Myths and Legends
New Player in Town
"I still say you shouldn't cover it like that. Just deactivate it for a second like everyone else."
"Meh, cooler looking like that."
"And since when have you cared?"
"I've always been cool."
"You see, it was cooler when I thought you didn't care."
"Still cool."
"Will you two please shut the fuck up for once?"
Shisui sighed as he trailed behind his team, his eyes closed.
"I hate to take Zabz' side here, but you two need to chill out, the dogs are getting annoyed," said the only girl in his team. "Besides, you really should get a new conversation subject then that eye, it's getting creepy."
"Zabz?" asked the gruff voice of the man beside him. "I swear to god, one day, I'll cave your head in, and I'll be happy to do it."
The girl only laughed as one of the dogs walking on her sides barked in warning. Shisui sighed once more before opening his eyes. Hana Inuzuka was the most recent acquisition in his team, but she already fit really well with the others. It was only her fifth mission, but she already wasn't terrified of Zabuza, the giant man walking next to him. It had taken Obito more than a month to stop shaking when he spoke.
"Any progress with our objective," he asked. The group stepped on a passing street, filled with merchants and citizens of the Empire. He saw the formation his team had adapted tighten as they walked onto the streets. Hana was in the lead, her three dogs surrounding her. Just behind her, Kakashi and Obito stood side by side. Finally, Zabuza stood next to him.
He felt pleased as he observed the manners of his team. While Obito and Kakashi were mostly always bickering, they were both still paying attention to the surroundings, to the buildings, to the ground. Every ninja knew that a single moment of inattention was enough to cause your death.
Hana looked back for a second, her eyebrows knitted in frustration. "Their trace is all over the place. It stops some places and reappears at others."
Shisui hummed pensively, "That's fine. Let's continue, it wouldn't do any harm to familiarize ourselves to this Empire if we have to stay here longer."
Hana nodded and rubbed the head of the dog closest to her absentmindedly. They continued on the street in relative silence, each of them taking in the sights. He could see Hana marveling at the buildings, observing the merchandise in the shops. She had really been excited when she had been informed they were to exit the known territories and enter the Forbidden Lands.
Shisui's attention was on other facets of the city. The streets were clean, and the shops were animated. At a first glance, the sprawling capital looked like a nice place to live. However, one just had to look further than the superficial look and observe the people themselves. They shied away from his eyes, walking fast with their shoulders hunched. He could see the signs of bad nutrition on their skin, the roughness in their faces making them look older than they really were. The strain of constant fear had etched worried lines on their faces, giving them deep, dark circles under their eyes.
These were not the signs of people happily living in a rich city. Shisui didn't know exactly what was happening here, but the cold look he could see the soldiers giving the population troubled him. Something was amiss here, and it put him on edge. Lack of information was the number one cause of death for ninja in the field.
The leading dog in front of Hana stopped, sniffing in the air. The whole group immobilised, Kakashi faking having to tie a lace on his shoes. Obito started giving him crap about retarding the group and even Zabuza chimed in by calling them childish.
For the many times since he had known all of them, he thanked who ever had taught of teaching them how to lie and to act. Instead of engaging with them, he walked up to Hana who was crouched next to her dog.
"What is going on?" he whispered when he reached her. She frowned at the dog still sniffing the air.
"He's found a strong smell. Direct contact probably. It's moving in the shop in front of us."
Shisui nodded, "Once you realize which one it is, we will retreat and tail the person. They might lead us to them or at least have some pertinent information."
Hana nodded, her eyes fixed on the shop's exterior. They couldn't really see all that well because of a large chariot parked in front of it. Three guards were standing next to it, all talking to each other, relaxed.
A short girl with blond hair exited the shop, dragging a slightly taller boy who was almost overcharged with items bought. She entered the chariot immediately, leaving the boy and the guards to deal with the items. He noticed that the guy had a sword strapped to his back.
As the caravan started to move, the dog perked up, it's eyes following the chariot as it barrelled through the streets.
He didn't wait for Hana to give her confirmation. With hand-signals, he told his team to disperse and meet back on its tail, following the usual pattern of rotation.
The second he had finished telling his team, he blurred away, using his speed to disappear from people's eyes. He darted through alleys and jumped on rooftops, using a seemingly random pattern to lose any possible tail.
He already knew he was not followed, but precautions never had hurt anyone. There were not many people even back home that could follow his movements when he used his normal speed. He doubted they had the bad luck of meeting someone like that here in a foreign capital.
He doubled back towards the caravan had been going. He was soon joined by Zabuza who jumped in his step. They merely nodded and sped away, Shisui slowing down to Zabuza's cruising speed. There was no rush. The three others were in front with the dogs, following the transport to its destination. They were the reinforcements or replacements if they were spotted.
They ran in silence, jumping from roof to roof at high speed. They made sure to stay in the city's guards blind spots, even though Zabuza's hands almost grabbed his sword a couple of time.
He didn't tend to like missions where discretion was important. Ironic, considering his skill in Silent Killing.
They soon left the center of the city and reached a clearly richer area. It was mostly wooden lands, with huge properties built relatively far from each other. They veered on the left, continuing alongside a slim road of padded earth that penetrated further into the woods. They reached a rich mansion and a couple of other buildings around, most of them built facilitate the access to utilities. The buildings were built elegantly, but with the thought of grandeur. They were taller and vaster than they really needed to, and Shisui could see that the buildings were weakened from the overblown sizes.
The access to the main building was closed by a gate and guards standing at attention. They stopped on a nearby rooftop, both crouching to avoid detection. The reflection of the sunlight on metal aimed at his face caught his attention. Next to what looked like a windmill, he could see the barely discernable forms of his subordinates.
With a last sweep of his eyes he signaled to Zabuza to join them. They both moved between a sweep of the eyes from the guards, quickly dashing between buildings and joining the other three.
They landed next to Hana who almost screamed in surprise. She managed to choke it out as a mere gasp.
"You really should keep a closer look to your back," he said to her in a slight disapproving voice.
She shot him an annoyed look, but nodded nonetheless. Her face was tensed in a serious frown he hadn't seen on her even in deadly fights. Kakashi and even Obito sported similar looks. Their bodies were tensed, more than was normal.
It was as if they were holding back about something. "Fill us in." he ordered.
Hana eyes went to the floor for a second before meeting his. He saw the strong emotion in them, but couldn't identify it. She took a deep breath and the look faded away, hidden behind a carefully crafted blank mask.
"The scent is at its strongest here. Presence has been confirmed on the premises."
Shisui nodded, waiting for the other shoe to proverbially fall.
"Their scent is… degrading," she said, turning her eyes towards the house. "They're dead."
Shisui stayed silent at the news. It wasn't much of a shock to him. There was a reason this was called the Forbidden Lands. He never had thought they would find them alive. It didn't really matter, as deserter were usually executed when brought back to the Village anyway.
"That's not all. They're not alone. There's maybe hundreds of people in varying stages of decay."
Shisui nodded, his eyes steeled. So the domain housed serial killers. He felt a familiar feeling of desire to intervene grow in him but he simply took a deep breath. He wasn't in the East anymore. He couldn't provoke a diplomatic incident with an unknown quantity.
"We will retrieve the bodies of our targets," he said, his eyes stopping on each of his teammates. "Then we will go back straight to the Village."
Hana looked appalled at his words, as he had expected. Obito wasn't far behind her either.
"We are going to let this slide?" she asked in a venomous tone. Shisui stayed calm, "This is not our objective. We're merely to retrieve the bodies of the ninjas that fled."
"Yes," said Obito sarcastically, "because we never went off track before."
"This is different," he said with a sigh, "We are not home. We are in a foreign country."
"And?" asked Hana defiantly.
"Imagine if the people responsible for these crimes are powerful in this nation and we eliminate them. It is clearly possible considering the sheer mass of bodies you reported and the rich location. At best, we throw a foreign nation into disarray and cause unbalance in an already poor part of the world. At worst, we provoke a war between our nations, all because we wanted to intervene in their domestic affairs. We cannot afford any mistake."
His last words were final, the tone indicating the authority in them. Hana averted her eyes and gave a curt nod. Obito simply looked away. Shisui knew he wouldn't get anything more of the boy. His moral compass was still too strong for a ninja. That was one of the aspects of Obito he liked the best, but it could be grating at times like these.
"Establish a guard order, we will attack at nightfall."
They all nodded at the order and sat down, Obito climbing to the roof to stand guard.
They waited as the sun bowed out of the sky and night settled in. As the last lights in the house started to shut off, the team prepared themselves to retrieve their comrades.
He signaled for Zabuza to eliminate the two guards standing at the gates. It was better to leave some tracks. Things that could be blamed for a failed assault on a rich owner by some desperate poor folks. God knew there was enough of that in the city.
The man smiled under the wrappings and jumped off the roof they were standing on. They waited in silence for their friend to come back. The only sound of the execution was the slight gurgling of someone having had his throat slashed open.
Zabuza came back, no trace of blood or anything on him. His giant sword was still strapped in place on his back. He signalled the go-ahead.
They all fell into their normal formation. However, gone was the banter and casual attitude. They were professionals; Shisui wouldn't have accepted anything less on his team. They all ran in silence, following the dogs to their destination. Even the dogs were silent as a tomb. Professionals.
They ran through a small forest at light speed, going past the main house. They arrived next to a shack in a small clearing. Shisui couldn't repress the disgusted look on his face. The smell was strong enough to be smelled by everyone on the team. They all knew well that smell.
Blood.
Zabuza opened the door of the barn, less affected by the smell than the others. Even he had to raise an eyebrow in surprise at the state of the barn. It was full of bodies, evidently tortured. A man had been flayed to death on the right. Straight in front of him, a girl had been slashed to death, the body still exposed on a wooden post.
"Fuck me," let out Obito. Hana turned away, looking green and threw up outside of the barn. The boy's expression was impossible to see under his wooden mask, but he had to be a bit shaken up too. Shisui and Kakashi managed to keep a somewhat stony face in front of it.
"Who… Who's there?" asked a weak voice from the cell on their left. Shisui looked to see a young man with dark hair in a cell. His body had clearly been beaten, but he looked extremely weak. Worse off than his injuries could have done. Each movement looked painful. He exchanged a look with Kakashi. Poison.
Without uttering a word, Shisui slid his hands in the pouch on his leg. The next moment, he threw a kunai directly in the middle of the boy's forehead. His head snapped back, and he fell on the ground, life already gone from his eyes.
Nobody said a word. They all knew the pain that went with dying poisoned, having seen comrades die that way. It was slow and painful. Killing them when they were already gone was merely being emphatic.
A dog barked once further in the shack. Shisui and Kakashi followed the sound. The dog was sitting on the ground at the feet of two entangled people. They had to be confident in the dog's sense of smell, because their faces had been completely disfigured.
What suddenly worried the ninja was the state of their bodies. Their bodies showed multiple slashes in non-vital areas. One's hands and feet had been burned off, the charred remains looking more like a pile of melted plastic.
They had been tortured, like most of the others in the shack. However, unlike all the others in the shack, they held a secret that could be infinitely damaging to the Village and to the balance of this land. They held something so valuable that they could have easily have bargained with it.
That changed everything.
"Let's get out of here. Leave them."
Kakashi turned quizzically to him, but stayed silent. They went back to the others, the dog following them behind. Hana had straightened up, still looking a bit green.
He walked past them outside, breathing the fresh air that wasn't polluted by the dead corpses inside.
"We're adapting the mission," he said abruptly this as the others exited the building. "We're going to interrogate and eliminate everybody on domain and then we torch it to the ground."
Obito and Kakashi exchanged confused looks. Hana looked completely shocked at the news. Zabuza simply looked happy to be able to kill again. Before Hana could speak, Shisui answered her.
"The bodies inside had both signs of torture. There is a non-zero chance that they tried to bargain the Village's existence for their lives. We must assume they would not have the Village's survival as a priority since they did defect. Our new objective is to eliminate everyone that has any knowledge of us. The secrecy of our existence is paramount."
Everybody's eyes steeled at those words. They all stood a bit straighter, even Zabuza who wasn't much of a fan of the Village in general. They all understood that this new mission was of the utmost importance. Secrets about the Village could be in enemy hands, information that could end up costing the life of their comrades in the future.
The dogs all suddenly stood up straighter, their ears straight, looking in the same direction. It took them a couple of seconds before they all started to bark, their fur straightening on their backs.
Shisui didn't need Hana's words to know what was going on, "Something big is happening. There's new people and they're killing the guards." She frowned at the barks of one of them, "They are saying these people are strong."
"They can know that?" asked Obito.
Hana didn't answer. She continued to listen to their barks who grew a bit more agitated. Her eyes widened and she looked seriously at Shisui. "They're not normal fighters. The brothers say they smell like… like Teigu."
Everybody exchanged dark looks at those words. Shisui closed his eyes for a second, a slight sigh escaping his lips. The fact that this land even had Teigu users confirmed the Village's worst fears. An Empire as large filled with strong Teigu users would obliterate the Village in a war.
Every ninja knew that in a fight against a Teigu user, victory was far from assured.
"How many Teigu users?" asked Shisui.
"Six," answered Hana after a moment, still listening to the constant flow of information coming from the dogs, "And they have started to shed blood."
Shisui sighed. The mission just had been complicated ten-fold with the arrival of six Teigu users. If it had been one, they might have killed him or her and called it a day, but six was superior in numbers to them. They couldn't take the chances of having to fight someone S-rank or superior. Hana wasn't exactly a strong fighter, she was more useful for her tracking skills and recon abilities.
There was also the question of knowing who these people were. The serial killers were obviously rich and powerful to have been killing for so much time unpunished. Then who were the fighters that were killing them. Assassins? They were simply too many, and they had provoked a ruckus if the sounds of guns firing was any clue. The special forces of the local government? More probable, but then, they couldn't really kill them or else they would have an international incident on their hands.
He sighed once more. The updated objective had to be completely revamped.
"Change of plans," he said, bringing his team's attention to him. "We're going to wait around this place, protect the corpses of our fallen comrades. Obito, you're going to go see if there's anybody still alive from the family inside. Stay hidden; the arriving forces most likely are with the Empire." Obito saluted lazily before jumping, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.
He turned to the large man with the desire to kill, "Zabuza, you're going to be standing guard in front of the murder-shack. The rest of us are going to be around, but hidden. We need to maintain an element of surprise if we have to fight six Teigu users at the same time."
The large man grinned and turned back to the shed. He closed the doors and leaned against them. The others scattered in the area. Shisui went in the trees next to the road leading to main house. Hana and the dogs were scattered into different areas of the forest, giving them the ability to better track movement. Kakashi was hidden at the back of the shack, ready to give a hand to Zabuza in case of emergency attack.
Shisui trusted his instincts before all else. He had been called a genius, but always had resented the designation. He was merely someone with good instincts. He knew what worked and what didn't. Just like he supposed that if anybody was still alive in the house and tried to fled, they would come here. The shack was in a forested area with only one accessible access way. It was hidden well enough to be a defensible position and the bodies would provide a cover sufficient to organise another retreat if need be.
They didn't have to wait long. Two people quickly followed by a third were running down the path, aiming directly at the shack.
The two people in front were a guard dressed in a white armor leading a girl with blond hair. She looked like she had been pampered for all of her life. It was the small girl from the shop. Behind them, running at full speed was the other kid, the brown haired boy who was obviously not from wealth. Maybe a servant of some sort or special bodyguard. They arrived in view of the shack and the soldier stopped in his tracks, grabbing the gun at his hips. Before he had managed to push the trigger, a kunai was lodged expertly in his eye, killing him instantly.
The man fell to the ground in a loud thump, breaking both kids out from their shocked state. Shisui couldn't see Zabuza's face as he retracted his arm from the throw, but he imagined well the bloodthirsty expression the large man sported under his bandages.
"W…Who are you?" managed to say the brown haired boy as he drew a sword from his back. He seemed scared, but still placed himself between Zabuza and the girl. Bodyguard then.
A new presence sped into the forest. Shisui tensed immediately. The new arrival was fast. Shisui knew fast and whoever it was that was speeding through the trees was faster than most ninja he'd ever seen.
It had to be a Teigu user.
He knew that the others would have noticed it as well. He observed as Zabuza's relaxed demeanor shifted slightly, tensing as the other presence sped in their direction, almost there. It wasn't perceptible to the kids who had never known the man, but he was getting ready for a fight. They all were.
As the brown haired-boy was shouting at Zabuza nonsense, the Teigu user finally arrived. The girl landed in a crouch, her black hair falling all around her face. She was dressed completely in black. Shisui couldn't see her eyes, or her face, but she looked completely normal. The only thing menacing was the katana she held in her hands, a blade already soaked in blood.
The young girl screamed as the black-haired Teigu user lifted her head in her direction. The young boy put himself in front of the girl as they both backed away towards the forest. The black-haired girl stayed in place, her eyes fixed on Zabuza.
The large man faked adjusting his bandages to send a slight signal to Shisui. He wanted to know if he had to engage her. He signalled him to wait. The brown-haired boy wasn't of any help and was merely a useless obstacle for them. He did tell him to intervene before the blond girl was killed. If she was the last one of her family, she might know something about the ninja killed. Zabuza didn't react outwardly, simply diverting his eyes back to the black-haired girl who was still staring at him, crouched on the ground.
"You and the boy are not targets. Don't intervene." Her voice was clear and carried through the clearing. It sounded passive, detached in a way, but there was an edge in it. A threat. One Shisui felt she could absolutely back up.
Zabuza cocked his head to the side, "Don't know who the kid is, simply guarding the murder-shack from everyone. Don't really care what happens to him either, so whatever."
The black-haired girl paused before nodding once. The brown-haired boy repeated "Murder-shack?" questioningly. The blond girl stayed silent, her eyes still fixed on the older girl. She hadn't been surprised. She knew about the torture chamber.
They needed to question her.
The black-haired girl jumped toward the two kids at the same time that a small yelp was heard in the forest. He recognized the signal for what it was. Someone else was approaching. As soon as he looked back at the path he saw another girl, this one way more exotic than the first. She had long blond hair flowing down her shoulders with small ears with fur on top of her head. Her hands were paws reminiscent of a lion. She also had a tail gently waiving behind her.
She was another Teigu user for sure.
The black-haired girl jumped over the boy, but he still managed to attack her before she reached the other girl. Shisui saw that Zabuza had stopped leaning, his body in full-on action mode. The new girl walked in the clearing and leaned on a tree, content to watch the events unfold.
The boy tried his hardest to defeat the black-haired katana user, but she was obviously much better than him. He wasn't all that bad, especially since he lacked the capacity of using special moves, but she was something else. Her fluidity in her movements and the sheer ability with the sword was a beauty to watch. Shisui was impressed by her skill. Even someone like Mifune might have some problems clashing blades with her.
The girl with animal parts started to walk slowly towards the fight. Shisui followed her movements with his eyes, prepared to act himself in case she tried anything. As the girl neared the fight, the black-haired girl got bored of the fight and simply out sped the boy, aiming for his heart.
The blond girl grabbed her and dragged her back, making her miss her attack by a mere inch.
"Now now, Akame, it's not polite to try and kill other people than our targets," she said in a joyous tone, "Besides, I owe him a favor and I think he'd like to cash in now."
The boy seemed to recognize her at those words as he pointed to her, "Hey! You're that girl that stole all of my money!"
The blond girl simply laughed, "That's on you kid, you don't give a stranger all of your money willingly." The kid didn't look any less accusatory. Shisui shifted on his branch. Whatever happened next, he needed to stay ready. These people were not to be underestimated.
She pointed at Zabuza with her claw, "Who's the hunk?"
Shisui swore he saw the man's chest straighten out at the compliment.
"No idea," replied Akame, "He said he wasn't intervening and he was protecting the murder shack."
The blond girl didn't seem surprised, which confirmed the hypothesis that this was some sort of special police squad for terrible crimes. She winked at Zabuza. The large man made an amused grunt as his only answer. She shifted her attention to the boy in front. He still held his sword in front of him loosely.
Not that it mattered.
"Hey, kid, why you protecting blondie?" she asked the boy.
"You killed her parents!" said the boy heatedly, "You're assassins! I know you, you're Night Raid."
The blond girl merely grinned at him, "Yeah, but so is she."
The parents were dead. That was bad news for their investigations. The importance of the blond girl had risen to crucial.
From his perch, he made a few hand signals. He didn't see Hana nor Kakashi, but he knew they were at the very least capable. They knew to stay hidden in the field of vision of their superior to easily communicate orders.
Zabuza shifted from his lean on the door taking a few steps forward. "I don't think so,"
"You don't believe me?" answered the blond woman, "All the proof is inside the barn you're protecting honey."
He shook his head, "Nah, it's good, I've seen what's inside."
She gave him a grin, "Well the kid hasn't, and he needs to understand that blondie here's the worst kind of murderer."
"Like hell she is," protested the boy as the young blond girl pleaded for him to protect her. Her fear was genuine, but Shisui could almost see the dark side of the blond girl in front of him, her sadistic side.
"Go take a peek inside that shack then," she said, starting to walk towards Zabuza. When she reached the man he took a step in her way, his arms crossed before his chest.
"I don't think you understood me. Nobody goes inside."
The blond girl threw him an unamused look, "Step aside big guy, I don't like hurting cute guys."
Zabuza didn't bulge, his face still made of stone.
"You heard who we were, right?" she asked him, a bit shocked he was still in her way. One could hear the building frustration in her tone. "There's no need to be cocky here, you don't have to die for that family. They're already dead anyway."
Zabuza shrugged, "I don't care," he grumbled.
She had a little laugh, "So what then, you want to fight us for no reason, to prove yourself, is that it? You want to prove that you're stronger than everybody else and that you're a man? Just because you have a big sword doesn't mean anything if you don't know how to use it."
Ah.
Things were taking a turn.
Zabuza looked annoyed and Shisui could see that his body had tensed with her words. Zabuza wasn't the most level-headed person in the world. If she continued…
Well, things would end up much uglier than needed.
"Oh, I know how to use it, little girl," he said with contempt. "You just wouldn't be able to take it."
The blond woman started to laugh at that. "You know, you really shouldn't antagonize people stronger than you. I've heard it's bad for your health."
Shisui could imagine Zabuza's face at the moment. It was probably equalled parts annoyed and entertained at the same time. That was the recipe for disaster.
"You know, I haven't fought anybody in a while that really gave me a good workout. I think you'll do."
Their eyes locked in one another. The tension that was already palpable rose dramatically as both killing intent started to drip more and more, fighting for their rightful place.
The tension peaked after a moment and the rise had a lull. The proverbial calm before the storm.
Shisui sighed once before it finally broke. Then, everybody moved.
The blond woman grinned as she pounced on Zabuza, her fist closing in on his stomach. He blocked her hit with his arm and launched a kick at her head after. She evaded easily and slashed at him using her claws. Zabuza sidestepped the attack, using the distance to finally draw his sword in a flash. The blond woman blackflipped out of reach as the large black weapon slashed the space she occupied the moment before.
Using the momentum of the attack, Zabuza stepped forward, the weight of the sword apparently no object. He swiped at her again as she fell on the defensive, surprised at Zabuza's speed.
She didn't take long to overcome that surprise. She dangled her head in his reach and bated a quick swipe. The moment the blade came past her, she was on him, her claws aimed directly at his throat.
She never managed to touch him. She threw herself on the floor without grace as she evaded Kakashi's sudden attack. His tento slashed the empty air. He didn't follow through, the blond woman simply backing with a few jumps out of their reach.
The moment she landed on the ground, Akame had enough with waiting. She used the knob of her katana to strike at the boy's head. He never saw it coming, his attention on the beginning of the fight between the people next to the shack. He hadn't even fell to the ground that she was on the blond girl, her sword shining in the light of night.
Shisui activated his Sharingan with a mere thought, the red spinning orbs appearing in his eyes. Without a moment wasted he used his favorite technique, the Body Flicker.
He appeared directly in front of her.
She reacted immediately by slashing forward. He was surprised by her reflexes, but he was ready for it. He ducked under the arc of the blade and advanced into her guard to catch her arm in extension solidly.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said his voice hard. A small gasp behind him was the only sound he heard from Hana's arrival. Her kunai was held solidly under the girl's throat as three dogs stood guard between Akame and the blond girl.
"Who the fuck are you guys?" asked the girl with claws. She was standing in a fighting stance, her whole body tensed as she looked straight at both Kakashi and Zabuza.
"Who we are is of no importance," answered Shisui smoothly, "we cannot allow you to enter the shack or kill the blond girl. We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience."
"She is our target," stated Akame, darkly.
Shisui nodded once, "I understand. Sadly, she might have information important to us. I must insist that you not kill her. If it helps, she'll die before long we promise."
Akame looked at him coldly, her eyes not betraying any emotions. He would have been spooked if he hadn't been a ninja. Fortunately, cold eyes and a killing intent was almost a prerequisite for ninjas in general.
"We are going to kill our target," she said simply.
Zabuza snorted, "Kinda stuck on that, isn't she."
The blond girl glared at him, "You know, I wasn't going to try and kill you, but you're kind of pissing me off."
His sheer presence exploded out of him. The blond girl gasped once more behind Shisui. The feral looking girl took a step back. Even Akame gave him a single glance. "I'd really like to see you try," he growled, his hands clutching his giant sword.
"No."
Zabuza looked at him like a child who had been taken his toys, "But… Why?"
Shisui hadn't left Akame out of her sights. He knew a moment of inattention could prove fatal against someone of her caliber. "We're not here to pick a fight. We follow the plan. Kakashi," he called.
The gray-haired man understood immediately what he needed to do, as Shisui expected. Kakashi's right eye was already uncovered, the Sharingan in display for all to see. The three black tomoes spun lightly in the red colored iris.
The pattern opened. The three small dots shifted into long streaks of black, connected by a slim circle.
The blond Teigu user tensed at the change.
He turned away from her, focusing on the young blond girl. Hana took a step back just a moment before a distortion around the girl started to ripple. The distortion started to spin on itself for a second and the girl, at the center of the ripple, only managed to let a small cry out before she was sucked into Kamui's pocket dimension.
The next second, the girl was completely gone. Kakashi clutched his eye with a small grunt. His face was pained.
Kakashi's grunt broke Akame out of her trance.
She dropped her sword, catching it with her other hand and used Shisui's grip to duck underneath his arm, her sword aimed at his stomach.
He let her hand out of his grasp and jumped over her, landing just behind her, his body already in motion. He dashed away, using his famed speed to create some distance. She chased him, swiping at him as he evaded her blows.
He was surprised at her skill. She was getting faster and faster, showing that she hadn't been fighting seriously with the young boy. Of course, he was still faster. He danced out of her reach, his spinning Sharingan predicting each move she made before she even had executed it.
Her sword slashed at him, aiming in a direct arc towards his throat. She wasn't playing nice anymore. He could see how she was considered an assassin. She was targeting fatal weak points.
The sword twirled in her hand, the grasp changing on the guard. She launched herself again, now trying to pierce his heart. He evaded to the side, his Sharingan still twirling in his eyes. She had changed styles extremely smoothly. Just who was that girl?
Still, she was in bad luck. He was the perfect counter match for someone like her.
He wasn't analysing her fighting style. He was predicting each move without fail. He saw her move in slow-motion compared to him. He didn't attack her, content with merely evading her blows.
He pushed himself off the ground, jumping back in the air. He used the second he had gained of breathing room to watch over the battlefield. Kakashi and Hana were nowhere to be seen, as was to be expected. Zabuza was entertaining his foe using a complete different tactic from Shisui. Where he had decided to merely evade her, Zabuza had apparently decided that attack was the best way to go. The blond girl and he were trading large blows, each sending the other flying each time. He looked pretty roughed up, but Shisui could see he was grinning underneath the bandages. The blond girl was in worse shape; his sword had left his mark on her. Weirdly enough, it didn't really seem to be bothering her. She was moving with both speed and agility.
His inattention almost cost him his life. He saw, in the corner of his eyes the metallic glint. He threw himself forward, the tip of the blade swooshing over his head as he rolled on the ground. She didn't let up. She attacked him again, her sword moving even faster now that he was at a disadvantage.
Under pressure, one could only lash out.
He switched direction on a dime, surprising the black-haired girl. She took a second to follow him. It was the opening he needed.
He used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing at high speed in front of her. He didn't stop his momentum, going too fast to do so. Instead, he used it again just as he collided with her to appear straight behind her. The switch was so fast, an afterimage was created. His body crashed into hers, sending her tumbling back. He appeared back behind her. He kicked her squarely in the middle of the back, sending her back forward.
He flickered again back to his previous position, his fist already moving. He connected with her jaw, sending her straight in the air. His hands blurred in front of him. He put one in front of his mouth and breathed out the air he had been storing.
It came out as a big fireball, colliding with the still falling girl. The explosion of fire sent her tumbling on the ground, her body fuming at certain places. She looked out of the fight for now.
Or, she would have had she been someone else.
Instead, she simply jumped back on her feet, her injuries forgotten as her steely eyes stared directly through Shisui.
Silence fell on the clearing. He looked around to see that both Zabuza and the blond girl were staring at him. Zabuza looked to be surprised. Maybe the Fireball had been a touch too much.
He opened his mouth to talk, but he was interrupted by someone else.
"Yo."
He turned around to see Obito striding from the forest without a care in the world. A guy was laid over his shoulder, clearly unconscious. He dropped him to the ground unceremoniously, causing the blonde girl to gasp as she saw him. His hair was green and relatively short.
"Sorry, took a bit long, this one tried to tie me up. Was pretty funny really."
Akame dashed his way, in front of him in barely a second. Her slash of the sword was well-aimed, directly at his throat. A sure-kill for anyone who wasn't Obito.
The sword simply passed through his throat, continuing its perfect arc. Obito didn't move, he simply hummed gently. "Yeah, that's not going to work."
Akame looked at him with wide eyes, shocked.
"Obito, take care of the barn. Zabuza prepare for exfiltration, I'll deal with the other two myself.
Obito saluted and started to jog towards the barn. Akame tried to spin into another attack, but Shisui was already there, kicking her straight in the stomach. She used the force of the blow to backflip away from him, her sword never stopping in its arc as she aimed once more for Shisui.
Zabuza evaded a strike from the girl with claws and jumped back, his eyes closed in concentration.
She growled, "Don't underestimate me," before lunging at him. Shisui flickered in front of her, his punch already making contact. He hadn't even finished striking her that he flickered back to Akame who was going after Obito, landing a kick on her head. He flickered back to the blonde to kick her feet from under her. The woman tried to turn and catch him with her claws, but she hit merely the air as he dropkicked Akame from behind once more. She vaulted and slashed with her sword, almost catching him. Only his reflexes saved his life as he dropped to the ground.
Akame proved to be somewhat of a challenge, even with the help of the sharingan. She was fast and able enough to pose a threat. Shisui rolled as the blade stabbed in the grass where he lied.
He saw movement in the corner of his eyes and flickered away just as the claws would have ripped his back apart.
"Shit," swore the blond girl, slowly rising from the ground, "He's fast"
Akame stood next to her and nodded. "It does not matter. He will be buried."
Shisui didn't answer. He had to go to the next level. He couldn't simply move and weave between their attacks. They were both Teigu users. That made them supremely dangerous.
He flashed through hand-signs and blew multiple fireballs at his opponent.
"What?" shouted the blond girl before throwing herself to the side. Akame weaved between the bolts of fire, her agility serving her greatly. The bolts landed on the ground and the fire went out, revealing seven kunais etched into the ground. On each kunai, a string of metal was attached that all lead to his mouth.
Both girls merely had the time to look surprised before he completed his technique.
"Fire Release : Cage of Hell"
Fire coursed from the metal strings between his teeth towards the ground. The blond girl was fine on the side of the trap, but Akame was circled by strings. When the fire reached her, he made a final hand-sign.
The trap exploded.
"Akame!"
The explosion was bigger than Shisui had expected when devising that technique. The blast made both the blonde girl and Shisui unstable. He had to crouch to keep his footing.
That was the only thing that saved his life.
The tree next to him was shattered as the sound of a lone gun resonated in the clearing. Shisui didn't wait to see the shooter, he bolted.
Not even flickering, he used his maximum speed to fly through the clearing faster than most could follow. A single look showed him that the shack was ablaze. They needed to leave. If the other Teigu users were on their way back, he didn't know if he'd be able to win.
"Zabuza!" he said with a strong voice.
The big man's answer came in the form of a thick mist that filled the clearing, obscuring the view for everyone. He heard a couple of swears from the other side of the clearing where he had left the blond-haired woman with the claws. The mist was much too thick for them to see him moving.
Of course, his team were used to fight in the mist and didn't need their eyes to feel their way around.
He landed on a branch next to Zabuza. A moment later, Obito appeared next to them. He saluted lazily. Shisui didn't spare him any attention.
He could still hear the blond woman screaming something through the mist, even if the mist made it hard to pinpoint the exact location.
"They're lost," said Zabuza with his gruff voice, "they are looking for us on the other side of the clearing."
Shisui nodded. He lifted his hand in the air and let it fall back down. They all dashed away from the branch, speeding through the trees at high speed, all the while staying silent.
The three ninjas escaped through the forest, leaving the Teigu users behind them. They kept a good pace, escaping without a sound in the canopy of trees. Their attention was all on their back, trying to perceive if they were being followed.
It was soon clear that the Teigu users were not on their tail.
Obito whistled as they travelled towards the meeting point, annoying Zabuza for his own fun. Shisui felt the tension in his body decrease as they fled. The mission was a success, even if the fight had started to escalate at the end. The bodies had been burned, they had captured the last living member of the family to interrogate and they had managed to do all that without creating a diplomatic incident.
At least, he hoped.
The Teigu users were a mystery to him. The way they had been mentioned, the 'Night Raid' were some sort of black ops team. They probably worked for the Empire, considering their status as Teigu users, the fact that people were able to identify them easily and their sheer skill.
The one thing that felt wrong, was that black ops team were not used to dispatch murderers or rich people. That was a job for the police force or the army. And no assassins worth a damn would have a sniper that loud on their team or had a girl who's whole thing looked like punching people. The whole thing didn't feel right.
Somehow, he knew that something had just become way more complicated.
A/N : Alright! Another story begun! To be completely honest, the stories I'm publishing right now have been written in the past two years at some point. I just have a problem of trying to perfect every aspect of each story so I end up never publishing anything.
So. This is the beginning of my new resolution of publishing as I write. There's follow up chapters coming for each of my recent stories don't worry about it. it will come as I write them, but I'll get around to it.
I may have another story I publish before the end of the session, but I'll try to write a second chapter for most of them in the Christmas break. Or I won't. I'm really not the best with deadlines.