A/N: OK, I've gotten a lot of reviews saying, "Hey, you're the writer, it's your story," so I'm deciding to stay away from the water sports for the time being. Actually, more like for the rest of my authoring career. It's time for some real plot development this time, instead of saying I'll do it and then getting distracted by the porn that is so easily accessed on the school's internet. Ahh, porn. Where would the world be without you? Gazes longingly into the sky Oh. Sorry, my bad. On with the chapter!
Help Needed
Kohana called upon her innate energies, becoming less than corporeal, and drifting off over the forest under the twilight. She knew vaguely where she had to go to find her victim, and soon saw the lights of Konohagakure in the distance. She reverted to her normal form, drew her cloak tightly around her, and vanished from sight.
She reappeared in an alley next to an apartment complex, and looked up to the open window on the third floor. With a thought, she was there, looking in on the inhabitants. All three had similar jet-black hair, the oldest being male, and the younger two appearing to Kohana to be his daughters. She vanished again, reappearing this time outside a single home. She drew level with the window on the second story, and recognized the pink hair of the girl inside. The girl had her back turned, so Kohana couldn't see her face, so the vampiress lay in wait, wanting to be certain this was her true target. She listened carefully to the conversation within.
"Mmm, Natsuko, you do that so well."
"Thanks, I've had lots of practice."
Kohana realized what she was listening to as the moans rolled out the window. She looked inside again, and finally caught a glimpse of the pink-haired girl's face.
Those eyes. They were the same pupil-less, gray Hyuga eyes that had haunted Kohana ever since her death. Kohana pulled her wits together and set off, seeking another occupant of the house. She found another, a woman, with short black hair, dressed in a robe, as the woman headed down the stairs into the lower level.
"Sakura?" The woman called. "Can we talk?" A second woman entered, facing the first. The pink hair and blue-green eyes were very clear to Kohana.
This was her victim.
She slipped, unseen, through the open window. She crept silently along, up behind her victim, and bared her fangs. She moved into striking position, and promptly dropped back as Hinata Hyuga's fist slammed into her face.
The move forced Kohana into visibility, and she realized she didn't stand a chance by going invisible again. She recognized the all-seeing eyes of the Hyuga woman, and knew she was sorely mistaken to come back.
"So," Sakura said, falling into an offensive stance. "You're the one who attacked me while I was asleep. Not very sporting of you."
Kohana hissed, baring her fangs, and struck out. With speed and strength beyond that of any normal human, she was able to land a solid hit on each of her opponents before they could get any sort of defense in the way. Sakura staggered back, but Hinata rolled with the blow, absorbing the hit without any real damage. Hinata went through several handsigns, and came up spitting a fireball at the vampire.
Kohana smartly teleported away, reappearing behind her opponents. Hinata's fireball destroyed the wall dividing this room with the next, and weakened the ceiling dangerously. Kohana hit both of the women in their kidneys, driving them to separate walls.
A pair of girls came down the stairs. One was the girl Kohana had seen earlier, and the other must be the "Natsuko" she had been speaking to.
"Kiora," Sakura called. "Get out! Run!"
Kiora stayed rooted to the spot. Kohana advanced on her, and the girl flipped through handsigns so fast that Kohana wasn't even sure she had actually done anything, until the Chidori's lightning appeared in the palm of her hand.
"Kiora! RUN!" Sakura shouted again. Kiora glanced at her palm, willed away the chakra, and heeded her mother's advice. She grabbed Natsuko, flipped through several handsigns, and teleported away.
Kohana turned and focused her attention on Sakura, intent on finishing the kill she had failed at before. Kohana lunged, leading with her fangs. Sakura raised her arms in an attempt to block, but Kohana latched onto her jugular and held on. Sakura's struggling weakened as Kohana feasted. Hinata appeared next to her and began stabbing the vampire, but every time she pulled back her kunai, the Kohana's skin was already healing. Hinata activated her Byakugan and hit the vampire directly over her heart, unleashing waves of chakra into her. Still the vampiress held on, and Sakura slumped, supported only by her fangs. Finally, Kohana looked up, and Sakura fell to the floor, dead.
Hinata was consumed by rage, but knew in her mind that she could do nothing against this foe. She turned and began to flee, but powerful hands clamped over her neck, cutting off her air supply and threatening to crush her vertebrae. Hinata new that death was at hand, knew that there was no way for her to survive this encounter. But she was determined to take down the vampiress with her. She flipped through a long chain of hand signs, racing against the amount of oxygen she had left. She fired off the last sign, and the resulting lightning explosion wiped out the first level of the house. The house collapsed, burying the remaining occupants.
-----
Kiora looked back to see her home fall to the ground. She collapsed to the ground, denying that it had happened.
"No," she said. "No, no, no, no, NO!" She screamed the last word into the darkness, and the tears came forth. She hadn't cried when she heard about Sakura, but now, to have witnessed the fall of something so pure as her home, she could no longer contain the emotions.
Natsuko stood oddly removed from the scene. She knew her mother hadn't been in the house, having returned briefly to the Yamanaka home to retrieve several belongings. But she couldn't deny the fact that what she had just seen unnerved her. She wanted to go to Kiora, to put a comforting hand on her shoulder and tell her everything would be okay, but she couldn't.
Kiora, overcome with grief, began to sing softly into the darkness. Natsuko recognized the song as I Won't See You Tonight by Avenged Sevenfold.
"Cry alone, I've gone away," Kiora sang. "No more nights, no more pain."
Natsuko finally did manage to put her hand on Kiora's shoulder, and she joined in the next line. "I've gone alone, took all my strength," she sang. "I've made the change, I won't see you tonight."
Kiora wiped a hand across her cheek, a pitiful attempt to dry away the tears, and turned away from the scene.
"Remember where Melody and Serenity live?" she asked. Natsuko nodded. "Lead the way, then," Kiora finished.
-----
Sasuke Uchiha was very surprised when he opened the door to find Kiora on his doorstep.
"What happened?" he asked. Kiora moved inside and plopped on the couch.
"My mothers," she said. "They're dead. Something attacked them in our house."
As she spoke the words, tears streamed silently down her face.
"What was it?" Sasuke asked. Kiora laughed, an accidental giggle at first, then burst into hysterical laughter. Sasuke almost feared she had lost her mind.
"A vampire," she finished, wiping away the tears. A cruel grin spread across her face. "A mother fucking vampire. My parents were killed by a figment of my imagination."
Sasuke shook his head. "Do you really know the full story of the patriarch gene?" he asked. Kiora shook her head. "The last Hyuga to carry the gene battled a young woman, an evil being of considerable power. He defeated her, but the sheer amount of chakra released in the battle consumed him. His very life-force fled his body, and the woman's spirit absorbed his own. She is a perversion of life itself, the very embodiment of her own power and the combined power of the patriarch."
Kiora sat in a kind of stunned disbelief. "If you knew all this, why did you send my mothers to investigate it in the first place?" she asked accusatorily.
"Because, we didn't know if it was indeed the vampiress or a copycat," Sasuke replied. "Get some rest, and I'll get Kakashi over here. He can explain some of your new abilities better than I can."
Kiora nodded her assent, turning to go into Melody and Serenity's room. Natsuko had already pulled out a pair of sleeping bags and was seated on hers, conversing with Melody on vampire lore. She looked up when Kiora entered.
"We've figured out a lot about how you can kill this vampire," Natsuko said. Kiora pretended to look interested. "Firstly, they're undead, which means any damage dealt to them by fire can't be healed." Now Kiora was genuinely interested. "And you probably already know the usual stuff, garlic and silver, wooden stakes, etcetera."
Kiora motioned for the book they had been reading. She glanced through it, confirming that there was indeed a string of vampire-related deaths in Konoha about seven centuries ago, around the same time as the last patriarch gene user.
She tossed the book back to Natsuko and flopped onto her bedroll and tried to push away the residual pain, but Hinata's and Sakura's faces kept swimming to the front of her mind. Kiora willed the memories away, forcing herself to forget, at least temporarily. She failed, and ended up crying herself to sleep for the first time in many years.
-----
Kohana was in terrible pain. She couldn't deny that Hinata's initial strike to the heart wasn't painful, and that suicidal lightning blast had almost killed her. Kohana staggered from the rubble of the building, wincing with each step. She realized how lucky she had been. The gas stove had detonated with the lightning blast, and the only reason Kohana hadn't been burned to a crisp was the fact that she had remained buried for so long. Kohana willed her corporeal form away, becoming invisible, and teleported away to her cave.
Fyrentennimar knew Kohana was wounded the instant she returned to the cave. He called upon his innate magical energies, turning himself into the human male form he usually used around Kohana. The vampiress had also used Fyren as a lover on those occasions when centuries of lust consumed her. The dragon/human moved to Kohana's side, but instead she slapped him away. The proud beast turned in rage to attack, but knew that Kohana, even wounded, was stronger than he. He was fearful, knowing that whoever had hurt Kohana this badly was indeed a very powerful being.
Kohana retired to her private chamber, reflecting on the evening's activities. Her thoughts turned to Kiora, remembering how quickly the girl had activated such powerful energies. She remembered the other Hyuga she had encountered, back in life, and realized this girl was nearly identical in power to him. Kohana decided the girl would have to be her last victim. Somehow she knew that killing that one would sate her hunger for another seven centuries.
-----
"We have a situation," Sasuke said. Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Sakura and Hinata are dead, I saw the bodies for myself."
"I will train Kiora," Kakashi said. "If she is as powerful as the legends of the patriarch claim, then she will grow to rival even the Hokage."
"Lady Tsunade would not be pleased to hear you say that," Sasuke said, laughing. He looked to Kakashi and added, "Kiora is looking forward to speaking with you."
Kakashi nodded again. He turned away from Sasuke and leapt away, towards the pile of debris that was the remainder of Kiora's home.
A/N: Sorry guys, it had to happen. The story must continue. The smut can't last forever! And neither can Kiora's innocence. So sorry, my beloved Kiora-chan!
