This is particular one-shot was made to get rid of a pair of particular tenacious ideas which kept returning to my mind.
Warning, this is an AU which takes place in the aftermath from an alternate Blood Prison-universe. Some general knowledge about the movie (and the series will be necessary to catch everything). Kekkei Genkai and ninjutsu do exist in this world but are not as powerful as in the canon.
More important warning: this chapter has not been checked by a beta, spelling and grammatical mistakes are (unfortunately) expected.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor do I own his wikia (hint for those who want to read the chapter without having watched or read every part of the series, all named characters have an entry)
The one-eyed swordsman smirked as he eyed the woman who had walked straight for his table.
Then again, he wasn't the only one to stare at her with obvious desire in his remaining eye, most of the men in the bar did and likewise there was more than one woman who temporarily forgot to breathe as they took stock of the appearance of the woman who had entered.
The newcomer was young, not even twenty and seemed still bereft of the surly world-weariness which usually accompanied those who frequented bars in Shijima no Kuni. However youth had hardly ever been a deterrent for suffering in the shinobi-world.
Even so, everything about this woman's appearance and expression seemed to scream that she had been kept away from the cruelty of the world and just a single glimpse of her figure or her features made it obvious why she would have been given safety and privileges whilst so many others hadn't.
Beauty was hardly an uncommon commodity in a world where so many people changed their appearance routinely with the aid of chakra and yet even a single glance made it obvious that this woman stood upon a lonely height above even talented and experienced kunoichi.
Her appearance was even more extraordinary since this particular woman was cursed with a notoriously unreliable grasp upon her chakra, a control which was therefore too erratic to permanently change her appearance.
However those particular bits of knowledge were not something which Waraji would have cared for to know, not that the woman would have felt the intention to tell him even if he had done so.
The blonde who walked towards him and his gang wore a haori which was dark grey in colour and which had the kanji for "Protected" written upon the back. Underneath it she wore a thin looking blouse of which the colour was a far lighter hue of grey and it was obvious that she, except for the sash which she had wrapped around her middle, wore nothing else underneath the haori. It shouldn't surprise anyone that a lot of eyes went wide when she bowed as she greeted the mercenary.
Whilst not as eye-catching as her chest, the girl was blessed with a pair of long legs which would have grabbed the eyes of most men if she would have exposed them to world, however unlike her chest, she had left these particular assets hidden underneath simple black pants.
Lastly the woman wore a set of sandals on her feet which were dark blue in colour.
The woman carried no visible weapons although she had a small pouch strapped to her left leg. Again there were very few people who would have noticed that particular titbit whenever she neglected to close her blouse rather highly.
The blonde's hair was long and she wore those tresses in a pair of high ponies which cascade down upon her shoulders as if it was liquid gold. And yet despite that impression it had none of the coldness or weight of that metal, instead it seemed light and alive as her hair moved at the urgings of even the slightest breeze.
Her face was no less beautiful despite the six lines which scarred her cheeks. However it weren't her pouty lips or her button-nose which drew people's attention. What did were her eyes, these were of an unusual shade of blue which resembled the clear water of a tropical sea. There was no hint of evil which could have remained hidden in those eyes, the only thing they held was an obvious wonder and curiosity.
It made people obviously wonder why someone like her had come to a place like this and more particularly, to a man like Waraji for who the death and suffering of others was both his pleasure and the source of his income.
"You are miss Uzumaki, no?" Waraji asked whilst he removed his eyes from her chest to slug the rest of his bottle down.
The blonde nodded in return. "Yes," she admitted, "I am Naruko."
The man snorted before he dropped the bottle upon the table and lowered his gaze back to her chest.
"My eyes are up here." Naruko told him with something resembling an edge in her voice as she pointed at said cyan-coloured orbs.
Waraji chuckled in return. "I have made my pick, what are you going to do about it?"
Naruko glared momentarily, before she sighed which was an obvious mistake since it made her chest move up and down.
"You are supposed to be a good swordsman, the best in this entire city." Naruko admitted before she added, with a rather obvious hint of resentment. "Or you at least you will be so for another two days or so."
Waraji narrowed his eyes instantly and his earlier leer disappeared as he straightened his posture.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" He demanded of her.
Naruko took another deep breath. "There is another swordsman upon his way to this place. His name is Raiga Kurosuki, I assume you have heard of him?"
Waraji narrowed his eyes again after hearing that name and bit down.
"I have heard of him." He admitted with a mixture of anger and distrust in his voice.
"Why are you here?" Waraji demanded of her. "I doubt you've come here to warn me of the arrival of the owner of the Thunderswords."
Naruko took a deep breath. "I didn't." She admitted after short hesitation. "I came because ... he created a situation... I need dealt with."
It was almost impossible not to notice the way Naruko hesitated or cringed when she spoke those words.
"How interesting..." Waraji mused in return. "It almost seems to me as if you wanted me and my boys to kill him, no?"
The man grinned. "Or am I mistaken?"
Naruko stared at him once again with something akin to disgust. "It is not that I want him to die...but I know someone who needs his ...punishment."
"Isn't that intriguing?" Whispered Waraji mockingly whilst he leaned backwards and rubbed the back of his head with both hands.
"And who is this someone?" Waraji asked her. "And what will I get in return?"
Naruko took a deep breath. "My master's identity is none of your business." She whispered with some defiance in her voice. "About the rest, you can keep the Kibas and everything he owns on top of the thousand pieces of silver I will bring you."
"Now that sounds intriguing." Waraji muttered as he seemed to muse over the offer.
Then a cruel smile appeared upon his face and his hand shot forward. One moment later he had closed his fingers around the far younger girl's wrist.
Naruko instinctively grabbed the much stronger swordsman's wrist and made a futile attempt to wrench his hand from around the limb.
"You see," Waraji began. "There is something else I want, something which every man with a pair would have wanted since you've been here."
He caught a glimpse from the instinctual fear in Naruko's eyes as she looked back at him.
He chuckled in return. "What? Don't tell me that this master of you just used you to tuck him in?"
Naruko made another attempt to wrench herself free.
"No," Waraji continued with the same obvious mocking undertone. "I bet you are rather the slut after he drops some of that silver before you and makes you bend down before him as you reach for each and every coin."
Naruko gave him a furious look which entertained him all the more.
"But you knew all of that, no? And so did your master otherwise he wouldn't have send you here!"
After those words Naruko raised a hand up in a gesture which made it obvious she was going to slap him, however it wouldn't come to that.
What happened instead was a single, small crossbow bolt which flew between Waraji's own nose and his raised hand before it struck the wall and fell down with a bent tip.
For a single moment Waraji was too surprised to do anything, then he jumped backwards and reached for his swords as he stared around him whilst he looked for the assassin. Naruko however wasn't and the girl threw herself immediately backwards and dropped upon one knee. The distance which she crossed with that singular jump was only a few feet, however this was enough to keep away from his reaching hands...and his sword.
In the meanwhile the owner of the crossbow had placed another quarrel in the groove of the weapon and had now pointed the weapon at the swordsman whilst simultaneously holding a small, glass bottle up as if the newcomer was prepared to throw it at the small cluster of swordsmen who had formed up behind Waraji.
"Ryu!" Naruko yelled at the assassin, "Don't, you'll kill us all!"
Waraji stared at the newly appeared arbalester. This particular figure was lean and fairly tall with what seemed like a pair of broad shoulders which were almost entirely hidden underneath a heavy looking cloak from green cloth which had been stained with mud. Ryu's appearance or age was impossible to guess due to the green bandanna and matching shawl which obscured the features of the assassin's face. However what could be seen was both unusual and unsettling. Ryu had a fair skin and waist length hair, thus far the only attributes which were not that extraordinary. What was far more unusual was the colour of the hair that came from underneath the bandanna. Each of these strands of hair had a pale white colour as if every strand had been sliced from clean ivory. And yet, even that characteristic was not as unusual as the grey eyes which contained several circular patterns like the legendary Rinnegan-Kekkei Genkai. However there were plenty of people who would have failed to recognize the similarity with the Sage's legacy, what those people, what nobody could have missed was the furious anger which was burning in these eyes.
Waraji took a deep breath as he attempted to estimate his chances and he couldn't say he felt confident about the odds which had been staked against him. He knew that no single marksmen could hope to kill more than two men before they had crossed the distance between him and the arbalester... furthermore he commanded five swordsmen!
His doubts however were not about whether his gang could win this particular confrontation, they were there because he knew for certain that whatever it was that would happen in the next seconds, he knew he would be the first to die if Death decided to visit this bar.
"Who is this?" Waraji demanded of Naruko as he tried to move away from the crossbow which had been pointed at him.
"Ryu." Naruko answered him calmly whilst a pair of grey eyes narrowed even further after their owner recognised Waraji's tone. "My protector."
Naruko took a deep breath and shot the assassin a kind smile which was undeniable filled with genuine joy and affection.
Naruko pointed her eyes back at Waraji. "My master did not order me to come here." She told Waraji with a noticeable contempt. "I choose to do so so my master wouldn't be forced to speak to you."
Naruko walked back towards to Ryu although she took great care to keep out of the potential path of the white-haired arbalester's next bolt. Once she was close enough to ascertain herself from the security of said presence she turned her head back to Waranji.
"What will you do?" Naruko asked him. "Will you take the offer and the silver if you succeed ...or not?"
"Pick wisely," Ryu muttered after Naruko's question although these two words were so softly spoken that they barely reached the group of swordsmen."
Waraji hesitated for another moment, than the swordsman shrugged. "The Kibas, and the bounty upon that bastard's head... plenty of reasons to kill him."
For a moment he wondered why this master of Naruko had refused to simply set Ryu upon the legendary swordsman but then he dismissed that possibility easily enough. Whether overrated or not, Raiga was without a doubt a brilliant swordsman whilst the assassin seemed to utilize a rather small crossbow and what he suspected were explosives. There was no way a single archer could stand a chance against a swordsman like Raiga who was capable of blocking arrows with his swords unless the giant could be caught unaware. That particular skill of Raiga was one of the reasons for his renown and Waraji saw no reason to question it's veracity, especially since he himself had succeeded in doing so as well at several occasions.
Still as he remembered that the assassin had not just pointed a crossbow at him but also happened to be holding a flask of what was most likely an explosive liquid, Waraji preferred to play it safe... for now.
Naruko however remained seemingly unaware his thoughts and smiled at him in return.
"Raiga will most likely arrive at the city, in another two days,... just before the closing of the gates." Naruko told him.
"My master took the liberty to arrange for a house, food and a crate with weapons so you could keep out of sight whilst you and your people prepared an ambush."
Waraji snorted at her mention of an ambush, something which she ignored in return.
Then Naruko, once again seemed to forget about the cut of her blouse and bowed her head in a show of respect that she did not feel, before she reached for her bodyguard's arm as the pair made their way to exit.
"Do you believe they stand a chance against Raiga?" Naruko asked Ryu.
Said assassin kept playing with the pin which closed the green cloak before Ryu finally removed it and draped it around Naruko's shoulders which revealed that Ryu's shoulders were far less broad than they had appeared at the first glance.
"If what we have heard thus far is correct, than they're rather fine swordsmen, brave and they will have plenty of weapons if they're intelligent enough to check our gift." Ryu muttered with a soft voice which was muffled by the green shawl.
Without the cloak Ryu had simultaneously exposed a pair of fair skinned, slender arms which now showed the first signs of goosebumps due to the chilly air of the evening.
"I have seen their kind before," Ryu continued although the ninja paused momentarily to look down as Naruko leaned her body against Ryu's and then wrapped the cloak around them both whilst she rested her blond head upon Ryu's shoulder.
"That was in some of the gangs I joined before I was sent to Hozuki. They went in with courage, skill, talent and weapons. They were generally slaughtered like cattle when they squared off against someone who had an actual plan!"
Naruko could hear Ryu's sadistic pleasure at the likely possibility of their death and decided to stay silent. She knew it was the best offer which Ryu would gift them with, they had a chance to succeed, it was up to them whether they tried to optimize their chances or not and if they refused to do so than they deserved whatever it was that fate had in store for them.
Both walked on in silent for a few seconds, then it was Ryu who broke the silence again.
"He was wrong, you know that, right?" Ryu whispered at her. "You might be mine, but you're nobody's slut and you're definitely not a mindless slave or a gold-digger!"
Naruko cocked her head; if she was honest she had already forgotten Waraji's earlier accusations although she couldn't deny that they had stung momentarily at the time.
The smaller, younger woman stopped instantly and turned her head towards Ryu and brushed it against the assassin's shirt whilst one hand brushed softly against the cheek which was still hidden by the green scarf.
"I am nobody slave." She repeated with a smile whilst her fingers caught a hold of the thin cloth and she exposed Ryu's face.
"I am nobody's slut." Naruko continued whilst she tiptoed and dragged two fingers over Ryu's pink lips.
Then her smile broadened and she closed her eyes as she kissed Ryu upon those lips.
"But I am yours, my Ryuzetsu, by my own volition and your acceptance." Naruko finished before she resumed her kiss.
Ryuzetsu smiled as she accepted Naruko's kiss. They should never have been allowed to meet, Ryuzetsu was a hardened criminal; a murderer, a thief, an assassin and to almost every account, a traitor. She had been everything which people feared about ninjas and worse. She had done all that to get into Hozuki, she had lived a life which made her deserving of the deepest darkest pit of hell and had received exactly what she wanted and deserved; the sentence of a lifetime in Hozuki, the blood-prison! Muku deserved his revenge... and she deserved hers for being robbed of him. And yet as she schemed to set up the revolt which would kill Mui and the bastards which had torn her village to shreds and turned it into a sect, she had caught her first glimpse of Naruko.
It hadn't been love, Ryuzetsu doubted she had been capable of feeling that particular emotion by that time. But she had felt something, but what? Pity for with a girl who appeared so obviously broken and betrayed? Disgust as she knew what the fate of the only confirmed girl would be in a prison filled to the brim with rapists and murderers? Lust of her own, since for all her vices and virtues, Ryuzetsu had been a woman with needs and very little kindness left inside of her? Or had been something much simpler, loneliness? She had been alone for such long time, as she had refused to let anyone in after Muku had been killed by his own father, a man whom she had liked and even admired before that night which ruined her life. And then after all that time alone, after being isolated and fearing the discovery of her plans and gender for months, she discovered a girl who seemed so similar to herself upon that day when she took her first steps upon the blood-soaked journey which was her life. A girl who somehow had retained the kindness and innocence which she herself had lost and ... all of suddenly she had realized she envied Naruko for that.
Protecting Naruko had quickly become something of an obsession and she praised every god and goddess she knew that she had given in instantly rather than obeying her pride or her common sense.
If she hadn't, Naruko would have died and even if by some miracle she would have survived, it was not exactly difficult to imagine what would have happened to her if she would have been left alone in the medical ward without anyone to watch over her.
She hadn't though and Naruko survived her attempt to escape that hell without any harm to herself, but with knowledge of Ryuzetsu's gender after said woman had come to her rescue. It had been the start from her own healing process after the pain and its scars had been left to fester for nearly an entire decade. Ryu, the head of one of the most powerful gangs in the prison had become Naruko's protector and "friend". In the weeks that followed Ryuzetsu began to teach Naruko how to defend herself, how to hurt others and why they had to be hurt so she could survive and save herself from suffering. And every so often Naruko was forced to pay the price for her protection and undressed as Ryu dragged her to a quiet, isolated corner of the building so she could be "raped".
Those moments had quickly become highlight of Naruko's weeks in the prison. Even in Konoha, Naruko had been lonely and often been ignored or abandoned, but throughout those hours that hadn't been the case. Perhaps she should have felt embarrassment when she stripped herself of the rags which had protected her modesty from the eyes of the other prisoners. Maybe she should have felt some shame when she moaned or cried out in an imitation of either pain or ecstasy, whatever suited the moment, especially once she discovered that more than a few of Ryuzetsu's gang members had jumped upon the opportunity to "investigate" whenever "Ryu had his way with her".
She should have felt a lot things which she didn't feel. Instead in accordance to her own nature she had focused upon the positives which made this time in hell such a happy experience for her.
Despite Ryu's claims towards her followers, Ryuzetsu had never touched her in a way she hadn't wanted. Despite the sounds she made, the two of them had simply laid there in each others arms and Naruko had never felt safer or less out of her place. Naruko had been ignored and ridiculed in her "home" and yet throughout those moments in "Hell upon Earth" she was being held as if she was the most valuable thing in the world. Whatever words Ryuzetsu employed in front of others, once she took Naruko in her arms, the only oaths she made were promises to help the blonde, to value her, to care for her, to never harm her and to never again let anyone else harm her.
Naruko had known nothing about love before she entered the prison or at least she hadn't known a thing about a healthy kind of love, yet after exciting the place she was confident she had come far closer to understanding it than ever before.
By the time the revolt had come close, Naruko had been in love and had been willing to take every opportunity to return the often clumsy affection which Ryuzetsu had shown her throughout the past months.
When Mui's seals wore off and Ryu suddenly found herself one of the weakest members of the prison and the target of numerous grudges, most of her opponents quickly discovered why an innocent girl had been forced into the worst prison of the shinobi-nations. It had never been about what she had done or had been willing to do at the time; it had been about what she could do if her handlers failed...
When the moment to choose came, there were no handlers. All there was... was the choice between the values and morals which had been emphasised to her for most of her life... and the one person who had risked so much to help her and to show her she cared. To take a hundred lives and to leave so many others to whatever mercy an actual demon would offer them, or to sacrifice that one person, an unrepentant assassin, and to save hundreds of inmates, guards and nearby civilians, Naruko's choice had been so much easier than she ever had imagined it to be...
It was two days later when Naruko found herself staring down from the roof upon the confrontation which she and Ryuzetsu had set up.
Raiga was a tall man, but that was something which she had known on forehand. He was a strong man too, but again that was not unexpected. What surprised her, what she hadn't anticipated was the speed with which he moved. The warrior was fast, almost inhumanly so. Raiga faced off against five swordsmen and he was undeniably winning. A first man fell upon his knees as he desperately attempted to push his entrails back in their place.
Naruko had half hoped that it would be this combination of strength and inhuman speed which had given birth to such a monstrous reputation. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't the case. Raiga's strength and speed were great but it was equally obvious that the man was an extraordinary skilled swordsman. As infamous as his reputation was, Naruko was more inclined to believe it was depreciating the danger he represented rather than overestimating it.
A second man died as one of Raiga's blades tore through his throat after a seemingly minor motion of his wrist.
Naruko shook her head. It had taken him scarcely half a minute to kill two experienced swordsmen.
Raiga kept moving and Naruko desperately attempted to discover some kind pattern in his motions but she failed. She wasn't certain whether it was because she simply lacked the skill and experience to read his body language, or because Raiga adjusted himself too rapidly to the equally rapidly changing circumstances in the fight.
Number three groaned softly as he slumped down against a nearby wall which was now stained with red and the remaining swordsmen split up as they attempted to take him from two sides.
Raiga simply chuckled in return and pointed one of his swords in each of the remaining swordsmen's direction. His head on the other hand was pointed at only one of the swordsmen.
That was something interesting and Naruko wondered if he had some kind of technique to protect the majority of his backside with one sword whilst he focused his attention to the front.
Waraji who stood at the front grinned at the sight and lunged at Raiga who parried the motion with his customary superhuman reflexes. Both swords connected with a metallic ring and Waraji jumped back after a second, the man moved only just in time to evade the counter-attack of Raiga's sword.
Behind Raiga, Waraji's henchmen lunged as well. His attack took no more than an instant, Naruko would have missed it if she wouldn't have fixed her attention upon the man at Raiga's back rather than upon Waraji himself.
The lunge had been a brilliant attack; it was rapid, timed to coincide as well as possible with Waraji's own attempt and aimed at Raiga's lower leg so that he wouldn't have been able to parry it with a random motion. Naruko knew it would have crippled her if she had been subjected to such a well-timed assault.
Raiga on the other hand, he deflected it with a simple motion from his second blade.
Naruko blinked in return.
"That," she admitted to herself, "was more than a little bit unsettling."
There was no way that action could have been coincidence and Raiga's motion had been aimed to show that. It hadn't been an elaborate defence which was meant to stop an attack from one out of several directions, no instead it had been meant to defend against a lunge out of that particular direction.
Naruko took a deep breath. "Was it possible that Raiga was some kind of Hyugai?" She asked herself. "That would explain his seemingly supernatural speed and control, as well as the stories about his skill to defend against attacks from every possible direction."
She felt some pity towards Waraji. The man and his comrade fought on, but it was obvious that they stood no chance against Raiga and each of them had recognised that truth.
Waraji held out for three more strikes, and then his sword hit the ground, together with his hand.
The swordsman's henchman died a moment later.
From her position Naruko could see the fear upon Waraji's face as well as the large wicker basket which hung upon Raiga's back. Naruko wasted a single moment to curse the basket since this would stop every bolt which she could send at his broad back which otherwise would have been her first target. Then she pointed her own crossbow at the far smaller target which was the back of Raiga's head.
Naruko took a deep breath, she would have only a single opportunity to end this quickly and without any danger for her and Ryuzetsu.
Naruko saw Raiga raise both his swords up for what seemed like a scissoring motion to decapitate Waraji.
A crimson line appeared upon Waraji's neck before his body slumped down upon his right side whilst his head hit the ground with a sickening splat and rolled a few feet to the left.
The crossbow's bolt had left the bow the moment Raiga's sword met Waraji's flesh.
Then it met with steel and fell down harmlessly.
Naruko swore as she stood up and stared down at Raiga.
So the stories are true," Naruko muttered as she drew the cord from her weapon backwards.
"You're with them?" Raiga asked her as he gave Waraji's body a kick.
"No," Naruko corrected them. "They were with me."
"Aah..." Raiga muttered. "Did I kill a relative?"
Naruko shook her head and pointed her weapon back at Raiga.
"No," She admitted. "It is just business. I am doing this for the money."
Raiga nodded again, he looked somewhat disappointed but not overtly surprised before he pointed his swords at her.
Another quarrel flew at him and was harmlessly slapped aside by a swipe from one of his blades.
Naruko reached for a third bolt whilst Raiga raced towards at her.
A third bolt struck against steel and Naruko turned upon her heels and took off whilst she pulled the cord of her weapon back for the fourth time.
Behind her she heard a first grunt and she knew Raiga had planted his feet upon the lower wall.
Once again she pulled another quarrel from the quiver which had been strapped to her back. She placed the bolt in the groove from her weapon, pressed the projectile in its place and pointed it back into Raiga's direction whilst she sank down upon knee.
If Waranji had seen the speed and accuracy with which Naruko completed these tasks he would never have dared to lay a hand upon her, however despite her obvious skills with a crossbow Naruko was a genuinely kind girl who was obviously out of her place in such a grim business. Unfortunately for her, people like her were left without many alternatives for violence if they wanted to survive...or keep someone else alive.
Raiga wrapped his fingers around the corner of the rooftop and pulled himself up. He smiled and stared directly at her as his head appeared from behind the stones, then he rapidly swung to the right which made the next quarrel miss his skull. The sound of a grunt escaped his lips and then he had pulled himself up.
Naruko swore again and turned around whilst she continued to run in an attempt to maintain the distance between them.
Raiga came after her. Both shinobi were fast and the rooftops were slippery.
Naruko kept running, she scarcely ever slowed down despite the distance which separated cobblestones from the street underneath them from the roof. She knew these roofs; she had been crossing them ever since she knew where Waranji and his gang would be waiting for Raiga. This familiarity helped her greatly to keep a distance between her and Raiga.
Naruko sped up as she recognized the nearby chimney and then she jumped, for a single moment time seemed to stand still and then she landed upon a nearby, but lower rooftop, Naruko rolled down to break the worst of her fall, stood up again and continued her run. Raiga tried to follow her but the first rooftop creaked dangerously underneath his sandals and the man swore loudly as he stepped back and was forced to make a detour.
Naruko used that delay to bend down and placed her quiver upon the ground whilst she removed her haori with a wide gesture. The girl placed her hands upon her knees whilst she took a few, loud intakes of breath before she swung her quiver back over shoulder and placed another quarrel in the groove from her weapon.
Another bolt flew at Raiga and then she turned around again and made another effort to retain her head start upon him whilst the giant seemed intend upon barrelling straight at her as if he meant to trample her underfoot like a massive, stampeding animal. Suddenly Raiga's eyes expanded and he made a great jump forward which had him land clumsily upon his hands and knees. When he scrambled back up with a bit of effort, he sat only a few feet past the haori which Naruko had dropped. The man reached behind him and grabbed one of the objects of which had been spied by his pair of red eyes at the moment before he jumped. It took him another second before he recognized the objects as caltrops which Naruko had planted whilst she disguised this trap with the gestures with which she had removed her jacket.
After that bit of delay he stood back up again and blocked the next quarrel which had come from the blonde. Said teenager swore again as she was rapidly approaching the bottom from the box of tricks which she and Ryuzetsu had prepared.
The chase kept going, but none of Naruko's quarrels succeeded in doing so much as draw a single drop of Raiga's blood.
Eventually Naruko reached the border to the main street of the village. The distance between the roofs on either side of this street was at least forty feet, far too much to jump and usually her fate would have been sealed at this point. The distance between her and Raiga was to short too escape in the obvious directions, the swordsman would easily be able to intercept her and he knew that as well as she did.
However Naruko and Ryuzetsu had at least one more trick to play. It was only a single, long piece of wood between the roofs, but it was enough to give Naruko an access to the other side.
The girl ran as fast she could, however she was only three quarter of the way when Raiga reached the plank as well and gave it a kick to send it into the deep. Naruko couldn't help but feel an enormous gratefulness for Ryuzetsu's insistence to nail it down upon forehand.
The man swore and took after her again. Unsurprisingly Naruko took her chance for the umpteenth time when the swordsman began to cross the distance. Raiga's skill and speed were barely damped by his weariness though and he deflected each of her bolts with the almost casual ease which Naruko had come to expect from him.
It was only once he reached the centre of the board that Raiga discovered the nature of this particular ambush.
Still it was telling for Raiga's skill that even in this uncomfortable, precarious position he was capable of deflecting the quarrels whilst retaining his balance.
Ryzetsu chuckled as she pointed her weapon at the back of the giant's head. She had no idea how he had found out about her presence, but it was too late for him to stop them though.
The sword blocked another bolt and said projectile fell down upon the cobblestones against which it snapped and kept laying down.
Raiga roared in outrage as he moved his head quickly from left to the right and back, he no longer attempted to defend himself with a quiet, almost casual ease or made an attempt to act with elegant nonchalance as he deflected the projectiles.
Instead he showed the fury he actually felt after the hour-long chase across the rooftops and the numerous bolts which had been aimed at him.
Still the appearance of a second marksman had broken his stride and it was obvious he had no real idea about what to do. There were only two directions in which he could move and each of them would result in a crossbow which would get aimed at his face as well as a second one which would be pointed at his back.
However Naruko and Ryzetsu had used their opportunity to prepare for this confrontation well. Their plan went further than simply lure him to the center of the plank and then pepper him with quarrels.
Once Ryzetsu noticed that Raiga had returned his attentions to Naruko, the woman removed her current bolt from her crossbow, in it's place she pressed a quarrel with a far thicker, heavier tip in the groove.
Ryzetsu was visibly smirking when she aimed the weapon upon her latest target.
Once again Raiga moved his weapon to intercept her quarrel but this time, his sword struck nothing except for air.
The bolt struck it's intended target and broke through the wood with a loud crack.
Naruko who had aimed one of her usual bolts at the man's chest fired only a second after Ryzetsu. Once again; her quarrel was deflected, but it had done his job and Raiga screamed as the wood broke underneath his feet and his body smashed against the cobblestones.
The giant moved slowly as crawled back up and groaned with confusion and pain, then these muted sounds turned into a loud outcry of pain. Ryzetsu's latest bolt had struck him in the shoulder. Naruko's quarrel followed a moment later, she struck his side.
Chakra however is mighty tool, it can numb pain and close wounds, whilst it keeps you from bleeding out. Wounds which should have killed you upon the spot can be shrugged off, or at least this can be done for a while if you have enough chakra to endure the torment. Raiga as it turned out, had plenty of chakra.
High above him, Naruko shook her head as placed another quarrel upon her weapon.
"What does it take to kill that monstrosity?!" She exclaimed with a mixture of obvious frustration and something akin to fear and even admiration in her voice.
Ryzetsu swore as well whilst she pointed her weapon once again upon the now muttering giant.
Raiga however deflected both quarrels once again before he shook the remains from the wicker basket from his back.
"What is he doing?" Naruko whispered to herself as she noticed his actions.
Raiga used the short hesitation to throw a quick glimpse inside of the basket.
Then he stood up and roared loudly, Naruko felt an instinctive shiver slide down her back. This was not just a furious outcry; it contained far more pain and sadness than anything else.
Another bolt struck Raiga's thigh and he slumped down. Above him, still safely upon one of the rooftops, Naruko reached for a quarrel with a large, heart-shaped tip which otherwise would have been employed to take a horse down.
She saw Raiga turn around to stare at her and she pointed her crossbow at him as she hoped that that weight of the tip would be enough to keep his sword from slapping it aside.
Her eyes followed the flight of her bolt even as she reached for the next projectile in her quiver. However this time, she should not have worried, Raiga failed to raise his weapons and the bolt struck his shoulder with enough force to make him rock back and forth like a punch ball after a particularly vicious uppercut. One sword fell from his hand and she saw Raiga reach for his shoulder with the other one which had still a sword clenched in his fist. Then another bolt whistled through the air and fell upon his back where it tore through flesh and muscles.
Raiga fell upon his knees.
Naruko hesitated momentarily, then her desire to be done with this night overcame her reluctance and she launched her own bolt.
This one struck his chest.
Ryzetsu sighed just before she released her own horse-killer at him.
Raiga felt something massive strike his back and was thrown forward as he dropped his final blade.
His face struck the dirt which stained the cobblestone but he raised his upper body for one last time as he turned his head towards the broken remains of the wicker basket.
Then he felt another quarrel tear through his bloodied chest... and there was nothing which was left to feel as he fell backwards.
Raiga failed to react when the back of his head struck the bloodied cobblestones.
Even so, two more quarrels struck his belly before Naruko and Ryzetsu left their perch.
"That... was a tough one." Naruko whispered almost respectfully.
Ryzetsu nodded in return. "Grab his swords!" She reminded Naruko before she walked towards the remains of the casket.
"Fuck," was what she almost instantly exclaimed when she saw it's contents as she felt something cold and heavy settle down her stommach. "That's ...rather gross."
"Ryuzetsu?" Naruko asked her as she turned her head towards the older kunoichi who instantly straightened her back and closed the cover of the casket with a rapid gesture.
Said assassin shook her head in return to her question. "Don't ask!" She told Naruko whilst she extended an open hand to accept one of the swords.
"Are you certain, you don't want to be the one to cut his head off?" Ryuzetsu asked Naruko without actually expecting her to agree.
Naruko removed her own eyes from the direction of Raiga's basket and nodded instantly.
Ryuzetsu chuckled and reached down to clutch a few strands of Raiga's hair before she raised the sword up.
Then it fell down again and Ryzetsu stabbed the tip of the weapon in the ground before she grabbed it just underneath the hilt and offered Naruko the hilt of the now bloodstained weapon.
The girl nodded and quickly moved a rag over the blade before she slid it back down it's scabbard.
"You're certain we can't keep these beauties?" Naruko asked her whilst she stared down at the weapons with some obvious admiration.
Ryzetsu shook her head in return. "Just getting half of the head's worth in money will be difficult enough without giving our identity away. If even a single village finds out we have the Kibas..." Ryzetsu shook her head again. "Trust me, having a ton of untraceable silver is often the better choice."
"Do we even have a fence who will give us a fair price for them?" Naruko wondered as she stared at the paired weapons.
Ryzetsu snorted after that question.
"We don't." She admitted as she wrapped one arm around Naruko and began to drag her away from their target and his meagre remaining possessions. "But I know several who will keep our names secret... however we will have to hurry. Prices tend to go down even more once your client expects your merchandise."
Naruko nodded. "To bad we can't make them bid against each other." She remarked only half joking.
Ryzetsu nodded. "To bad indeed." She whispered as behind her she saw the first beggars approach the corpse and search for coins and salvageable goods.
She knew none of them would be willing to breathe so much as a single word against the local city guards, those "servants of the law" (and more importantly the magistrates who tended to hang them without a second thought), however there was little doubt that there would be informers for the better fences as well as the local thieves guild among them. Those last mattered little to her, she had no intention of spending their next night in the town. The first on the other hand...
Ryzetsu smiled as she dragged Naruko along.
"The closest of the fences is maybe ten minutes away, let's see if we can make it in five." She whispered before she pressed a kiss upon Naruko's cheek and set off.
Another chase over the rooftops commenced instantly, but this one would leave no dead victim upon the streets. On the other hand one trader in wares of questionable origin found an unexpected difference in the weight of his pockets by the first light of the morning, he did not complain as he stared at two swords which would reap him a hefty profit. The pair of kunoichi-turned-freelance assassins were no less pleased by the added weight in their metaphorical pockets. The extra weight was tiresome and persuaded both of them to undress and head for their bed the moment they arrived in their hideout; it wasn't enough to persuade either of them to get some sleep before the first light of dawn finally broke through.
"It was a brilliant recapitulation of her life." Ryzetsu thought as she finally closed her eyes and listened to Naruko's soft snoring. "Their world was a bloodstained place, it was gruesome like the bag with Raiga's decapitated head could ascertain and a greedy one like the bag with blood money which his swords had already shown them... and yet it could be so beautiful."
Ryzetsu carefully fingered the necklace which had been a part of their payment for the swords. It was a simple piece of jewelry, little more than a thin, gilded rope to which a number of inscribed, golden coins had been hung. Another bit of blood money which was now moving up and down Naruko's otherwise bare chest whenever the girl took another breath in.
Ryzetsu slowly moved her finger downward, from the inscribed surface from the coins towards the equally warm but much softer smoothness of the younger woman's breasts. She could feel the sleeping woman's breath quicken when she moved her fingers towards the girl's nipple and drew a single circle around each of them with the tip of her fingers.
A soft chuckle escaped Ryuzetsu's mouth and before she knew it, she had opened her eyes again.
She sighed but without regret, she could not help it, blood price or not, it looked so beautiful upon Naruko.
The woman shook her head and carefully wrapped a first arm around her sleeping girlfriend before she nuzzled her head against Naruko's barely covered chest.
"So beautiful."
Then she felt the blonde's arms move and she noticed that the smile upon Naruko's sleeping features had expanded slightly whilst she realized that she had whispered those last words out loud. So very beautiful indeed and it was her world.
"My world." Ryzetsu whispered as she tightened her grip upon Naruko and nuzzled the girl's cheek.
Unknown to her, the same words echoed into Naruko's mind as the sleeping girl instinctively wrapped her arms around Ryzetsu to return the woman's embrace.
For those are wondering Waraji was one half of the pair of bodyguards which belonged to Gato. I kindly decided to improve his skill with the sword greatly and promoted him to the rank of the leader of a small group of skilled swordsmen...only to let him die in a one-sided confrontation. Evil chuckle...I never claimed I liked him.
Mind telling me what you thought about it?