Kapitel 79: Ch79. Ringo 2

Ringo was invited to Rei's house which didn't happen nearly as often as when she was under his tutelage as both were fairly busy. Her training to be the wielder of Kiba was long ago finished when she slit the throat of the previous wielder and took the blades for herself and she thought she would be freer but contrary to her expectations, her missions just pilled up and she was barely in the village. She had no idea what this invitation was about but she was sure the reason she was not on a mission right about now had something to do with it. After all, Mizukage really listened to Rei's requests. Nevertheless, it made her feel happy that Rei wanted to meet her.

She was in front of Rei's door when she knocked. They opened but nobody was behind them which made Ringo frown. She raised her guard but inwardly she was thinking this was just another of her sensei's poor attempts at joking. With a sigh, she advanced forward, coming to the living room that was completely dark. She furrowed her eyebrows and was about to use her lightning to light up the room a bit when suddenly, the lights went on and she was deafened by a shout.

"Happy birthday!" Rei exclaimed and had to instantly duck Ringo's shurikens. Ringo watched him laugh merrily as her cheeks went beep red when she realized why she was called here. The room was filled with various cakes and on the table were... presents. She actually forgot she was fifteen today! Her mind suddenly halted as she realized one important thing. Rei... remembered her birthday. A lone tear fell down her cheek, she quickly wiped it out, pretending to rub her eye.

"Thank you." Ringo said with a slight smile decorating her face as she came closer and sat next to Rei, biting her lower lip as their shoulders touched. Ringo was speechless. This was the first time she actually celebrated her birthday like this! Rei usually prepared a cake and a present but more often than not, it was in the middle of the mission and they didn't really have proper time for it. But now... She could see Konan smirking at her. The blond old woman sitting in the nearby armchair was for some reason frowning. Then there was the little girl who was sitting in the lap of the old blonde, she was for some reason intently staring at her with ... competitive... gaze. And Rei was smiling at her. But they all were here because they remembered her.

The evening went on as Ringo chatted with Rei and the women, exchanging their experiences during these past two years since she stopped being Rei's apprentice. Ringo really had a good time and it proved to be incredible relaxation from the unending stream of assassinations she was lately assigned.

"Are you okay?" Rei asked her. "You really look kind of tired." He put his hand on her cheek, making Ringo freeze for a moment before she leaned into the touch with a happy smile.

"Yes." She lowered her head in content. It didn't take long though as she could see Rei frown at her which made her stop pretending and release a tired sigh, her head lowering even more, this time in bitterness. "No. The number of people who have a meeting with shinigami is somehow picking up and up and up... I have barely time for sleeping." She bitterly laughed, dragging her hand across her eyes. She just came back from a mission when the Mizukage told her about Rei's invitation. Sadly, she didn't get even an hour of sleep before the agreed time.

Rei pursed his lips as he knew what this meant. The war was getting closer. Ringo is the best tracker in Kiri but due to his tutelage, she is also exceptional at hiding and sneaking around. No longer was she some kind of loudmouth who would just barge in swinging her swords. Rei heard she became a kind of a most sought-after assassin of Kiri. As he looked at his exhausted apprentice, he could do only one thing. He patted her head. "You should take better care of yourself." He told her but doubted she would listen. Kiri was too important for her and if Kiri wanted something... Rei could only sigh and shake his head. "Well, time for presents." He said cheerfully, making Ringo glad he changed the topic.

Ringo was given various presents from the people around but it was nothing extremely pricy or important. Pajamas, jutsu scroll, instant ramen from Tsunade... That's why Rei's last gift made her stop in her tracks. He took out... two swords. The swords were both shortswords, both were the same length as Kiba which made Ringo inwardly pleased as she spent a lot of her time practicing with swords of this length. But these swords were more katana-like, straight, with only one edge rather than being double-edged like Kiba. The craftsmanship was exquisite, making the swords appear elegant but Ringo knew they were crafted to kill and bisect. Not unlike Kiba, her lightning chakra was almost eager to enter the blade which made her gulp. The 'blunt' edge however wasn't harmless and contained a minuscule sharp saw-like jagged 'edge' that would be able to cleave through people with ease even though it would be a more brutal, bloody, and forceful way of killing.

Ringo blinked at him as she didn't expect receiving swords. She had her Kiba, after all. She took them into her hands with a weird look on her face only to then show an utter astonishment. The swords in her hands were... better. Better than her Kiba! Sharper, more durable, and more importantly, better at channeling lightning chakra! Ringo gulped again and looked shakily at Rei, her mouth opening but no sound came out of it.

Rei smiled at her, putting his finger on her chin as he gently closed her mouth. "I wanted you to have spare swords." His hand then went from her chin to her right wrist, pulling it closer to himself as he unrolled her sleeve. He nodded as he saw the storage seal he painted on her wrist years ago. Rei then deposited both swords into the seal, puffing them out of existence before looking back at Ringo's face. "Kiba... has a reputation. But it is a reputation brought out by its former wielders." He told the girl. "You can continue it, sure... but you would be forgotten as another wielder takes it into his hands. If..." Rei showed a hint of conflict on his face but it disappeared as soon as it came. "If you ever feel the need to create your own legend, independent of Kiba, use the swords I gave you, alright?"

"But... the price." She almost couldn't believe her eyes. Both of these were not only made from chakra metal but a special kind of chakra metal that was also used to craft Kiba! It was a metal that would be a national treasure worth billions of Ryo and the entire country would be elated to have enough to craft one sword! Yet, here she received two? Her head almost spun and her throat went dry. She was a swords-maniac but even she didn't dare to think about something like this being real.

"Mah, mah~. don't mind i-." Rei said lightly while waving his hand from side to side. Unknown to Ringo, Rei had enough of this metal in his dimension to actually gear up the entire country... Before he could even finish that sentence, Ringo kissed him.

Tsunade frowned and quickly covered the eyes of the pouting Mei as she saw Ringo losing control. Ringo didn't care anymore and let her instincts take over. As her tongue invaded Rei's mouth, her hand quickly went into his pants and grasped his member. She was moaning from all the pent-up lust that was going through her and the only thing she could think about was finally getting what she wanted. She knew Rei could stop her any time so she wasn't afraid of forcing him. If he didn't want it, he would push her away so she pushed forward. She wanted Rei!

Ringo already forgot the presence of anyone other than Rei so when Konan sporting a twitching eye-brow stood behind her, she only continued to moan into Rei's mouth, not even realizing the ticked-off predator behind her. Rei could only give Konan a bitter look that stopped the bluenette in her tracks. A sad frown appeared on her face. She knew Rei had feelings for Ringo but... 'Ah, fuck it!' She inwardly thought and even though her expression was the perfect example of stoic, she was mentally thrashing her head around in frustration. 'Rei... if you don't want to beat it into the thick skull of the horny primal bitch, I WILL!' Resolve flooded her as she grabbed the back of Ringo's neck. Ringo momentarily stopped licking Rei's mouth but she didn't have a long time to ponder about what was happening as Konan shunshined away, dragging the girl with her.

It was time for a long talk. A talk that was long overdue.

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Kapitel 80: Ch80. Ringo 3

Konan arrived on their 'privatized' training ground via shunshin and harshly threw Ringo on the ground into the grass. Taking up a posture with crossed arms she waited until the redhead recollected herself, staring at her impassively.

It took Ringo a few moments to finally recollect herself. She could still feel Rei's lips when suddenly, she was yanked away by her neck! Of course, she would be disoriented! This was worse than any ambush in the field! Not even her instincts could catch such a treacherous strike! "What was that for!" She exclaimed and frowned when she saw Konan take out her small battle fan. Ringo instantly knew Konan meant business. She stood up and drew her Kiba blades. "What's gotten into you?" She asked Konan as she crouched down in preparation for the battle but Konan didn't answer. She just continued to stare at Ringo with her cold gaze.

Konan didn't like Ringo. She didn't mind Tsunade as the busty blonde came to them already prepared to forsake her former loyalties for Rei. No matter what it would take, Tsunade would go to admirable lengths for Rei. Konan could feel that during their joining and it made her begrudgingly accept and respect the blonde woman. Mei, on the other hand, was young and malleable. Konan had every intention to mold that girl into a woman worthy of keeping around. She would teach the girl a lot but she also expected a lot in return. Well, it was not like she was maliciously plotting against the girl. In the end, Mei would come out of it better than ever.

But Ringo was a different case. Ringo was half-assed. She wanted to be near Rei without giving her all to him. That, Konan didn't like. That, Konan couldn't allow. Because of that, she was now in an internal conflict of how to deal with it. Rei told her long ago he would probably have more women around him and she accepted. But she also decided to 'manage' this 'harem' of his and make sure her 'sisters' would be kept in line. Tsunade understood that and if Ringo wanted to become Rei's, she would too. But first, Konan had to give the girl a proper physical beating followed by a verbal rant. That however didn't mean Konan had to like it. "You are lucky Rei is fond of you. Otherwise, I would cut you down right here and now." Konan said quietly but for Ringo, it was as if somebody deafened her as Konan's bloodlust fell on her shoulders, making her slightly shudder. She was well aware of how dangerous Konan was.

Ringo didn't have time to contemplate the words she just heard from Konan. Before she even managed to widen her eyes in surprise, she was forced to block Konan's fan with her right Kiba blade. The second she blocked Konan's strike though, Konan twisted her wrist which made her fan push the Kiba blade to the side, and due to the speed of Konan, Ringo barely managed to block the second follow-up strike with her left Kiba blade. As their weapons touched, Ringo let a pulse of electricity run through her blade, creating a slight pushing force that made both women step back, ending the short exchange.

"Why did you attack me?" Ringo asked while her eyes dutifully watched Konan and her senses were scouting the surroundings for any surprise attack.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Konan commented coldly with a disappointed undertone, raising her fan in front of herself, unfolding it. Ringo could see Konan's chakra flooding the fan and gulped when she saw the paper part of it glow in a slight blue glimmer, signifying a very concentrated wind chakra. She instantly pushed lightning chakra into her blades in full throttle and coated them in it. She believed that nothing except her best would manage to block Konan's wind coating. Despite everything, Ringo wasn't afraid.

"This will not go like our last duel." Ringo said with narrowed eyes. "It's been two years and I became a much better swordsman during that time." In response, Konan only impassively raised her eyebrow, not deeming it worth it to answer.

As a breeze passed through the clearing, both women sprang up towards each other, clashing in a flurry of violent strikes, creating slight shockwaves that ravaged the ground as they danced dangerously around, leaving devastation behind. The longer their furious quick exchanges lasted, the more obvious Konan's disadvantage became. She just wasn't a melee-oriented fighter. Ringo was pushing her back quite easily even though it was an incredibly frustrating battle for her. Konan was always on defense. Deflecting and redirecting Ringo's slashes in a way that would disrupt Ringo's tempo and make her momentarily falter. Every time the lightning and the wind coating clashed, it would make the weapons bounce from each other. Ringo preferred a more instinctual approach to fighting but against Konan who had every move planned beforehand, it just didn't fare well. Worse yet, Konan's face was completely stoic and relaxed even though she was being pushed back!

The more time passed, the more frustrated Ringo became as she just couldn't get a proper hit in even though it was plainly obvious she was a better melee fighter. She was more proficient with her chosen weapon, she was stronger, faster, more experienced in melee clash, and yet... Every hit of hers was mitigated. She got impatient. And...

"Lighting Release: Lightning Rod!" Ringo shouted as she jumped two steps back and her right hand rose towards heaven, pointing the tip of her Kiba blade at the clouds while her other Kiba blade in her left hand pointed at Konan. They weren't even five steps away from each other so Ringo was sure she would hit! She however didn't spot Konan's slight smile when she started her Jutsu.

Konan was practically goading Ringo to use ninjutsu the entire time. She knew she was worse than Ringo in weaponry but that didn't mean she could not defend herself. The tessenjutsu was very good in this regard and her wind was counter to Ringo's lightning. Konan could go for hours like this, chipping Ringo's stamina bit by bit but she decided to change this clash into ninjutsu one. Konan decided Ringo needed a proper reality check if her words should have the desired effect on the girl. As Ringo started her Jutsu, Konan also started hers.

"Wind Release: Swirling Winds." A protective barrier of rotating winds instantly appeared around Konan.

Ringo's Jutsu took only a second and a lightning strike fell from the sky, impacting Ringo's right Kiba. It then got redirected to her left sword which aimed at Konan, releasing concentrated and very dense lightning in her direction. But at the same time, the swiftly swirling wind barrier around Konan started spreading outwards, creating layers of winds around her. The two attacks met with a deafening boom and a shockwave spread through the clearing, flattening the grass and even cracking the bark of some trees at the edge. The result showed immediately as Ringo was sent flying by Konan's wind Jutsu until her body impacted the ground and uncontrollably rolled on it for a bit before she sprang herself onto her feet, panting slightly. Konan just stood in her initial spot with a slight provoking smile on her face.

"You know," She started. "in our line of work, it's not brute strength that wins most of the fights. Instead, it's some sleight of hand or a trick. Sure, having overwhelming power helps but it's not really that important." Konan told Ringo, making her furrow her brows. Konan didn't care about Ringo's internal musings and sprang herself towards her, swinging her fan. Ringo quickly put one Kiba blade in front of her chest with the intention to block but Konan was determined to prove her earlier statement. The wind coating on her fan quickly dissipated mid-swing, only to be instantly replaced by earth chakra coating which made Ringo open her eyes wide but she wasn't able to react. Both wind and earth countered lightning but both did so in a different way. The wind cut through it, figuratively speaking, while earth absorbed and nullified it.

Konan's fan hit Ringo's Kiba blade and instead of the awaited pushing force from the clash of wind and lightning, Ringo's Kiba's lightning coating was weakened and Konan's earth-hardened fan smashed right through Ringo's defense, hitting her chest, sending her rolling on the ground.

"As I said... just a little trick and you are already done." Konan calmly stated. Ringo stood up, spit a bit of blood to the side, and with a glare readied her Kiba for another round. She couldn't help but feel as if she was again that twelve-year-old girl who was continuously getting smacked around by Konan.

The clash continued... but this time, it was Ringo who was being pushed away. Konan was swapping wind and earth coatings according to the situation and Ringo was unable to react. She tried various lightning Jutsu and Konan was actually impressed at her repertoire when the count passed twentieth B+ rank Jutsu but the result didn't change. Ringo was getting smacked throughout the clearing no matter what she tried.

It took three whole hours for the battle to end. Ringo was panting sprawled on the ground while Konan was still her calm and collected stoic self, standing above her impassively. She looked towards Ringo, noting she had her full attention. "Ringo, no matter what you do, Rei will never accept you. Do you know why?" Konan asked and happily watched as the girl on the ground gnashed her teeth at her. "It's because he can't trust you." She said, making Ringo's breath hitch but Konan continued, not minding it. "Your priority is Kiri. Rei can never be sure that you just won't backstab him, you know? Unless you rethink your priorities, I would advise you to try and change the target of your affections. I won't accept a potential backstabber near Rei either. If you try..." Konan looked straight into Ringo's eyes to emphasize how serious she was. "I will end you." She plainly told the girl and shunshined away, leaving Ringo's beaten form in the clearing.

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