A/N: I have a possible story floating around in my head nonstop and decided to see if anyone would be interested in reading.
Let me know if you would like to read more or if it is total BS.
(I re-edited this chapter since I posted it originally at 1am in its super rough stage.)
As always, the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto . Enjoy!
Tears stained her cheeks as she sprinted through the canopy. Leaves barely rustled as she jumped from branch to branch. The air was thick and hot, even though the sun was well past its high point. Sweat dripped down her neck, causing one of her many injuries to sting. Blood was starting to soak through the scraps of clothes she had on. With a diagnosis, she was able to evaluate her state. A broken rib, a few minor lacerations, obvious bruising, tearing and blood loss. None of which she could afford to heal at this moment. Chakra was crucial at this point. A few womanly injuries and flesh wounds wouldn't kill her. Hinder her, yes. Kill, not so much. Her anxieties were growing along with the darkening shadows of the forest. The current situation was not looking very promising. She had reached the last portion of her chakra reserves and they were still following her.
Two familiar malicious aura flared against the edge of her senses. The forest was quickly becoming saturated in them. Any living creature with decent instinct in a 10-mile radius had fled or gone into hiding. An eerie silence spread through the forest, making the hair at the back of her neck stand on end. Another sudden stab of pain in her thigh caused her to stumble. A branch snagged the already tattered shirt, ripping out a chunk of mesh. The newly revealed skin of her stomach burned as the material snagged a wound as well.
"Fuck!" She swore under her breath.
The last thing she needed was to leave evidence of her existence along with a fresh scent trail. All the weapons she had taken with her were gone. There had been no time to even think of grabbing any. She saw an opening when they became distracted and acted. It was the only chance she would have had. Just thinking about the recent chain of events made her stomach churn. This was precisely why she did not accept espionage missions of any kind. As far as she was concerned, her luck was too terrible and seduction was definitely not her forte. However, they seemed to disagree.
The mission had gone south…way south. BAD. Very bad. It was not often that she abandoned the few missions she was given. This, however, was turning out to be a first for most things. Including the response time of her partner. It felt like hours since she had sent out the SOS.
He should have been here by now…Where is he?! She thought desperately. Quickly preforming another brief scan of her surroundings, she noticed the forest becoming denser. There seemed to be a light break in the trees. From there her journey would become more trying.
Fear began to work its way into her mind and mingle with her anxiety. It was not often that she needed help. This however, was definitely one of those rare times. Even she was intellectual enough to admit her shortcomings.
I need to get a handle on this situation. She started a mental conversation with herself. Her injuries were catching up to her. The throbbing between her thighs and the bite marks were not helping any. She tried to push the more troublesome thoughts to the back of her mind. I'll deal with that later.
Her balance slipped once more as a loud crack echoed throughout the forest. A sudden explosion in the distance knocked her onto a lower branch. The rough bark ripped into her hands as she righted herself. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, she took off. The bone chilling growl that followed shattered the silence and caused a heavy feeling to settle into the pit of her stomach.
Without a second thought she created a shadow clone and sent it in the opposite direction. With half of the reserve she had left, she was able to incorporate a chakra signature within the clone. The flickering signature would be enough to mimic her own chakra state. Aside from scent, there would be little to no way to distinguish between her and her clone. The perks to having perfect chakra control.
Fuck this damned mission. Fuck those damned Uchihas! Stupid Sharingan, Rinnegan, time travel. Alternate dimensions. Demon Rabbit Goddess, Jinchuuriki bullshit! All of it. I hate shinobis! She continued to herself.
She was completely out of her element now. The whole mission had been a mistake. Her lead on that damned snake had gone dry right before they had stumbled onto her…or her onto them. It had all happened way too fast. The diamond seal between her brows was faded now. The slight tingle informed her of its near depletion.
She was in foreign territory and her backup was missing. This mission had started out in Sand or near it. She had fled the village, run through a small sand storm at one point, and now she was in a forest. It had to have been over half a day of being chased. No, hunted.
How the fuck does your partner…your "cousin" as he so fondly dubs himself, go missing on a damned mission to a different dimension! Fuck. Those. Uchihas. Fuck Shisui. Fuck Itachi. It's his fault Shisui is able to use the Jikūkan Ninjutsu. I am going to break their noses when I get my hands on them. She cracked her bleeding knuckles at the thought.
A chunk of metal whizzed past her ear taking a lock of blonde hair with it. She dodged to the side quick enough to prevent anything crucial from being hit.
Damnit! Her face scrunched up in distain. I got caught up in my thoughts and completely lost track of their positions. She quickly gathered her composure.
The branch under her feet bowed with the sudden pressure of her leap. She dove to the underbrush and swiftly made the appropriate hand signs for a low level genjutsu. At least it would blur her position and hide her scent. Her reserves were out now. The diamond had completely faded and the band-like seals on her left forearm were starting to burn. That was definitely a reservoir she had no desire to tap into. A can of worms that hurt to think of.
The piece of metal buried into the tree across the clearing glinted in the fading sunlight. Seconds later it seemed to melt into pieces and shoot away. If the metal was any indication, she had a good idea of who she was going to have to deal with first. The other was most likely after her clone. There were enough shadows to give him the upper hand. She would have surely been captured by now otherwise.
He is going to be pissed when he realized that he was tricked by something as trivial as a shadow clone. She knew the situation was serious, but she could not help but snicker to herself at the thought. This feels so surreal…like a bad nightmare that I am having trouble waking up from. I am completely and utterly FUCKED! Damn, Hidan seems to have rubbed off on me a bit. Sensei is going to be less than pleased with my "crude and improper" language.
Her train of thought was interrupted by a rustle in the distance. She strained her eyes to see through the shrubbery as the sound of heavy breathing and a low rumble reached her ears. He was not even trying to hide his position at this point. He seemed to know she was close. His chakra flared violently causing a trickle of fresh fear to flare up her spine.
…Shukaku?! She recognized the chakra signature now. Things were starting to slowly fall into place. The new puzzle pieces were causing her blood pressure to rise.
He wasn't supposed to have been a jinchuuriki! We did all the research, unless our intel had intentionally left out information or been compromised, this should not have been possible. I am screwed. There is no way I am going to get out of this…
Her hand flew to the bloody bite mark at the junction between her neck and shoulder. The other to the bite mark on her inner thigh, near her femoral artery. She started to have a panic attack as the situation finally sunk home.
Those assholes marked me! Her hands tightened around the marks. Fury chased away the fear and anxiety as it raced through her veins.
She knew enough about seals and jinchuuriki to understand that this was bad. Very bad. One mark was heard of. Given her past, her parentage in general, it was a likely outcome she would have had to face at some point. Two marks should not have been possible. The other shouldn't have been able to do this. She was sure he wasn't a jinchuuriki. Two marks should have never been possible. There wasn't a scroll or soul throughout the ages that mentioned otherwise. She felt hopeless.
The crunching of dried leaves was getting closer. The little hallow she had hid in was cold and dark. The sun had lowered to the horizon. Shadows were pitch black and the few straggling rays of sun did little to quell the ominous atmosphere. The sound of tiny metal particles moving along the forest floor grew louder. They were moving further away from their master in search of his prey.
He cannot smell me, she realized. He is using his bloodline limit to try and feel me out. This must mean he cannot sense me through the mark either. Curious, since according to the scrolls, jinchuuriki could use the mark to find their chosen through time and space. A bit of relief flooded her veins with the realization. Of course not! The process was not exactly finished…. or reciprocated.
Her hands fell from their position as tears pricked her eyes once more. However, before they could fall, she viciously scrubbed at her cheeks. I never cried. Never. Not once since he took me in. I am 25 years old. I am too old to cry. The Namikazes do not cry. She tried to console herself. I did not bite one of them. there is still a chance to fix this.
The metallic taste that lingered on her mouth was most likely from when she bit her tongue. The thought didn't seem to give her much hope though. There was a pressure along the edge of her conscious and a light throbbing at her inner thigh that suggested otherwise.
The crunching of foliage brought her back to the present. She stopped breathing and held her breath all together. The sun was gone now. A deep growl shattered the silence of the night once more.
"I know you are here," he growled out. "I think you are missing part of your…. shirt." He chuckled darkly as he threw the mesh rag onto the floor of the clearing. "You belong to us now, princess." There was a slight hint of barely suppressed rage lacing his words. "I intend to finish what we started."
From the hallow of the tree her body froze completely. The all too familiar pet name held an unspoken promise as it fell from his lips. It did nothing to conceal the blatant threat that followed. Ice crawled up her spine as fear once gripped her once more. She could make out his silhouette now. The iron sand moved slowly around his figure. It gathered to mimicking the form of a cloak. His fists clenched and unclenched as he scanned his surroundings. The distinct red paint of his face reflected the moon's glow as he cocked his head to the side. He moved his hand up and stroked something between his fingers as if deep in thought. The object shimmered in the moonlight. Her fallen lock of hair was wrapped around his fingers. The thought made something primal shift in her. It didn't seem as though he had transformed…yet. His chakra fluctuated dangerously back and forth between normal and demonic.
He was too close. Far too close. Her spine stiffened with the growing threat. I was almost free from this horrible nightmare! This was not how this mission was supposed to go down... At least there is only one of them. If there is only one, there may be some hope left.
She had yet to feel the distinct shock that came with the loss of one's clone. Of course, at that moment, she felt a sharp flare through her system. With the newly acquired memories from her clone, she had approximately 5 minutes before the other one made his appearance.
Double damn. I have to find a way out of here before the second one shows up.
It was cold and the deadly cocktail of blood loss, chakra depletion and shock were causing the edge of her vision to darken. In a last ditch attempt at survival, she groped around slowly at the ground. Her hand grasped a stone. She chucked the stone into the distance. The genjutsu was still strong enough to hide the initial throw of the stone.
It seemed the man was still caught up in the chase. In under a second he had disappeared towards the sound in a blur. The metal particles of his cloak ripping through leaves in the distance.
Quickly she shot up from her position and ran. Twigs slashed at her bare thighs. The last bit of her braid was yanked out as she brushed past a cluster of tightly knit branches. The mark on her thigh burned painfully. At this point she did not care if she made any noise. Her main objective was to get away. Far away. All those grueling hours with her sensei were pointless in the wake of her immediate terror.
Faster than she could comprehend a black shape materialized in front of her. She ran straight into a solid chest. A hand was over her mouth cutting off her desperate cry. She tried to wrench herself away. All her attempts at freedom were easily parried. She was spun around causing the air to leave her lungs as her back slammed into a hard chest once more. There was an arm pinning hers to her side. She could see a few tendrils of onyx hair brush over her shoulder.
The figure behind her tensed as he assessed the damage. The shredded clothes barely hanging onto her frame, the blood, the bruises, her mussed hair loose from its usual braid…the bite marks…both of them. The firm grip kept her upright as her knees buckled with the sudden surge from one of her marks. His grip tightened almost painfully for a brief moment. There were two malevolent chakra signatures approaching at inhuman speed.
"I almost didn't recognize you without your pink hair." He chuckled lowly. Then in a deadly tone, "My traps will not keep them long. We are getting out of here…. You're safe now."
An enraged howl broke through the night. The shadows seemed to solidify into darker shapes that ripped up the trees blocking their path. From the new opening an iron claw rushed towards them. Her world titled on its axis when he swept her up; instinctively knowing she was too drained to hold her own any longer. As the world began to swirl away, she finally gave into the darkness.