Ch. 2 Ice in Their Veins
A week later Jin and Yuruyasha were drifting down a river to the Whirlpool country. The boatman warily looked up at the cloaked men he was carrying down the river.
He had met them a few days ago in a small village in the Fire country they had approached him early in the morning, offering him a great sum to sail them into the Whirlpool. Until he saw the money in hand he had refused to take them; the Whirlpool was a war zone, only an idiot would willingly take someone into that place. Sadly he was a poor man and needed the money to survive.
Now he sat in his boat traveling down the river with these two men to almost certain death at the hands of the Blood Mist. He shivered, a chill wind set down upon them.
"So, uh... why are you two headed to that war zone?"
"Business." The bulkier of the two said. The slimmer of the pair grinned, pulling a cigarette from beneath his cloak. When he lit it the boatman saw the Konoha leaf shine off of his forehead protector. "Are you shinobi? You two look familiar."
"We are shinobi," The slimmer man puffed out a cloud of smoke. "But if you had seen us before you wouldn't have forgotten our faces."
"Oh. Sorry." The slimmer man glanced back at the boatman, he felt a chill run down his spine, as those dark eyes probed into his. He's scary. A moment later a fog began to fall over the river.
The slim man grinned. "It's about time."
"Yep they've been following us for a while now… and this is classic mist jutsu." The brawny one agreed. The two pulled away their cloaks, revealing Konoha green flak jackets and each carried a katana across his back. The mist continued to roll in, thickening, and the boatman began to hear movement on the banks, many feet moving at once.
"I count twenty on the east bank." The slim man said.
"Yeah, same on the west." The bigger one said.
The slim man took a drag on his cigarette, "I also sense something odd about one of them."
"A kekkei genkai?"
"Probably." He grinned, "Maybe he'll be worth killing." He tossed the dying embers of his cigarette butt into the river, hissing loudly. They drew their swords. "The winds?"
"East and West?"
"Sure." Each raised his sword up, "Blast of the East Wind!" The slim one yelled out as the bulkier one yelled, "Slash of the West Wind!"
The Winds around the slim man rushed violently toward the bank, while the large man slashed toward the opposite bank, ripping the wind open, and turning it into a mighty blade, slashing through the trees and rocks effortlessly.
Kasumi watched as the two wind jutsus ripped through her men. A smile crept across her face. "Those jutsus are unique to the Shojjono family of Konoha. So these are the Kamikaze brothers. They've improved." She cracked her knuckles, she had been waiting for a real challenge to float down the river.
"If they are the Kamikaze brothers wouldn't it be best to flee before they kill us?" Her lieutenant asked. She looked down at the young jonin. His grey skin nearly camouflaged him in the growing mist, his black hair flying off the top of his head, white bandages wrapped around his mouth, chin and neck.
"No Zabuza." It is our duty to make sure that no one reaches the Whirlpool Village, and we already failed once, Takeshi won't let us live again if we fail."
"But those attacks alone took out nearly half of our men!" Zabuza exclaimed. "Facing them is death! There is a reason that they are flee on sight, together they command every element! They cannot be defeated together!"
"Don't you think I know that?" Kasumi bit back. "What's happened to you Zabuza? Weren't you one of the ones trained to succeed the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" Zabuza looked away from his commanding officer. "Don't wimp out one me know." She looked down at the two, whistling loudly, her men glanced up at her, afraid for their lives now that she had ordered the attack. Steadily the twenty survivors darted forward to suicidal confrontation with the Kamikaze Brothers. "Zabuza, since you seem so bent on not fighting I want you to deliver a message to Takeshi."
Zabuza looked up at her, "What?"
"Tell him that we died doing our duty and that the Kamikaze Brothers have arrived."
Zabuza's eyes widened, he drew out a kunai "Kasumi, you can't! You'll die!"
"I know Zabuza," she knelt down to him, kissing him gently on the forehead. "You cannot outrun your fate. Whether I run or fight, I am dead. You must deliver our final report, and live on to fight these demons another day." She rose to her feet, "It's been so long since I found you that day... you showed such promise, and now you have developed into a shinobi of great skill. Hone your skills Zabuza, I'll see you in the next life."
"Kasumi, I-" Before he could say another word she was gone, flying down toward her doom.
Yuruyasha sighed with contempt.Why is it we fight? Can't we drop this petty conflict? I grow tired of battle. Yuruyasha jabbed his fist into the throat of a chunin foolish enough to approach him. He slashed toward a group of chunin running toward his brother, "Rip of the North Wind!" The four men were slashed apart; their bodies dropping into the water.
"Impressive." Yuruyasha turned, a slender female shinobi with long dark hair and clear eyes faced him. Her lips were drawn in a tight line, "Long hair, goatee, dark fierce eyes, you must be Yuruyasha Shojjono, half of the legendary Kamikaze Brothers. I'm-"
"I don't care who you are. Your name is useless once you are dead." He interrupted, No mercy for the opponent. Mustn't show weakness to anyone.
"You are a fiend aren't you?" She crossed her arms across her chest. "I heard tales about you. You appear callous and cold on the outside, but really you are quite more. They say you are a devil, more so then the warriors of the Mist, killing without mercy and killing for the sake of killing. And yet, from the Konoha prisoners we have they say that you are a gentle soul, generous and kind. So what are you really Yuruyasha? Are you a fiend or are you a saint?"
"I am your death. That is all that need concern you." He raised his katana. "Hack of the South Wind!" The air tore toward the shinobi.
She smiled lifted a hand and a blast of wind collided with his; a small tornado formed between them, whipping around the pair, and then it dispersed as quickly as it had appeared.
"Wind style huh. Impressive, with one hand too and making it powerful enough to stop my winds. That's even more impressive. Maybe your name is worth knowing, who are you?"
"My name is Kasumi-"
"Ah I have heard of you. Kasumi of the Frost." He grinned, "So you are the one with the kekkei genkai." He raised his katana up, "Come at me then."
"I've already beaten back one of your winds, do you really think any others can beat me?"
"You beat the South Wind, the weakest of the Four. You were lucky that's all. Besides I have more then just the winds at my disposal."
Kasumi frowned, she hated facing such men, callous, cold, and one that was pompous enough to think that he could never be defeated. I'll enjoy beating you down Yuruyasha Shojjono. She saw the air waver before her, Odd, what is-
"Blast of the East Wind!" Her eyes widened as she felt a rush of wind coming from the east She raised her hands up, barely moving through the appropriate seals, "Ice Wall jutsu!" A wall of ice burst from the river beneath them, blocking the winds, but barely. The winds were stopped, but one of the ripples in the air cut across her hip. She felt her foot slip, the chakra flow to her leg disrupted.
"Damn."
"Hmm, something wrong?" Yuruyasha taunted, taking a cigarette from his breast pocket.
"Damn you." She put her hands to the water's surface immediately it froze over and it began to spread over the surface.
"Don't think that'll help." Yuruyasha said, dashing forward to cut her down. She grinned, fool, this technique does more than you think. She waited and watched as Yuruyasha ran forward and the moment he stepped down on the ice, it quickly flowed up his feet, attaching firmly to his shins.
"What the- what is this?"
"This is my Flowing Ice Jutsu. It was made to trap foes foolhardy enough to charge me." She watched Yuruyasha struggle, "And there's more. Ice Spire Jutsu!" The ice beneath his feet suddenly sprung up and charged toward him.
"Earth Style: Terra Disturbance!" Fast as lighting a spear of rock shot up from the bottom of the river, smashing through the ice that was shooting toward him, sending the various chunks asunder, and sending slivers and daggers of ice into his leg.
"Damn!" With the ice broken the grip on his legs loosened, which he proceeded to pull loose of the death vice. "Well at least I'm free."
"Ha!" She laughed, "You're surrounded by water, you are not free so long as I am capable of using chakra." She touched the water. "Ice Snake Jutsu." She watched as a serpent of ice blazed through the water, freezing it as it raced toward its prey. She watched it snap up at him, but he dodged slashing his katana into it. The blade stuck halfway through the snake, Kasumi laughed, "That'll never work on-"
She was struck silent as the blade pulled through the snake, decapitating it. "This is more than just a sword, it's my chakra blade. It can cut through anything so long as I have chakra." He faced her, "You'll need more than that to beat me."
"Baka! I could kill you in an instant!"
"I'd like to see that." Yuruyasha said, rushing toward her faster than the normal eye could comprehend. Kasumi cursed, pulling a wakazashi from across her lower back. She brought it up, blocking Yuruyasha's first strike. The blades were an inch from her face. Fear ran through her, I've never seen anything this fast! Yuruyasha smiled, and then vanished again. Kasumi felt a tingling at her back, and turned just in time to catch his next attack.
The clash of metal rattled her, her jaw quivering slightly. "Scared yet?"
She gritted her teeth, shoving against his katana. "Never." He frowned at her now, before vanishing. Why isn't my jutsu catching him? Is he moving to fast or- She noticed a small ripple at the edge of the ice platform she stood on. Of course! He isn't touching the ice at all, he's attacking from the water!
Sadly her revelation didn't help her, for a moment later she felt the cold bite of metal through her shoulder. She gasped as it vanished, and revisited her through her left hip.
She fell to her knees; the ice below her growing colder to the touch. "This battle is done." She looked up at him, coughing blood onto the ice. He sheathed his sword, a look of pity in his eyes. "You cannot fight anymore, and I have little inclination to kill you."
Kasumi coughed blood again. A line of red liquid streaked from the corner of her mouth. "We of the Blood Mist never surrender. Not even in the face of death." She tried to stand before him, but collapsed to the ice once more.
"No. You are finished, and I will not kill you."
"I'm dead anyway! I cannot return home as I am! I've failed once before and my master will not let me live a second time. Kill me! "
"No." He turned his back to her.
"You dishonor me like this!" He stopped, his hands clenching into fists. "You truly are cruel to let me live as such."
"I have done many things that I wish that I hadn't in my past. I will not add your death to that list. If you are truly dead if you return then why go back?" He began walking to the boat, each step sending out ripples over the water.
"Why do you show me mercy?" She demanded.
Yuruyasha stopped and glanced over his shoulder at her, "You remind me of someone I once knew, and killing you would be like killing her all over again." Without another word he returned to the boat, leaving Kasumi on her icy platform.
While he had fought her, Jin had made quick work of her henchmen. He was sitting on the rim of the boat, arms crossed, watching his brother. "Why'd you spare her? She won't last long in that condition." He asked, watching Kasumi slowly run onto the opposite bank and into the brush, holding her injured flank.
"She reminded me of Moka."
Jin's brow furrowed at the name. "Moka." He said. "You still think about her?"
"Always."
By the time night fell the two had arrived in the Whirlpool Village... The buildings were blasted, having sustained heavy damage in the constant Mist attacks, Yuruyasha frowned... "I hate this brother. I really do hate this."
"Me too, but you know what we have to do."
"Yeah... but it doesn't mean I have to like it."
