I have never been happier to be assigned a mission than at this moment. Oh thank the almighty Hokage for sensing and tending to my needs! The assignment prevented Minato from cornering me into a dark alleyway and carving the answer to his questions out of my throat. Wow, that was pretty dark. In any case, Minato was still pissed that I didn't confide in him, which involuntarily filled me with a warm feeling, but I tried to squash it.
"So what's our mission sensei?" Rin asked sweetly.
The entire team had met at the gate within 30 minutes. All except Obito who was running late. I wasn't that surprise by that fact. Not just because I knew he was always tardy from the anime, but I myself was almost late. Let's just say I have an issue with over packing. You do not want to be the zipper on my backpack right now because you would be breaking a sweat.
"Well we were assigned to go to a neighboring village, collect a man and escort him to another village." Minato eventually gritted out when he broke his intense gaze on my form. I did my best to ignore it.
"What village?" Kakashi curtly asked. Our sensei opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a distant screeching. We all turned to the direction of the path leading into Konoha to see a dust cloud steadily approaching. I squinted my eyes. Obito?
"Wait for me guys!" He yelled. In no time at all, the Uchiha was standing directly in front of us, panting slightly. "I'm here!" Obito cheered, "we can go now." I giggled at the childness of it, but Kakashi scoffed and muttered an insult under his breath. I clopped the back of his head for it. No fret.
"Alright, let's go."
The journey to the Doro village was uneventful. It was an hour trip for us ninja in the treetop, which didn't involve the time my team took to teach me how to tree hop. They forgot the little fact that I was new to the chakra thing, so after a bunch of glares and bruises from falling, I managed to, actually pretty quickly, learn the desirable skill set.
On the actual path, the only exciting thing that occured was Obito and I's discussion. Sure he was a big goofball, but it was adorable and he contained so many interesting thoughts. Our topics ranged from his outfit to how much acorns chipmunks could fit into their mouths. I humored him on the latter.
When we reached the village, I was just about to tease Obito about his crush on Rin. I had easily detected the sly peaks he took at the kunoichi to ensure she was safe as we traveled, and once again, adorable! But he got off lucky.
"Follow me guys and don't stray far. This town seems pretty shifty," Minato instructed.
"Did you say shitty?"
"No Hannah. I said shifty."
"Ok well then I say this town is shitty." I got a nice chuckle from Obito, giggle from Rin and glare from Kakashi for my comedic efforts. Well you can't get them all. But I wasn't wrong about the village.
The front entrance was an arbour constructed of twigs and leaves, a nice little sign stabbed into the ground next to it reading Doro village. This was a complete guess because I can't read Japanese or Kanji, or whatever the anime uses. The houses inside the walls were basically domes of mud compacted very firmly. Hopefully, that material could survive rain really well, which I assumed was true because the roads were a sopping mud bath. The village seemed to have a recent downpour.
I grimaced as the road sucked at my shoes, the popping sound as I wrangled my foot from their grasp every time was almost nauseating. My teammates didn't seem to struggle as much as me though, only splatters of mud slinging onto them while my lower half was almost coated. I glared at the road ahead, trying to discover how they did it. Oh my god I'm stupid. Of course they were flowing chakra into their feet so that they could walk on top of the mud!
With my newfound information, I focused on the flow of energy within. It felt like thick water, but still containing an airy lightness. I embraced the energy and gently pointed it towards my feet. I felt myself rise just the slightest until I was walking above the road, and happiness overcame me. Nobody noticed my accomplishment, but I sure as hell was proud of myself.
We silently continued past multiple mud domes, the civilians parting for us as they went about their daily business. Minato eventually stopped before a shack, the planks of wood acting as the walls, forced together with mard-packed mud. He approached the entrance, but before he could knock the door flung open and a man stumbled out, muttering nonsense under his breath.
We stood still as the man finished locking his door. And when he aggressively turned around, Minato had the impeccable timing to state a nice hello. The guy's eyes bulged in surprise, a comedic expression adorning his face.
"Good afternoon Hayashi," Minato repeated, "we are the shinobi you hired to escort you to the Kisaragi village. Are you ready to go?" The now identified Hayashi snapped out of his shocked state, straightening his ragged coat.
"Of course I'm ready," he scoffed, "I was almost about to leave without you! You guys almost made me late!" His scrawny form shook with his pitiful anger. In reality, my team was 2 hours earlier than the formulated meeting time, but none of us mentioned that. With a huff, he set off down the road, dragging his wragged suitcase on the muddy earth. I wrinkled my nose in distaste for the arrogant client, but followed Minato dutifully when he automatically caught up with his charge.
The travel there was the opposite of when we arrived-completely silent. Granted, the client was really keeping us busy because he would always dart off into an unknown direction. After 50 efforts of saying that only he knows the true path to the village and that we were all stupid so follow him, I just got fed up with chasing after him, so I continued strolling on the marked path while the rest pursued him. Guess I need to find that shinobi mindset. But I don't give two shits right now. Unluckily for me, my "laziness" set me up for something worse than an unruly client.
The sound of my footsteps sung in harmony with the birds chirping in the trees. My hooded gaze was bored as I observed the foliage lining the path, which had thankfully dried in the sun so it was no longer a pig sty. It honestly surprised me when the overcast clouds seemed to flick a switch and transform into blue skies. I could hear the frustrated screams of Obito in the distance, as well as Rin's shouting at him to calm down. Imagining the situation made me chuckle slightly.
Hiiiisssssssssssss!
The unnatural sound brought my musings to a halt. My head whipped around, searching for the source. It was so at contrast with the beautiful scenery that it brought a chill down my spine. This is not the normal sound of a snake.
The noise increased in volume suddenly, so loud it sounded like it was right next to my ear. I quickly drew my sword, the black grip in my hand slightly comforting. I kept whirling around trying to find the threat but coming up short every time. I was steadily becoming more frantic and my urge to run to Minato-sensei was increasing. Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea.
With that thought, I shot off the path and into the forest, depending on Obito's obnoxious voice to guide me to safety. But before I set one foot onto lush grass, something wrapped around my waist, stopping my momentum mid-air. The object strangled my stomach, jerking me back into the open and onto the ground.
I landed harshly, breath knocked out of me. The rope, I assumed, slithered off of me as tension released, and I took the opportunity to hop back up and faced my attacker, my angelic swords at the ready.
My assailant released a deep chuckle. The man that stood across from me looked slightly crazy, garbed in the typical outfit you would see of a heavy-metal rock fanatic. The look was complete with a big mohawk, black eyeliner, black lipstick and hanging chains. But I didn't see any evidence of whatever rope tackled me.
"Oh hello little lady!" the man screeched, eyes going wonky with insanity, "man your blood just smells delicious! I wanna taste of that red liquid ya!" Curiosity tugged on my brain. When did I start bleeding and where? I didn't dare let the fanatic leave my sight however to check. I'm assuming I must've injured myself when I was yanked onto the ground. Speaking of which, I still couldn't identify where he was keeping that rope weapon of his.
I startled when the man threw his head backwards in laughter. But his neck stretched to such an abnormal length that his head ended up to his mid-back. What the actual fuck! Is he like an Orochimaru prototype! At least I know that he can probably do that with the rest of his body, so his limbs might've been that rope, my overactive imagination supplied.
"I guess I'll just have to catch you!" he taunted. My eyes expanded at his statement, and my heart almost burst out of my chest when he sprinted towards me. I prepared my sword, face set in determination. I may not have had pretty much any training, but I sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight.
He laughed in his quick approach, jabbing a fist at my wrist. I flicked my hand sharply to prevent my sword being knocked out of my hand, aiming the sharp blade at the incoming flesh.
A disturbing sound permeated the air and for a second, I thought I had chopped his hand off. My head whipped down to check the damage. It's too early to see my first amputated limb!
Somewhat fortunate, his hand was intact. Except his hand stretched and looped around the white metal of my sword. The sound must've been his bones breaking and reforming. The thought disgusted me. At least I'm right though.
I sharply pulled my right hand back to my side, retrieving my blade before his snaking hand could grasp the handle. At the same time, my leg kicked at his stomach hoping to drive him back.
The man's left hand grabbed my ankle, grip tighten painfully. The action caused me to be dreadfully off balance. Channeling chakra to my foot, I pushed off his body, breaking free from his hold and doing a few backflips to increase our distance. But it was all in vain.
When my feet were barely planted on the ground, his personal ropes were already chasing me. I grunted in irritation. Crouching low, I swung my sword around just like I had the previous day in practice.
Despite my crisp aim, he was simply too fast for me. The lengthy appendages danced around my blade tauntingly as the crazy fanatic approached.
Growing desperate, my only plan was to get him to fight a short range battle. The guy is obviously a long range attacker, so maybe I'll have an advantage up close. Get within his range of motion so his stretching ability is useless. With the split second decision made, I recklessly charged at him. He squinted in interest, whipping his arms quicker.
I dodged right and ducked low, continuing my forward attack. The whiz of a kunai alerted my ears and I barely dropped to the ground in time before the sharp blade flew past me. My throat would've been a goner without my reflexes.
However, I think the weapon was only to stop my advance and distract me. For the second I was immobile on the ground, my assailant yanked his whips upwards and dragged them back down. The momentum of gravity combined with his strength was aimed solely at me. He made direct contact.
The impact came full force on my back, pushing me harshly down into the ground and forming a small crater.
I squeezed my eyes shut at the pain. What sucks is that I know I'm running on adrenaline and if I'm hurting now then nothing will compare to when the fight ends. My eyes shot open when a loud thud sounded just in front of my face.
I regretfully scurried backwards as fast as I could, staring wide-eyed at the crazy metallica man that just appeared. His obsidian orbs squinted at me as he released a great cackle. I wasn't going to wait for him to get over his laughing fit.
Using the sword still gripped tightly in my hand, honestly not knowing how I hung onto it for this long, I flung it at the crazy man. The angelic blade enact its small vengeance as it easily pierced his shoulder, blood spouting out.
His laughter stuttered to a stop. With a confused expression, he regarded the blade within his skin and the blood pouring steadily out. His head lifted again and his gaze rested on me once more. And it was terrifying.
No longer was there a crazy glint in his eyes. Now, they were shrouded in pure malicious intent, and it was solely focused on me.
Frightened out of my mind, I scrambled upwards and out of the mini crater I had created. Seeing my movement seemed to snap the fanatic out of his craze and he swung both his arms at me.
Internally panicking, I could think of nothing. My sword was gone and I had no training. I was a sitting duck.
The snake arms were almost upon me, and my last effort plan was to grab hold of them. If he can't utilize his main weapon then he can't get me, was my amazing thought process. My scratter brain didn't compute the variables that I had no weapon to physically stop his hands, I was running on pure adrenaline, I was injured gravely, and the simple fact that the man was immensely stronger than I.
The man made an irritated expression when I stopped his attack. He tugged his arms backwards, but I held firm. His second try, he yanked them backwards with seemingly all his strength. My puny form was no match for that.
My hand grip tried to stop the flesh from slipping from my grasp, but that was my ultimate downfall.
The snake arms sliced past my hands, easily escaping my hold. In the process, the vine-like appendages cut through the fragile skin of my palms like butter. My tight grip only made them worse.
The weapons eventually managed to slither back to their master. He directed a scary look at me and approached once again.
The consequences didn't hit me immediately. But when the man took one step forward, almost like the flick of a switch, the pain rushed over me, originating from my hands.
I collapsed to my knees and bellowed a startling scream. Shakily, I brought my hands forward so I could look at them, and the bloodied sight churned my stomach. I forced the vomit down my throat, the action choking me as my body kept forcing me involuntarily to scream.
My entire body was agony.
I was blind to everything except the intense misery. The sight of blood not only curdled my stomach, but revealed my most recent tragic memories.
Red encompassed my vision and my brain. The red of blood. The red of pain. The red of everything.
I didn't know how long I screeched for. It could've been seconds or hours. Things only became tangible once again when my vision returned, albeit blurred by tears. I didn't even know when I started crying.
I adjusted my eyes to accomodate for my tears, but regretted it. I choked on a sob, my voice hoarse from screaming, yet I thought I would start anew when I saw the creep a hair's width away.
He chuckled deeply as my eyes widened in fright, but I could not move. My entire body trembled in torment and terror.
"Well, it was nice while it lasted," he whispered. His tongue slithered out between his lips as they pulled into a twisted smile. The organ swiped across my sliced palms, and my mouth gaped in a silent scream.
His laughter increased its intensity as his tongue retreated back into his mouth and he tasted my blood.
But his ecstasy didn't last for long.
No sooner had his mouth closed when a black blur slammed into the side of his outlined face. It was almost the perfect comedic expression when a character got punched as spit flew out of the fanatics mouth, as well as droplets of my blood.
He flew across the path and into the trees on the other side. I tried to focus on my savior, but they shot after their prey before I could focus my pupils. The blurred person left, but immediately the bright color of yellow encompassed my vision.
It took a while, but I identified the color as hair, and below that there were a pair of seriously concerned sapphire eyes. The luminescence within those orbs trapped me. They became the only thing keeping me conscious.
Despite only seeing blue, I was still aware of my body. I felt a hand delicately cup my shaking ones, another hand resting on my shoulder. I couldn't hear anything, but within my scattered brain I made the connection that Minato stood before me. I imagined him whispering comforting words to me as he scrambled to enact a solution for this predicament.
Very briefly, my source of consciousness flickered down to observe something. The break in connection was enough to snap me out of my trance.
Darkness swept in.
The last thing I saw before the calming blackness overtook me were wide, blue eyes. The last thing I felt was a pressure on my bruising back when something supported my collapsing form. The last thing I could barely hear was,
"HANNAH!"
