise.

In the cutthroat world of cultivation, it was common sense for experts to selfishly d.e.s.i.r.e other's belongings.

Hidden techniques, ancient artifacts, spirit beasts... as long as it was a rarity, someone would want to put their hands on them, no matter the cost.

Even if they had to kill other human beings.

As an expert who had survived those turmoils over the thousands of years, she was well aware of such danger. That was why, even though Kokuo hadn't explicitly told her to do it yet, she had instinctively hidden the Tailed Beast's presence.

But now... someone had finally found out.

'What should we do, Venerable One?'

Hikari asked the beast within her psyche.

'Eliminate him.'

Kokuo replied without a trace of hesitation.

Of course, they wouldn't be able to get away scot-free, but becoming a murderer was still better than getting identified as a Jinchuuriki. Escaping the wrath of a clan was way easier than shaking off the stubborn pursuit of an entire nation.

The choice was clear.

Hikari wrapped her fingers around Kiba's neck. The sudden coldness from her touch brought a shiver down the boy's spine.

A quick crack. A single crush of his neck was all that she would need. She could only hope that her cultivation was enough to give him a swift end.

"...I'm sorry."

She whispered as her fingers began to tighten.

But then…

"Woof!"

Right when she was about to seal the deal, a bark shook her awake, dispersing her rising bloodl.u.s.t.

Following what seemed to be a light whimper, she suddenly felt a soft touch as Akamaru rubbed his face on her leg.

"..."

She was forced to pause for a moment. She had expected Akamaru to get aggressive to protect his master, but this…

When she tried to focus back on the task at hand, she was greeted with Kiba's firm gaze. The boy calmly gripped on the hand that was covering his mouth, and then slowly pulled it away.

Instead of calling for help, the first thing that he said was,

"Get off me. You're heavy."

A light tone, as if they were having a mundane, everyday conversation.

The fingers circling his neck slowly retreated, leaving red marks behind. He winced when he tried to rub them.

For a long while, they stood across each other in utter silence. The only noise came from Akamaru, who was running back and forth between the two while whimpering.

"...Why?"

She murmured, just enough for Kiba's s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e ear to catch it.

"Don't you think that's supposed to be my question?"

He laughed dryly, causing the frown on her face to deepen.

"Well…"

He scooped Akamaru into his embrace, lovingly patting his partner's head. The pup let out a happy yelp in return.

"...It's because Akamaru likes you. That's why I'm sure that you're definitely not a bad person."

"..."

Just for that reason?

That sounded so stupid, she couldn't make head or tail of it...

Kiba coughed. For once, the boy showed her a serious expression, unlike his usual slovenly self.

"I promise that I won't tell anyone. That's why, tell me the truth. About those… tails... of yours."

Another period of silence followed. At long last, Hikari let out a sigh before giving him a slight nod.

"...It's not like I have a choice, haven't I?"

---

They arranged to meet up at the usual creek at noon. The place was rather secluded, so it was safer to talk there compared to the Inuzuka residence where everyone had a superhuman hearing.

When Hikari arrived at the designated spot, Kiba was already there. He was playing with Akamaru, who was perched on top of his head.

"You... skipped class again, didn't you?"

"D-don't sweat it. C'mon, spill the beans!"

"Fine... Venerable One, if you may?"

Kokuo began pouring a tiny portion of its chakra out of her body, forming a puff of transparent red mist. The mist slowly condensed further, creating an incorporeal body reminiscent of a horse with a dolphin face and five flowing tails. The creature perfectly resembled the beast's real form, except that it was merely the size of a house cat.

"This is…" Kiba stared blankly at the miniature Kokuo, not knowing what to say. Its shape was unlike anything that he had ever seen before!

"It's a spirit beast," The girl explained.

"...A what?"

"She spews out random things at times. You'll get used to it, human."

A voice suddenly echoed in Kiba's mind. Somehow he could tell that this voice belonged to this little white beast which was taking a step closer to the boy while exuding a proud, majestic aura.

"This One is Kokuo, the great Five-Tails. This human female here is This One's Jinchuuriki."

Five-Tails? Jinchuuriki?

The terms flew over Kiba's head, so he just sat there with mouth agape.

"It's like this..."

Hikari proceeded to detail the events starting from the time she woke up in Iwagakure, discovering Kokuo inside her soul, their following escapade, up to the way they reached this creek back when he had found her.

She decided to leave the reincarnation part out. A spirit beast was fine, but a mortal like him would just call her insane if she told him about it.

"Okay, so you got this... horse-thingy inside of you, and people from Iwagakure want it, so you have to keep it hidden or else they'll take it out and kill you?"

She nodded.

"...Wow. Just… wow."

Kiba slouched down, suddenly feeling that life was hard. Akamaru licked his cheek in order to cheer him up.

He could grudgingly understand the reason why she showed him such a killing intent now.

Damn it.

He didn't know that that annoying girl had such a troublesome background. While he was trying his best not to show it on the surface, he was actually scared silly.

It felt like something only people at the Jonin level could handle, something that a kid like him had no business in knowing. His mother and sister might even get dragged into this mess.

Honestly, the risk was too high. He should report it to the Hokage instead-

Whimper.

Akamaru was pulling on his sleeves, telling him not to continue that train of thoughts.

He stole a glance at Hikari, who had gone silent after finishing her story. She was maintaining a stolid, nonchalant expression. And yet, he could sense the anxiety under the surface.

As if she wanted to trust him, but was afraid of the consequences.

"..."

The correct answer was to pass this information to the authorities. However… he couldn't bring himself to do so.

In the end, he made up his mind.

"I got it. As promised, I really won't tell anyone. Not even mom."

Anyway, as long as nobody found out, it should be fine, right? He just had to keep it a secret from everyone.

"...Really?" She murmured.

"A great man like me doesn't lie!"

He replied while puffing his c.h.e.s.t. Akamaru also followed with an energetic bark.

Seeing such a stupid look on his face, Hikari couldn't help but crack a smile.

'It's a risky gamble, but if you're willing to take it, then This One will respect your decision.'

'It should be fine.'

Humans, the longer they lived, the less trustworthy they become. Kids like these, however, might stumble with their words, but they really meant what they had said.

In that case, it should be alright to put her trust in him. At least for now.

For now...

Wait a minute.

Now that the big problem had been solved, a question suddenly popped up in her mind.

"Why were you in my room this morning?"

Kiba suddenly stiffened up. Turning his face away, he began whistling an off-beat tune.

"..."

Being the recipient of Hikari and Kokuo's accusing glares, he finally relented and told them the truth.

"I just… wanted to play a prank on you..."

"..."

What a petty reason.

"W-what's with that look? It's your fault for disturbing my happy times with Akamaru!"

"If you didn't like it, can't you just tell me off from the start?"

They had been running marathons around Konoha for the past three months. It was a bit too late for payback, wasn't it?

"...Because, Akamaru didn't seem to hate it, so..."

"..."

Why was this brat's reasoning always started with 'Akamaru likes it' and ended with 'Akamaru doesn't hate it'? If Akamaru wanted him to jump off a cliff, perhaps he might really do it?

Kinda worrying...

"R-right! Why did you show those weird tails in the first place? You're just asking for someone to find it out sooner or later!"

"...It's not like I want to do it..." Hikari grumbled under her breath.

"This human can't control This One's chakra properly, so they leaked out," Kokuo explained. "This One shall teach her how to control chakra in the near future."

"Controlling chakra?" Kiba's ears perked up. "You're planning to be a shinobi too?"

That term again. Shinobi. While she could understand the meaning thanks to her current body's basic memories, she couldn't find the equivalent word in her old language.

So, she innocently asked,

"What's a 'shinobi'?"

Kiba stared at her as if he was looking at a village idiot.

"Seriously? You've been staying with us for this long and you have no idea what a shinobi is? Oi, Fish-Face, why didn't you tell her?"

"Watch your mouth when talking to This One, human," Kokuo harrumphed. "This One thought that she already knew. After all, she is a Jinchuuriki."

Kiba turned his gaze back to her, trying to see whether she was just joking with him.

His conclusion after glaring at her for five minutes was that, yep, this girl was completely clueless.

"..."

He rubbed the side of his head, feeling a slight headache.

"Right… in short, shinobi, or ninja, are incredible people who can wield their chakra to perform jutsu. My entire clan consists of ninja. Actually, this entire village is. I'm currently training to become one at the academy!"

Jutsu. That word relatively had the same meaning as 'technique'...

...Hmm...

So, ninjas were people who can use 'energy' to perform 'techniques'.

"Cultivator?" She blurted out in the language of Song Dynasty.

"...?"

It was the first time for Kiba to hear a word from her old language. As expected, it only ended in confusion.

"She did spout out random things... "

"This One already warned you."

"...So, what does 'ninja' usually do?" She inquired further, ignoring their remarks.

"Hmm… I'm not too sure, but from what I've learned in class, we do missions involving espionage, escorting important figures, and even assassination. A good shinobi operates in the shadow, undetected by their foes. You know mom and sis sometimes disappeared for days or even weeks, right? It's for that kind of business."

"Espionage... assassination... moving under the radar..."

Ah, she got it!

"Beggar Sect, is it?"

"...Huh?"

Kiba got even more confused. Oh, wait, Kokuo as well.

"You know what, nevermind," Kiba sighed, somehow getting mentally tired. "Ordinary people can't utilize their chakra properly. Only us ninja can. That's why if you can control yours, that usually means you're also one of us."

Was she?

"I'm not a 'ninja'. I'm a cultivator."

"...I'm telling you, I have no idea what a 'siuche' is..."

"...Don't worry about it."

Anyway, this 'chakra' thingy could be this world's version of 'qi'. If she wanted to further her cultivation level, learning more about it is a must.

"That's all then. I'm leaving."

"Ah? Wait-"

"Don't bother me, I'm not in the mood to play chase with you today. Relax, I said I won't tell anyone about your... situation, so I won't."

No, actually she wanted to tell him to get back to class... but eh, whatever.

With Kiba and Akamaru out of sight, she turned back to Kokuo.

"Now then, Venerable One, please teach me about chakra."

"Hmph. This One will only say it once. Remember it carefully."

She nodded, straining her ears so that she wouldn't miss any wisdom that the Tailed Beast would impart.

"Listen well. Chakra is..."

...

Uh...

Chakra is... what?

"Venerable One?"

Kokuo coughed.

"...Fool. Words alone would not suffice to describe it. This One shall demonstrate it instead."

A faint red glow began to gather around her body. At the same time, she could feel strength coursing throughout her veins. This feeling was awfully similar to qi circulation.

So it was true. Chakra was this world's version of qi!

"Do you get it now? This is chakra."

"I see!"

She was beyond ecstatic. If she could wield this so-called chakra, cultivating further was highly possible!

"Then, Venerable One, how to control this energy?"

She had tried to utilize her dantian, but it showed no reaction whatsoever. The red-colored chakra simply coursed through her body as if they had a will of their own. Maybe this world employed a different method?

Kokuo blinked rapidly. If it was a human, it would be breaking out cold sweat at the moment.

It instinctively understood how to control chakra, but when it was trying to put it into words, suddenly its mind turned blank.

"...Just... do it? Imagine controlling these threads of chakra..."

"I already did."

"This One can do it just fine."

The red chakra grew thicker, rousing her with more power. However, the fact remained that no matter what she did, she could only feel the effect but couldn't control them.

After a few more minutes, she finally arrived to a conclusion.

"...Venerable One... are you..."

Was it actually clueless about how humans control their chakra?

"..."

The great Five-Tails, one of the exalted Tailed Beasts who wielded power beyond mortal belief.

For the first time in its storied existence, it turned its head away in shame...