a/n: CW for gore and cannibalism. Probably not (well, most definitely not) how Gai really is, but it was fun to write.
Souma had thought the mission they had been assigned stunk like a rotten fish when he had originally read it over. Fifteen Jounin level ninja's being assigned to take down two of Konoha's ninja? Teenagers at that? True, they were in the middle of a war, but even for a war assignment it seemed like too much. Two kids couldn't possibly have that much information to warrant fifteen adults to go after them.
Though, now that he got a good look at them, it was probably going to be a very easy assignment. The white-haired kid that had picked up a nickname for himself as 'The Copycat' was already exhausted and leaning against a tree. Even from the distance Souma was hiding at, it was clear that the Copycat was suffering from Chakra Exhaustion. Shaking limbs, erratic breathing- all very clear signs.
The guy beside him was a complete joke, as far as he could tell. Hair cropped short in a bowl cut, bright green one-piece spandex 'clothes' except for a pink allegiance symbol tied around his waist and bright orange legwarmers… Yep. He was a complete joke. He was probably still a genin. Couldn't be anything higher then that. But if he was with the famed Copycat…
The Joke glanced back, eyes scanning the trees. There was an easy smile on his face, like he didn't think anything was wrong. Which, if they were doing their job correctly, he wouldn't think there was anything wrong even when his head was sailing through the air.
Souma crouched on his chosen tree branch, watching the two for a moment. Joke stared at the trees for a few moments longer, before he turned back to Copycat. Souma could see his mouth moving, and he squinted, trying to lip read.
It was hard, with the sun glinting obnoxiously off of teeth, but it was doable. Something about leaving, taking care… and easy? Had Joke figured out they were there? It didn't seem possible, but he was with Copycat…
Souma glanced over to the mission leader. The Leader was frowning at the two. He lifted a hand, quickly signing out, "1, 3, 5, 11, 14- go around and cut off their line of escape. 2 and 6 take out the green guy." Good old paranoid Ebi. He never took many chances, even when two people versus the Joke seemed like too much.
The Copycat nodded abruptly, and shot off through the forest like a bolt of lightning. A curse fell out of one of his teammates lips at the sight. "Chase him!"
The five members originally assigned to cutting off their escape took a step forward.
That was when a tree exploded completely on its own.
Correction, Souma's shock hazed mind thought, it didn't explode on its own. Joke had shot forward in less then a second to punch the tree to make it explode. Souma could see twin columns of dust rising into the air from where Joke had originally been standing.
The orange legwarmers were missing. Don't tell me that those were weapons! Souma jumped back three branches, eyes scanning the battlefield. There was half a hand poking out of the slowly darkening wood chips. The rest of the body was… huh. Not half bad. The kid had managed to punch an entire half of the body away, giving Souma a clear view of lungs slowly filling with blood. Half a heart weakly fluttered- pain clouded eyes blinked, unable to form a scream of pain. The small intestines scattered outside of the body.
The kid wasn't fooling around. Souma hesitated, trying to decide whether or not to chase after Copycat. Two of his teammates darted to the side, clearly making their decision. Joke moved sideways with them almost faster than the eye could track.
The sound of ribs shattering inwards and lungs filling with blood filled the air. The Joke whirled, a flash of green that slammed into the back of his teammates head. The man dropped without even being able to start screaming. Gray brain stained the back of a foot as it continued on its path to the ground. The green… child drew himself in, taking up a fighting stance, peering directly at the others hiding in the trees.
His smile hadn't dimmed one whit.
"Rush him."
Souma hesitated as the others rushed forward. To kill off taijutsu users, one usually used long-range weapons. Not really a good idea with how fast the kid was-
A arm went flying past his ear, as a blur of green ducked water and lightning. Souma drew his blade, watching the fight from a distance. Fire whooshed past a ear, barely missing the short cropped hair. A bandaged hand slammed into a face, and with a sickening crunch, came out stained gray.
The others were beginning to close in now, not quite close enough to mess up each other's attacks, but enough to start pressing him. The kid darted back a few steps, footing sure as the ground twisted and rumbled beneath him. He dodged a earth spear shooting up out of the ground, and lashed out with a fist to take care of a clone.
Takashi ran forward, ice blade slashing out sideways. Cling! A Nunchaku caught the blade. The kid held back the blade for a brief second, before using his foot to kick dirt into Takashi's eyes. Takashi stumbled back- and died beneath three accurate punches.
Souma swore softly to himself, as the twins of the group rushed in together, trusting that their double act would take care of the kid. The first twin went up, over and- The kid didn't have human movements. He twisted like some kind of cornered, wild animal to slam his fist into the twin's back, sending him flying. This one wasn't enough to kill in one shot- the twins had on armor. It was enough to make the armor dent under the strain. Wasn't it chakra enhanced armor to boot?
This kid…
Souma watched as his comrades died one by one, feeling absolutely zero need to jump in and help. At first it was simply confidence- now it was because he wasn't sure if he wanted to tangle with the wild creature in a human disguise.
The thought was cemented when his commander pinned the beasts hand with a kunai. It tore straight through flesh, pinning it too the tree behind. Chakra glowed, sealing the hand to the tree. "The only way you're getting that hand free is if you or I die, and I got your main weapon pinned. This is the en-"
His voice cut out abruptly, sliding away like the fountain of blood that erupted from his throat. The chakra flickered weakly. The Beast looked up, mouth covered in blood. The bright red artery dangled from between his teeth like a limp noodle. Souma locked eyes with the Beast, aware he was the last one left.
The Beast's grin was still there, lips peeled back from blood teeth. He- It- slurped, the artery snaking up like a udon noodle. Part of the trachea was visible in its open mouth. Souma tensed, wondering if the beast was going to spit it at him. The chakra flickered, vanished.
It swallowed the mouthful of throat.
Souma decided he'd seen enough, and fled.
"It's the Beast! The Blue Beast!"
Gai's head cocked to one side as he whirled, and kicked. Ebisu backed up slightly, spitting blood and a tooth out. "Beast? Who are they referring too?"
The question was answered when one of the Sound-nin's gestured to Gai, roaring, "Get the Beast first!"
Ebisu immediately cleared the area around Gai, letting Gai move freely as Ebisu went after the commander. "Nice nickname Gai! What did you do to earn it?"
"They must have been astounded at my grace and ferociousness!" Gai shouted back cheerfully, though his usual smile was gone. Ebisu snorted dryly. They had probably seen Gai's eating habits.