Chapter 1: Hunted
"Shit!" a voice said as a figure stumbled over the forest floor before coming to rest against a tree and examining his blood stained hand and arm then hissed in pain, "Bloody fanatics"
Hearing the cries of an angry mob, the teen growled in anger and annoyance before placing his blood covered hand back over his heavily wounded stomach.
"Persistent bastards" the teen growled as he hobbled through forest as fast as he could manage with one broken leg while occasionally glancing at said leg to make sure the strain he was putting on it didn't make the injury any worse. While the break itself was not an issue, it was the increased blood loss from a compound fracture and the additional recovery time needed to heal said fracture that would have been the real annoyance.
Suddenly a wind blew through the forest causing the teen to stop and breathe deeply there was a scent on that wind, the scent of civilisation as well as a subtle scent that was old, new and everything in between.
"Excellent" the teen grinned only to hiss in pain.
Growling in anger and annoyance at the sounds of the mob getting louder, the teen hobbled as fast as he could.
Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu, a pair of Konohagakure Chunin that were famous for constantly being assigned to gate duty, one of the most boring and mind numbing assignments in the village.
"I'm bored" Kotetsu whined as he rocked on the back legs of his chair, his legs resting on top of the table.
"And we can't even ditch 'cause there's no one who'd willingly cover for us" Izumo said, he currently had his elbow resting on the table while his head rested in his palm.
"Remind me again why we keep getting this Godforsaken mission?" Kotetsu asked.
"'Cause we're lazy good for nothings that can't be bothered to get up early in order to get the good missions" Izumo said.
"Hm, fair enough" Kotetsu replied.
"That and you're always too busy pou-" Izumo started but was cut off by Kotetsu slapping a hand over his mouth.
"What have I told you about saying that kind of stuff out in public?" Kotetsu hissed in a low whisper.
Izumo didn't reply, but simply smirked under the hand and licked the palm.
"EWWW!" Kotetsu yelled as he quickly withdrew his palm and started wiping of the saliva while his face contorted in disgust, "That's disgusting"
Izumo smirked deviously, "That isn't what you said last night when I-"
Suddenly Kotetsu slapped his hand over Izumo's face again and said, "Shhh!"
Izumo narrowed his eyes and was about to argue, but kept quiet when the other man donned a serious expression and said, "Do you hear that?"
Immediately Izumo sharpened his senses before his eyes widened and the duo leapt over their table then ran out the gate, but not before firing a flare into the sky.
"HELP!" the teen cried out as he limped towards the village that was within his sights, despite the rather loud and violent protest his pride was kicking up at the moment.
Hearing the roars of the mob getting louder, the teen growled and glared angrily behind him while trying to hobble faster. Normally he would have fought back, but due to one of them hitting him with something, it proved to be more along the lines of impossible.
"ABOMINATION!" the teen heard and tried to dodge the incoming projectile, but due to him stepping awkwardly on his broken leg, resulting in a sickening crunch, the arrow intended to pierce his heart from behind, went right through his shoulder and lodged itself halfway out the other end.
The teen cried out in pain and fell forward only to be caught by a pair of hands.
"Are you alright?" the teen heard and turned his head to see a man with spiky black hair and a bandage around the bridge of his nose.
"Do I look alright?" the teen growled out through gritted teeth, his nostrils flaring.
"Heh, heh" Kotetsu chuckled as he supported the teen, "If you can still get snarky in the state you're currently in, I have no doubt you'll make a complete recovery"
Allowing the teen to use his shoulders for support, Kotetsu helped the boy stand who then growled as he glared down the road.
"What's wrong?" Izumo asked.
"Fanatics" the teen spat out angrily.
Shortly after, the mob the trio was hearing caught up with them causing the eyes of the two ninjas to darken.
"Shibi Kyokai" Kotetsu growled when saw the group of men and women wearing white, hooded robes that had a red sun on their chest with rays diverging from it.
"Well, well, looks like we've found a horde of abominations" a smug man, clearly the leader, said.
"Leave" Izumo said, "Leave and no harm will come to you"
"HA!" the leader scoffed, "Our Great Lord would never let harm come to us"
"YOUR 'GOD' IS A FARCE!" the teen yelled, "THE WHOLE LOT OF YOU SHOULD BE PUT DOWN LIKE THE FILTHY RABID DOGS YOU ARE!"
"BLASPHEMER!" the man roared before pulling out a crossbow and firing it at the teen only for it to be caught by Izumo.
"Kotetsu" Izumo said.
"Yeah?" Kotetsu replied.
"This arrow… could be seen as a sign of first assault, right?" Izumo asked while Kotetsu furrowed his brows in confusion, "I mean, this young man did ask us for help and we did agree to provide it, right?"
"Of course" Kotetsu replied, now realising where this was going.
"So that means we are well within our rights to carry out the orders Hokage-sama gave all of us, right?" Izumo asked.
"Oh yeah" Kotetsu said with a smirk then turned his attention to the teen, "Think you can stand on your own for a bit?"
The teen simply nodded while Kotetsu made sure the teen could stand before turning to face the mob.
"Good. Just checking" Izumo said then ran through a series of hand signs, "Suiton: Mizuame Nabara!"
Immediately, a thick syrupy liquid spewed out of the Shinobi's mouth that quickly covered the area the mob was standing on, leaving them unable to move.
Roaring in fury, the leader fired another arrow at the teen, only for it to bounce off a massive conch shell mace before Kotetsu lifted it up and draped it over his shoulders.
"Did you honestly think we'd let you shoot a kid?" Kotetsu asked.
"That creature is no child, heathen" the leader growled before his face contorted in fury, "KILL THEM ALL!"
Immediately the rest of the mob pulled out various projectile weapons, but before they could fire or throw them, they suddenly found themselves being lifted off the ground and restrained by tree branches that spontaneously sprouted from the earth.
"Is everything alright?" the trio heard before a man in a dog mask and a man in a squirrel mask appeared in a swirl of leaves.
"Inu, Risu!" Izumo said with obvious relief in his voice, "Damn you two cut it close"
"What's the situation?" Inu asked, ignoring the comment.
Kotetsu was about to explain but was cut off when the teen, who had his eyes half closed and was swaying on his feet said, "You know, as much as I love idle chit-chat, wouldn't it be a good idea to pay attention to the half eviscerated teenager with a broken leg and an arrow through his shoulder? I mean, if you have nothing better to do of course"
There was a heavy silence while everyone took a moment to process.
"Well he's quite the social gem" Risu said.
Suddenly the teen swayed and fell forward but was grabbed by Risu.
"Shit!" Inu swore, "Risu get him to the hospital. I'll take care of things here"
Risu simply nodded and disappeared with the teen in a swirl of leaves.
Inu then turned to face the mob and ran through a series of hand signs, "Katon: Gyokaku no Jutsu"
"YOU WILL BE BROUGHT TO JUDGEMENT, DEMONS!" The leader roared before he and the rest of the mob were incinerated by the fireball Inu had breathed out.
"Shit! Shit! SHIT!" a young voice yelled as he ran through the dark streets.
"GET BACK HERE, DEMON!" the boy heard from the mob chasing him.
Sparing a glance behind him, the blond haired, blue eyed boy with whisker marks on his cheeks saw the large group of civilians and several Shinobi with a look of pure murder in their eyes.
Relying on his years of honed speed and agility, the boy ducked through alleyways and around corners. However, luck would not be on his side this time.
"Oh no!" the boys cried out as he came face to face with a dead end.
"Heh, heh, now where to run now, demon" the boy heard before quickly turning around and pressing his back to the wall, his eyes wide with fear.
"Please! Just leave me alone! I've never done anything to you!" the boy pleaded.
"LIAR!" one of the men yelled.
"Your mere existence is a constant reminder of the sins you've committed" a woman said.
"A reminder we plan to rectify" one of the shinobi said while drawing a kunai.
The boy's screams rang into the night, but it would be some time before anyone would pay enough heed to it.
Author's Note
I'M BACK EVERYBODY! But for how long, I don't know.
Anyway, here is my newest story Beyond the Precipice that I've actually been working on for almost a year, I just never posted it here cause I was too damn Lazy.
As for my disappearance over the past 18 or so months, real life is a bitch at times, but now its all better. YAy!
Jutsu-Jutsu no Jutsu
Shibi Kyokai - Church of the Dying Sun