The Dragon Queen // (Under Revision)

My Father's Katanas

Tsuyoi strode across the empty fields, relishing the feeling of the sun warming her back through her shirt. She was lost in thought.

Flashes of memories kept flooding her, one after the other. Memories she never knew existed, with faceless people and their voices, flashes of buildings, hot tears and yelling, flames, the smell of incense and candles. Someone hugging her, whispering in her ear, stroking her hair away from her forehead.

Chizu and the patrons, over time, had urged her to let go of searching for the past, and to look to the future as the Dragon Queen. And despite the fact that she had no future to look to, over time, Tsuyoi had folded.

That was probably about the time the nightmares started, now that she thought about it. Everything gray...

But now....I carry my father's katanas....I have a small piece of something I lost. I wonder...if the other Queen had amnesia like me.

Thinking of Queens, thought about the books she gotten from the library.

Asuna Hoshi had written that after she'd perfected the original Earth Dragon Arts, and she had uncovered the first three forms of complete Dragon Manifestation; Dragon Daughter Mode, Dragon Warrior Mode, and Dragon Conquerer Mode. Tsuyoi had written the powers off at first, thinking she'd never need to use them. But now she was curious.

Can I actually use Dragon Daughter Mode? She pondered as she walked. The only two Queens who had ever needed to use it before was Kazama Uryu, the Fourth, and Hayate Ai, the Sixth. Kazama used it during her reign to punch through a mountain to create a passageway for trade routes, and Hayate used it during the First Lioditan War to annihilate her enemies. It seems you need to have reached peak....Tsuyoi looked up into the clear blue sky, free of clouds. I think Kazama and Hayate both reached peak. Actually....

I'm the only Queen who hasn't.

Suddenly, her sixth sense twitched. She leaned to the right just as something small and black flew past her ear, neatly clipping a strand of hair from Tsuyoi's cheek. She shifted her weight to glance behind her, where she was sensing Naruto's wa. But he was gone.

"Boo!"

Tsuyoi's reflexes acted; she spun, her fist flashing. She caught him square in the jaw. His head snapped backward and he tumbled to the ground, a red bruise forming on his cheek. Tsuyoi leaned over him.

"Are you okay, Hayride? Sorry." She said simply.

"I fink I'm awight," he mumbled, dazed. Tsuyoi stepped over him and continued to walk. Kakashi appeared at her side, but Tsuyoi had already sensed him.

"You have good reflexes," he observed.

"What is this? I've never seen it before," she asked, pulling the black object from the bark of a nearby tree. Why Naruto had thrown this at her, she would never understand. Maybe Kakashi had done it.

"A kunai knife. You've never seen it before?" He asked, coming to stand beside her.

"I just said that."

Then his shoulder flexed, a black blur. He was swinging at her.

Tsuyoi caught his fist, a breath away from her face. She gazed burning fire at him, meeting his eyes. Kakashi simply stared back coolly, not backing down for a moment. He was testing her. Tsuyoi relaxed some; she wasn't in immediate danger. Then Tsuyoi twitched. For a moment, Kakashi's wa was opened to her. Tsuyoi's hand gripped his tighter, trembling slightly.