I know y'all are mad at me for the cliffie but just read this chapter and you'll understand why I stopped where I did. I would have been pissed off at myself if I stopped anywhere else! .
THIS IS A SHOUT-OUT TO SAKURAKISSY CUZ SHE'S JUST AWSOME LIKE THAT! and I told you who Kazuku's brother was. Kazuki-san!
Estel: I agree about the Airi comment. However I also imagine the rope swinging over a fire and little cannibal people dancing around her. . Btw: AWSOME! Me and my friends are all going to Anime South next January! I'm going to go dressed as Madara Uchiha (leader of Akatsuki)!
All my awesome reviewers are awesome in all their awsomenisity.
!WARNING! This chapter get pretty….intense during the last part of it and has some kinda creepy mental images (not creepy as in funny creepy but creepy as in screaming your head off because your about to wet your pants creepy) so yea…my friend read this and basically said it scared the crap out of her.
The song at the end is Natasha Bedinfield's "Pocket Full of Sunshine" if you don't like the song sorry but it went with the ending.
P.S. (sorry this is a long A/N) Sorry I took so long but look over at the little thing that shows you how long this thing is! This is a long chapter so that's why it took so long plus I had exams and my birthday. Over 9000 words! YAY!
Toshiro thought back to the past three days as he walked past the marble doors to the shrine while holding Houtaru's tan hand in his own pale one. Due to Houtaru and her clones getting all the outside repair work on the shrine done, his sensei had set aside some time for training and had taught them how to use the tree walking exercise. However that did no good seeing as how Houtaru could easily use chakra to walk up a powerful waterfall (though no one knew that but her), Toshiro had been taught the exercise by Houtaru to work on his chakra control so the only one who had any trouble with it was Airi. Toshiro had been disappointed that he hadn't gotten any more answers out of Houtaru. He had also noticed the growing stress the blond was building over the past three days and he had to admit he was getting fearful because he knew the blonds reasoning.
He had only been able to have a real talk with her the night before when she had come into his room and had shaken him awake. When he asked her what was wrong she had hugged him to her and let a few tears escape her azure eyes.
:Flash Back:
Toshiro felt a soft hand on the side of his arm gently shaking him from his dreamless sleep. He opened his midnight eyes only to be met by ones the color of the daytime sky. He couldn't help but smile a bit when he recalled the villagers back home saying how their eyes were total opposites of the other and complemented one another. He had felt a surge of happiness at the comment but was pulled out of his reverie by the site of Houtaru's eyes sparkling more than usual; she was crying.
"Houtaru-chan, what's wrong?" Toshiro asked now fully awake and reached to pull the girl into his arms for a hug.
She responded by wrapping her arms around him and hiding her face in his neck. Toshiro rubbed her back soothingly and waited for her to tell him what happened.
"We're going to have to go into the shrine tomorrow." Houtaru said shakily causing Toshiro to stiffen. "I'm scared I won't be good enough to protect you."
"You don't have to do everything by yourself. You taught me how to fight to and I'm sure Konohamaru-sensei would be fine fighting; he's a jounin after all. And Airi's really good at running so she'll be fine." Toshiro tried to comfort his friend.
She was quite for a while before sitting up again and looking out the window she had just crawled through. "If we fight Ibara….there will be no running, you can only fight her if you know how to dodge small objects coming at you really quickly."
"I can dodge with sharingan and I'm sure you'll be fine with your chakra arms." Houtaru shook her head and pulled her knees close to her and put her head on them. Her high-pigtails fell in front of her eyes. In the silence Toshiro couldn't help but wonder if she ever took her hair down. He knew she always slept with it up because when he came to wake her up in the mornings or when they talked at night it was up.
Houtaru lifted her head and Toshiro froze at the dead look she had in her eyes. He saw her force a fake smile on her face "You're right, there's probably nothing to worry about. We probably wont even meet Ibara. So I've got nothing to worry about."
:End:
Toshiro new she was lying about not being worried and she was probably up to something but Toshiro didn't question her. As they walked through the shrine the group stood at the top of a steep, stone staircase. They couldn't see the end of it because the light disappeared after about ten meters down. Konohamaru went to light the lantern they had but was stopped when Houtaru told him to wait.
The brunette looked at his student questioningly. "Save the lantern for later." She said smiling. She raised her palm and a warm sphere of golden light emitted from her palm. It was very bright and would easily light the four's way through the tunnel. "When I was little everyone used to call me 'Little Firefly' so I created this jutsu."
Konohamaru studied the sphere of glowing light and decided it was stable. "I'll lead the way." Houtaru said before starting down the stairs without waiting for a reply. Toshiro fallowed then Airi and Konohamaru took up the rear.
As they descended farther and farther down the never-ending stair case Houtaru's nose scrunched up. She could easily smell the rotten smell of decaying bodies and the smell made her stomach turn and her mind scream for she had still had a sliver of hope that they would be fast enough to save a few of the men.
By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs they were at least twenty miles underground and everyone could easily smell the odor that fouled up the air.
"Ew, gross! What is that smell?" Airi shrieked.
"The smell of decaying bodies." Houtaru said with a dark look on her face.
"It's just animals right?" Airi asked with fear in her eyes. She never received an answer as Houtaru continued walking down the dank passage. She lifted her glowing hand to reveal they were in a damp cavern made of stone with think ivy growing all along the walls, ceiling and some on the floor. They continued walking until they came to a tunnel.
Houtaru knew which way they should go by her extreme senses but instead she pointed to a scratched-in arrow on the wall. "They went that way." Houtaru said.
"I guess that's the path they made to mark where they had gone." Konohamaru agreed. They walked even deeper into the cave and Houtaru knew she wasn't the only one who sensed the massive amount of demonic killer intent in the air.
They walked down the tunnel and fallowed the arrows when they came to a split in the tunnel. Houtaru couldn't help but notice the smell had gotten extremely strong so she looked around a bit a something made her freeze and gasp. Airi screamed dramatically and both men stiffened. Houtaru felt her stomach turning but was able to hold it down. She had seen worse things in her time. Being an apprentice to demons whose harsh training can prepare you for anything can come in handy when you feel the sudden urge to puke.
There, mangled and constricted by the vines on the wall, was a relatively fresh corpse that had no arms and most of its features were unrecognizable.
All of a sudden they heard another scream and turned to see a vine winding its way up Airi's leg. Konohamaru, being the closest, grabbed a kunai and hastily cut through the vine. This proved to be a bad move as more ivy came to life and shot towards Konohamaru and Airi, who was still screaming. It was stopped by two 'arms' of black chakra.
"RUN!" Houtaru screamed before allowing Airi and Konohamaru to pass her before releasing her hold on the ivy and running after them. That didn't help at all for the ivy merely shot up and made a beeline for them. Houtaru could have sworn she heard a high-pitched shrieking coming from the plants. She could also smell the blood from Airi's ankle and knew they had to get out of there fast.
"Toshiro, Grand Fireball Technique! (I don't know the actual names in Japanese)" She yelled out and he nodded. He stopped for only a second to let Houtaru catch up before jumping on her back. He then leaned back so he was facing the ivy and made the hand seals "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" He yelled and a giant ball of fire emitted from his mouth and engulfed most of the ivy.
He jumped of Houtaru's back and they kept running before Houtaru yelled "STOP!" and Konohamaru stopped just short of a giant thorn that jutted out of the ground before sinking back into the ground.
"It's relatively safe if we stay here where there aren't any thorns and I don't think that ivy can reach this far." Houtaru commented and her team looked confused until held up her hand, which she had been able to keep glowing, and motioned her hands so that the others saw that the thorn had come up through a hole and there were others littering the sides, ceiling and floor past the point Konohamaru was standing.
They all timidly sat in a circle, exhausted, and sat in silence after Houtaru healed Airi's leg.
"Well," Houtaru started causing everyone's heads to shoot up as she "do we want to go back or keep going to see if anyone of the four that came in here is alive?" what her team said didn't matter. She still knew what she had to do.
"They obviously didn't survive, even if they managed to get past the vines we have no idea what's further on in the cave. I say we should just go back." Airi stated as if it was the smartest idea in the world.
"Airi has a point. Toshiro burned all the ivy so I don't think it would be that hard to go back. And this obviously isn't a scouting trip for genins. We don't even know what's in the cave yet and I can already say that if we had known this mission would have at least been a high B." Konohamaru said in a far-away voice.
That was all Houtaru needed to hear, she wasn't going to get any further with her team; she knew that, so she would have to separate herself from them.
"I think we should light the lantern now for extra light. If we're going back I think Airi should hold it so Konohamaru-sensei and Toshiro can be prepared with fire attacks because ivy grown in chains so there's going to be a lot more." Houtaru stated nonchalantly and Konohamaru and Airi nodded in agreement.
Toshiro wasn't fooled. She was giving up? Just like that? No. Was she planning to….
Toshiro discreetly activated his sharingan. It still only had two wheels but he could still see chakra pooling if he tried. Once he concentrated he saw that she had indeed been pooling large amounts of her black chakra into her eyes. A memory shot into his mind.
"You know how my eyes have a spiral design in the middle?"… "Well that's how the chakra will look if it hits someone."
Someone….or something!
He noticed how Houtaru back away towards the hole where the thorn was and how her eyes were pinned to the ceiling. Airi, who had lit the lantern, and Konohamaru were observing the tunnel towards the direction they had just come from; they were both oblivious to the fact that Houtaru's eyes were now white with a blue spirals.
NO! He thought. She was planning to cause a cave in. Leaving them on one side, the one that lead back to the surface and her on the other, leading down into the cavern that death was surly waiting.
He didn't think about her reasons and he didn't really care as he saw chakra begin to shoot out of her eyes. He knew she couldn't be alone in this cavern, no matter how strong she may be. His body acted on impulse as he propelled himself at her "NO!" and he pushed her out of the way as the rocks came down from the ceiling and separated them from the others with a deafening noise.
She looked at her friend stunned but didn't have time to say anything as a thorn shot out of the wall and she had to push them out of the way. She cursed. "RUN!" She screamed as the two got up and ran. They dodged giant thorn after giant thorn that shot out of the walls, ceiling and floor. Houtaru couldn't ignore the horrible shrieking sounds she heard nor could she ignore the fact the Toshiro was not going to last much longer and at this rate, neither was she; the smell of decay and shrieking noise was taking it's toll on her.
"Kitten, let me take over! NOW!" Ni-bii shouted from her mind. She surrendered. She had given control to the demons a couple times before and knew what she had to do.
Houtaru froze in mid step causing Toshiro to look back and falter in his step but Houtaru still didn't move. She was concentrating. She had to let go over everything. Her thoughts, her mind, her very essence, she let it all go and felt a warm feeling, like cat's fur, being wrapped protectively around her. And then she was gone.
Houtaru felt her eyes open. She looked around. She was in a tunnel but this wasn't a dark tunnel, it was aglow due to dozen of floating orbs of light. The walls were made of what appeared to be obsidian and it was very calming to her. It should be; after all she was in her mind.
She got up off the smooth ground and looked at her reflection in the black obsidian. She was herself now. Her hair was still a spiky golden mass but now it flowed like liquid gold down her back with obsidian streaks running trough it. Her nails and teeth were shaper and she knew they could scratch diamonds. The whiskers on the side of her face were more pronounced and her eyes were now the same obsidian color as the walls with golden slit-pupils that gave her a feral look but her eyes still looked soft regardless. She had often regarded how they had changed over the years, from white irises with blue slit-pupils to this, now more piercing color. The Bijuu told her it was a sign of growing power. She also took notice of her ten extra appendages she now sported as the golden tip of one of her black tails caught her eyes. She was no longer Houtaru; the genin but Houtaru; the Princess of Daemons and the future Daemon Lord. And she liked it that way.
"Now, now Firefly. We all know you're pretty but let's not keep us waiting just so you can impress your new little mate." Shukaku's sarcastic voice rang out and Houtaru turned to it and headed down the hall.
Houtaru could sense the stress in the room and eyed Ni-bii. "Kitten, I got us to the point where we can no longer communicate with you. I carried the boys past the thorns, where we spotted two of the remaining three bodies, and your body is now in an unconscious state."
"So we're on our own now?" Houtaru asked solemnly.
"Yes, but we all have faith in you." San-bii assured.
"Go now, your little mate's worrying about you." Jo-bii snickered.
Houtaru didn't get to respond as she felt someone shaking her.
"Houtaru-chan?! Houtaru-chan, wake up!" She opened her eyes to find that she couldn't see anything. She quickly formed a ball of glowing light in her hands.
Houtaru looked at her friend and was relieved to find out he was ok. But it was short-lived for the events of how they were put in a situation where Toshiro wouldn't be ok flashed into her mind.
The idiot! All she was trying to do was get them separated but NOOOOO! He had to got and push her out of the way, make her misfire, get them separated from Airi and Konohamaru (this was her original plan but it wasn't supposed to include him!) and then get her almost killed by giant thorns.
"Teme! What the hell was that all about?!" Houtaru screamed.
Toshiro looked at her stunned. He had pushed her out of the way and then they had to start running through the tunnel because of giant thorn. He was starting to get tired and he stopped because Houtaru did and turned to see her in concentration. In the middle of a giant thorn field no less!
Out of nowhere a spike came strait from above his head. He could only manage to see it before the air was blown out of him and he was being carried at an incredibly fast speed through the field of thorns. The light emitting from Houtaru's hand was no longer gold, but purple; just like her healing chakra.
"Houta-
But he was silenced by her snapping her head in his direction. Her eyes! They were not longer Houtaru's. They were slits like cat eyes and a shade of an almost glowing purple but held a demonic look. They weren't his Houtaru's eyes and it scared him. The world seemed to freeze as he looked into those demonic purple eyes in terror. They were glaring at him. He could tell they could have held kindness in them but at the moment they were cold, demonic, angry. A part of his brain was scared of them but the other part was frantic about what had happened to Houtaru. These eyes didn't belong to her, even if she had eyes that could be this cold, this….terrifying, he would have been able to tell it was her.
When they had finally stopped Houtaru had collapsed and the light she was emitting went out leaving Toshiro in darkness. He had tried frantically to wake her up and now she was….yelling at him? What the hell?!
"Dobe! I just saved your butt!" He shouted back.
"No you didn't! I was trying to save yours! Then you go and push me back into a friekin thorn field! Why couldn't you just have seen what I was doing and done nothing!"
"Because! I'm not going to let you come back here by yourself! I'm your friend, I'm not about to abandon you!" Toshiro shouted back, a bit embarrassed. He was an Uchiha after all. Uchiha didn't say things like that, all mushy and making them sound like they cared. They made smart comments and made it clear that they were the best. Toshiro knew that if he tried that with Houtaru he would probably get slapped and would get absolutely nowhere with this stubborn girl.
Houtaru didn't respond. Damn him for making a comment she had no response to. As much as she hated to admit it he was a bit smarter than her. She inwardly cursed her father, knowing she got it from him.
"Your eyes, what happened to them?" Toshiro asked, no demanded of her. He decided to try being demanding with her. He had never tried it before and thought that now was a good a time as any as they were trapped, miles underground, in a cave, with a demon.
Houtaru however was debated whether or not to punch him or slap him. He did not just demand an answer from her! She couldn't use Ni-bii's healing powers so hurting him would put a serious scratch in what she was trying to do. She sighed. She would have to deal with Toshiro being there and try to use the fact that she had a friend to help her.
Toshiro thought the sigh was a sign he was going to get an answer so he continued in the same tone of voice he had heard his father use to talk to many people "So?"
Houtaru glared at him. "No. Under absolutely no circumstances am I answering the question. Now I have to figure out how to get us both out of here alive and it's your fault! So I suggest you shut up and keep quiet while I think. And if you ever talk to me like that again I'm going to punch you. Bad situation or not." Houtaru glared at her friend.
Toshiro nodded and put talking to her like his father talks to people one the 'list of proven bad ideas.'
"That's right, kiddies. Come to see Ibara." A high whisper of a voice said while a draft entered the cavern out of no where. As the wisp of air went past the two kids and down the tunnel, it seemed to light a row of eerie torches on either side of the cavern.
"Well that's original." thought Houtaru sarcastically. She wasn't fearful for her life. She new that this was going to happen and knew if she showed any sign of fear Ibara would take it and multiply it.
Toshiro, however, froze in fear at the pure demonic sound of the voice. Houtaru noticed her friend's discomfort. "This is what you wanted. You wanted to help me. Toshiro-kun, I have nothing more to say except for to warn you. You're meddling with demons now. There's no going back."
With that Houtaru turned and headed down the torch-lit tunnel and Toshiro followed behind cautiously.
As they walked Houtaru noticed how the ivy that draped the walls on either side of them appeared to have more and more thorns the deeper they went. She kept her senses peeled however; one of the four men who came down here was still missing and, maybe just maybe, still had a chance of living. She tried to keep that hope as she heard their footsteps echoing off the stone walls.
"What was your family? Demon hunters? Is that why you know so much about them, demons that is?" Toshiro tried to question. He was using the tone of voice he always used with her now and even though she said she wasn't going to answer his questions, he needed to know. He had an eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach. It almost made him regret coming, almost, but not quite. The feeling told him he was going to die.
"No, we aren't demon hunters." Houtaru answered in a quiet voice. She smiled a bit, but refrained from laughing at the irony. She was anything but a demon hunter.
"Then how do you know so much? And you never told me what you and that old man talked about." Toshiro pressed, quickening his pace a bit so he was now instep with his friend instead of behind her.
Houtaru sighed "We talked about the legend for he knew it as well as me. And as to why I know so much about demons….it's because….I….." however she never finished.
A scream echoed from a little ways down the cavern. It was a wail; a horrible screeching sound that sounded as if its owner was being tortured in the worst way possible.
Houtaru took off. Toshiro followed close behind and the two sped through the tunnel, adrenalin pumping through their veins. Houtaru knew what she had to do but was fearful for Toshiro. Toshiro didn't know what to feel. He knew he was helping his friend but the demonic presence in the air made him fearful, he would have been a fool not to have been scared.
The two came to a halt outside a giant wooden door that had vines with deadly looking thorns encasing it. Another scream ripped through the tunnel and they froze. All sign of any struggle from beyond the door ceased and they herd a high-pitched, demonic laugh come from inside the door.
Again Houtaru wasn't as scared as she thought she should be. She had experience with demons and knew that what-ever was behind the door wasn't worse than what she held inside her body, or even her. However she knew Toshiro was in danger and that was the only reason she was scared. She didn't care if she died, she knew that was almost impossibility, even if she didn't have the bijuu's help she was still a demon herself, though an unrecognized one. But Toshiro was human. And he was in danger.
"Stay behind me. Don't get distracted and don't let her know you're scared. She's a demon, Toshiro-kun. She's worse than most elite Jounin and far more experienced. Keep your eyes activated at all times. Use fire; remember she's a thorn demon." Houtaru instructed. Toshiro nodded and activated his eyes.
Houtaru looked at the door. There was no doorknob. Well what were you expecting? A doorbell as well? She scolded herself. She however did know how demons worked. Even the lowest of the low liked politeness. She went up and with a shaky hand knocked on the giant door.
"Come in, my dears, come in. Did you come to play with Ibara-sama?" the same high, demonic voice said with a laugh. The doors slowly opened to reveal a circular, torch-let, stone room covered completely in thorns and ivy except for a small circular part in the center of the room, where a small form lay on the ground, and a small stone path leading into it.
"Now, now, my dears don't be shy. Please excuse my last guest. He was no fun anyhow." The voice said laughing but with a hit of annoyance at that last part. They slowly walked into the room. Toshiro's eyes widened and his face paled as he saw that form in the middle of the floor was in fact a body; bloodied and mangled with most of its limbs in the wrong places and eyes brutally gauged out.
"Here, let me get rid of this nuisance and then we can play?" A couple vines eerily slinked up out of the mass and pulled the body back with them and down into the oblivion beyond; making a gut-wrenching crunching sound as the body was crushed.
Toshiro was visibly shaking while Houtaru was impassive.
A cluster of vines rose from the rest and opened to reveal a woman. She looked young and her skin was a smooth ivory color and her hair was a light-tan color that reminded the pair of her thorns. Her face appeared to be perfect, with the exception of a small scar running down her left cheek. The only clothes she was wearing was what appeared to be a mini-dress made of leaves from her ivy. The only thing that could have given her away was her eyes. Her crimson red, pupil-less eyes set in green where white should be.
"Ah, and who do we have here?" The woman, demon, said in a sickly sweet voice. Neither Houtaru, who still looked impassive, nor Toshiro, who was scared into silence, answered. "Silent are we? Well I suppose we'll just have to get the answers of you somehow now wont we?"
With a laugh from the demon the torches went out.
The laugh echoed off the walls and Toshiro felt a cold sweat start to form. Even though the lights were out he could still see with his sharingan but it was as if he was in a thick mist. He almost jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see it was Houtaru and could tell she could easily see as well due to the amount of chakra in her eyes.
All of a sudden she was gone. It looked as if she was being pulled away by vines and suddenly a giant thorn pierced her middle and he screamed and tried to get to her but something was in his way. He dropped to the ground his eyes glued on the site in front of him as he watched her blood drip from the wound and the surprised expression on her face; her white pupils dilated in surprise and agony.
"So sad, I guess she wasn't any fun either." said a voice from beside him. He turned to see Ibara shaking her head at the now limp form of his friend, still impaired by the thorn. She let out a laugh as Toshiro screamed again.
All of a sudden Houtaru's head snapped up "You distracted me. I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. I'm glad I didn't share any of my secrets with you. You're not strong enough."
Toshiro let out another agonizing scream as the realization hit him and fell to the floor panting. 'Why coulnd't I be strong enough for her to trust me?'
vvvvvvvvvvvv
Naruto paced in his office to the point where he nearly had walked a hole through the floor. Something was wrong. He knew something was wrong.
He marched out of his office to his daughter's library and entered only to find Kyuubi reading the scroll furiously. From the looks of it, the little fox was on the last few inches of the contents.
"They really need to put something like this in the front of the school! Damn it! I need to get back to Houtaru-san and fast!" Kyuubi muttered, not noticing the Onikage's entrance.
"What is it Kyuubi?" Naruto asked in a serious voice he reserved for serious situations.
Kyuubi looked at his old container with fearful eyes. "Ibara has another power we didn't realize until now. Well, we realized it but it's not in the legend so Houtaru wouldn't know about it! I have to get back to her fast!"
"Go now then." Naruto said. Kyuubi nodded and closed his eyes; ready to poof back into Houtaru's mind.
After a few minutes Kyuubi opened his eyes slowly "no.." he whispered.
"What! What is it?! Why are you still here?" Naruto demanded.
"I….I can't get back. I tried and the Seal of Kami is stopping me. Damn her! Of all the times she tries to be helpful and doesn't think of all the possible outcomes… Houtaru must already be too deep in Tsuta Shrine!"
"Damn it!" Naruto cursed, adding another string of profanities before he calmed himself, a gift he had learned from having to run a country "Kyuubi-sama, what's Ibara's gift?"
Kyuubi sighed and shook his head. "It's something most demons have this power, but most can't use it to the extent Ibara does. We should have known with her maniacal nature and the fact that most of her signature attacks are physical and couldn't kill the way she's known for."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Naruto demanded.
"Always impatient. Shut up and let me finish. It's important because most demons have both a power that affects ones mind and body. Ibara's attacks are know for the thorns, however the way she kills implies it's much more painful that just getting stabbed as if with a common kunai. All demons have the power to see a human's inner most fear. Apparantly Ibara has the power to make that fear apparent to them, sort of like Itachi-san's Mangekyou sharingan. This is a common trait among demons. All nine of the bijuu, including myself and someday Houtaru, are able to do this. But we didn't know Ibara could." Kyuubi said in a rushed voice.
"Wait, only humans?" Naruto asked thinking quickly.
"Anything of lesser power than them." Kyuubi said, not knowing where Naruto was going with this.
"Well then, shouldn't Houtaru be fine? I know she has more power stored up in her somewhere to out do you, right?" Kyuubi just blinked as he pondered this over, Naruto continued "If she's more powerful than you, shouldn't a common demon's power have no effect on her?"
"I suppose you're right. Ibara would be able to tell what he deepest fears are but she wouldn't be able to put her under an illusion. However what if a human is with her? I wouldn't put it past the young Uchiha. He probably found some way to go with her, even if she didn't want him to. He is Sasuke-san's son after all." Kyuubi said in a tired voice.
"Let's just pray to Kami that they both get out alright." Naruto said with a sigh.
"I think she's already done enough…." Kyuubi mumbled.
vvvvvvvvvvv
"Toshiro-kun?!" Houtaru said in a frantic voice as she saw her friend scream and collapse on the floor. (Y'all though I had killed her for a minute there didn't you? Admit it, even if you figured it out before now, for a brief second you thought I had killed her.)
She knelt down beside her friend and examined him with her eyes. She could see all his vitals were ok but she could feel his pulse pounding furiously, as if he was experiencing a nightmare.
His eyes suddenly flew open and he gasped. "Houtaru-chan! But…you were….and then…but you said….then the thorn….not good enough…..secrets…Dead!" he stumbled over his words.
Houtaru put her hand on the side of his face. "I'm fine, see?" she pulled his hand to her face to let him know she was alright.
"Look out!" Houtaru yelled suddenly and pushed Toshiro away from her and they landed on either side of the small ring of stone, the place where they were sitting moments ago now imbedded with thorns.
Then the thorns started raining down. They came from all direction and there was no way to escape the onslaught except to dodge. Houtaru jumped up and seemed to dance as she dodged the needles. She had inherited her extreme flexibility from her mother and both women were considerably graceful.
Toshiro managed to dodge all of the needles sent his way, his eyes could see them coming easily. He landed next to Houtaru who he noticed was untouched as well.
"Well, it seems we have an Uchiha in our presence. But what about you, dear? What kind of eyes do you have?" the voice rang out again and they spotted Ibara standing a few feet in front of Houtaru, inspecting her.
Houtaru made a small motion with her hand but it was enough to let Toshiro see it.
"Ok, concentrate, Toshiro, concentrate. It's Houtaru and she's been teaching you really well. Put that awesome teamwork to good use. You want to prove to her you're trustworthy of her secrets. You don't want to see her die again do you?" Toshiro told himself and shuddered at the memory. He would probably go into shock after all this was over.
Then it began. Before Ibara could finish her inspection three black arms of chakra shot out from Houtaru and knocked her back, giving Toshiro enough time to pull five kunai- all with explosive tags wrapped around them out of his shurican pouch.
"Now!" Houtaru yelled as she retracted her arm and Toshiro flung the kunai towards Ibara before sucking in a breath and lighting each of the kunai with a burst of fire before they exploded and lit the ivy afire with a giant BOOM!
Houtaru got into a crouch position and Toshiro got a kunai out of his pouch; both tensed as they heard the laughter and saw fresh ivy grow out of the giant burnt patch and Ibara stepped out of it again.
"I see you want to play then? Alright let's have some fun. Amuse me!" She screeched and another barrage of thorns rained down from all direction; this time more than the last.
Toshiro managed to dodge most of them or deflect them with his kunai but they kept coming and coming and managed to lodge in his legs and arms, as well as scratch his face.
Houtaru on the other hand wasn't focused on the thorns so she managed the get stabbed more than Toshiro but she did manage to engage Ibara in a battle of vines and chakra arms. Her arms easily burned through the ivy and thorns and caused a burn to Ibara herself who cried out in agony at being hurt at all.
"If that's how you want to play, my dear, be my guest!" She screeched and a large thorn came from Ibara's direction directly towards Houtaru who easily stopped it with her chakra arms.
Ibara smirked, thinking she had gotten the pathetic girl, and shot another thorn out of the wall at a different angle but her eyes widened when she realized that Houtaru had another trick up her sleeve. Three more arms shot out from Houtaru and easily stop and destroy the coming thorn as well as the one the other arms where holding. Houtaru jumped back and the first three arms stayed but the other three retreated back to Houtaru.
Ibara noticed something strange, these new arms didn't emit from her hands like the three that were out right now, no. The other, more powerful 'arms' appeared to be tails.
"Well, well. It seems we have a special little girl on out hands." Ibara smirked. She knew Houtaru was special but she was having too much fun at the moment to ponder what Houtaru was. She also saw one of Houtaru's fears was being found out she was more than ordinary. Ibara didn't know why but she was going to use it to her advantage.
Houtaru stiffened but wasn't taken by the comment. She knew that if Ibara knew what Houtaru was, the demon would be on her knees begging for mercy. Houtaru may not have been able to harness her power yet, but it was demon code and any demon that killed the princess would die in turn. Basically this was a no win situation for Ibara she just didn't know it yet. If the container of the Bijuu was killed before she set them free, the nine most powerful demons would die and it would essentially send to world into chaos.
Toshiro, however was starting to find it hard to move. He probably had at least two dozen thorns in him at the moment and the latest barrage of thorns finally stopped he collapsed to one knee, panting.
"Toshiro!" Houtaru yelled and dodge another giant thorn while she jumped and landed next to her friend. She concentrated for a minute and a small dome of black chakra. She turned to him as they both tried to ignore the fact that the outside of the dome was being stabbed by random giant thorns. The thorns broke on impact but that didn't stiffen the fear the two had.
"You ok?" Houtaru asked and Toshiro nodded weekly.
"So tell me again what we're trying to do?" Toshiro asked, having never been told.
"Well, I am trying to kill her. You came along for the ride." Houtaru sighed; this was turning out to be harder than she thought. If only she had her fully recognized powers. It would make this so much easier.
"Kill her! How did you plan to do that!?" Toshiro screeched.
"Just wing it I guess." Houtaru shrugged.
Toshiro was about to respond but felt something happen. He heard Houtaru scream and she appeared to have a look of horror on her face. Toshiro noticed that the barrier of black chakra that had been surrounding them was gone as well as noticed the shrill laugh that came from Ibara.
"Houtaru-chan?" He asked and tried to reach out to her to see what was wrong. That's when he noticed it. As he tried to move his right arm he felt something; a blinding pain coming from his right shoulder before he felt something warm dripping down his torso.
His eyes widened his shock as he looked down to see a small prick coming out of his right shoulder. He turned to see the small prick was just the end of a much longer, much bigger thorn.
Houtaru screamed his name again and he looked to her and could barely manage to whisper "it..hurts…" before he felt the thorn push forward a bit more before pulling back out again, living a gaping hole in his chest opposite his heart.
He felt the white hot pain in his chest and it made him scream in agony. He looked up at Houtaru again and nearly yelled again as he saw her pained face. His eyes took in all of her, the way dozens upon dozens of thorns were stuck in bleeding wounds all over her body and her face was scratched and bruised from her efforts with Ibara.
But that's not what made him yell out. It was the barrage of chakra infused thorns with smaller thorns sticking out of the sides, so as not to make a smooth cut, coming right towards Houtaru's back. He knew if she got stabbed by any one of those she would suffer too much blood loss, even with her amazing stamina she would die.
He didn't know what happened. Whether his mind just knew he was already done-fore or if he knew that Houtaru's life was more important than his, he didn't know. He just moved. Ignoring the pain he flipped Houtaru over him but didn't have time to move himself and let out a scream as the course thorns stabbed him but he managed to smile as he saw Houtaru blue and white eyes- wide with horror.
"Couldn't…let you….die…." He managed to choke out as he coughed up blood and answered the unspoken question in her azure eyes.
"Poor little boy, well, I have to admit he was fun while he lasted. He seemed so determined to be strong. Just to prove he could be worthy of your secrets. Heh, I guess he didn't want it enough." Ibara laughed shrilly again as Houtaru walked over to Toshiro's body. Her vision was obscured by something.
"oh, they're tears…" Houtaru thought as she felt something flow down her cheek. She knelt down next to Toshiro as she looked at her face. He looked so peaceful with his eyes closed "you idiot….why? why did you have to save me? I can't heal you! Damn it! I can't heal you! I'm not strong enough yet, why did you have to come?"
"Aww, did you love him? Poor little girl, so sad after losing her love. Now, now, let's not let a little loss ruin our fun! Why don't you come and play some more with me?"
She couldn't see anything. She was in her mind. She was in front of something. It was black. She could feel the power radiating from it. She reached towards it. It wasn't as close as close as she thought. She felt something. Anger. It was anger. She felt angry. Angry that she couldn't tell Toshiro her secrets, angry that should couldn't protect him, angry that she couldn't reach the black mass than seemed to be calling to her. She felt it surge through her. Anger, power! She felt it at her finger-tips. She herd Ibara's shrill laugh once again and her words and they did nothing but full the anger. She reached a little further, just a bit….further….
"What's this? Gone into shock have we? Well…" Ibara trailed off as s thorny vine twist around her head, ready to attack on command. "…lets snap you out of it shall we?"
The vine slashed through the air and towards Houtaru but never met its target. Instead it froze in mid air as Ibara froze in her spot. She was scared. A massive killer intent had filled the room along with a bloodlust and power to match one or more of the Bijuu.
Ibara watched, wide eyed, as the thorns fell from Houtaru's body and the wounds healed so quickly it could easily be seen. She stared as Houtaru's canines and nails became sharper, gaining an animalistic-like quality. Her spiky pigtails began to flail with the raising power growing around her that was putting so much pressure in the atmosphere the walls were cracking, and her hair grew more wild and untamed while midnight streaks seemed to appear making a contrast in the golden mane. Ibara stepped back a few paces. She still couldn't see the girl's eyes but she could feel the hatred and lust for blood-shed coming off the girl in waves.
Then the power seemed to double and triple before it became tangible in the form of ten black tails of chakra than loomed over Houtaru while they swayed back and forth as if they were actual tails. Ibara backed away but froze again when Houtaru's head shot up and pierced her with her gaze; her eyes, now the same midnight black as the streaks in her hair with a liquid gold slit down the center, were burning with hate and demonic power.
Houtaru released a feral growl at Ibara's and growled out the simple phrase "I'm gonna kill you." In a calm voice that would have been beautiful to anyone's ears but at the moment was laced with growls of pure demonic hatred.
Recognition finally hit Ibara full force. She thought the rumors had been false. A child born with not only the power of the Nine Great Demons but also with her own power that could best any of the very demons she held. The future Demon Lord. But there was no mistaking it. This hatred, anger, bloodlust and raw, untamed power! It couldn't belong to anything less of an incredibly powerful demon.
Ibara didn't have time to beg for forgiveness or even think to do so as a clawed hand slashed across her face as she was thrown across the room only to be punched again by the same hand. This process repeat itself until the tailed joined it their master's game of torture. Houtaru was still here but she was going to kill Ibara and a new sense had been opened to her, adding to her demonic nature and making her what she was- a demon. That feeling, that overwhelming sense, was bloodlust. She wanted Ibara to suffer. To scream for the mercy she wouldn't receive. To pay for killing all those people. To pay for killing her Toshiro-kun!
At the thought of his name Ibara was impaled by one of the tails in her stomach and it was used as leverage to fling Ibara across the room again. However Ibara was left alive but she couldn't move. She had a gaping hole in her stomach and most of her bones where broken. She looked up in horror as the girl walked slowly across the room; the ivy being crushed beneath her. The girl's face was not one of smug nature, as if she enjoyed this, no, it was one of pure hate. Houtaru stopped by Toshiro's body and looked at it slightly and Ibara tried to make this her chance and foolishly tried to send a thorn from the ceiling down to kill Houtaru.
The thorn was destroyed by the raw power in the room and Houtaru turned to face Ibara again this time sending all ten tails towards her and impaled her and sending her back into the wall behind her.
The shrine was the next thing to go as the room they were in nearly collapsed from the pressure in the room and breaking of one of its wall. It broke up and Houtaru lifted her hand slightly and her tailed shot up above her to make way of the stone above her head and up to the surface.
The room was breaking and a cloud of smoke and dust was rising from the places in between the cracks as the stone was broken apart to make way for Houtaru's tails.
Houtaru bent down and picked up her friend's body with care before she jumped up out of the collapsing room and propelled herself upwards. As she reached the top of the hole she landed on something stone and solid. She looked down at Toshiro and let out an agonizing roar again before she fell into the black oblivion of unconsciousness, somewhere in her mind hearing a splash.
vvvvvvvvvvv
Houtaru looked down the path back home, both her country and her temporary home, with a smile. A warm wind blew through the trees and Houtaru leaned her head back and let out a sigh as her pigtails blew in the breeze. She remembered back to the happening of this morning as she was standing in the exact spot she had been earlier.
:Flash back:
Kazuku stood beside Houtaru shaking her hand, a brown puppy sitting patiently by Kazuku's feet.
"Like I said before, Yon-bii here should be able to get you back to Onigakure in no time at all, as well as provide mature conversation." Houtaru said with a smile. It had been a week since her brawl with Ibara and she was perfectly healed by now. Apparently, the second she got out of the shrine Kyuubi came back to her and him and the other Bijuu immediately set to work at healing the girl and she managed to keep her and Toshiro from drowning in the river they landed in as well as walk back to camp with Toshiro's body and collapse as soon as she got there from exhaustion.
"I would imagine that all of the Bijuu could provide mature conversation, Houtaru-hime." Kazuku chuckled but stopped when he saw the look on Houtaru's face as she replied "Have you ever met Shukaku?"
The sun started to peak over the eastern horizon and Houtaru nodded to Kazuku "You better be off now, take care Kazuku-san and thank you." Houtaru bowed.
"No, Hime-same, thank you! You have managed to rid the world of a very evil demon and save many lives in the process. How you did so I will never know." Kazuku shook his head.
"Neither will I." Houtaru muttered as the old man started down the path with the brown puppy in tow.
:End:
"Houtaru-chan, say goodbye to everyone before we head out!" Konohamaru yelled causing the blond to turn around to see the crew workers waving at her.
Airi was standing besides Konohamaru and Houtaru smiled gently at Toshiro, who had bandages all around his torso, legs, arms and hands and was being held in his sensei's arms for he was unable to walk. Toshiro saw Houtaru smiling at him and stopped his brooding about being carried to return it with a weak one. The two, even though they hadn't let the other out of their sight the entire time, hadn't been able to talk at all for a week. They had even demanded sleeping in the same room because both were scared the other would disappear.
They both probably would get over the incident for a while but no one else knew that because they just clamed that there was wild animals in the cave but they had taken care of them all and the tunnel opened up somewhere else. For the past week Houtaru had been sleeping and Toshiro, who had been in critical condition, had had nurses watching over him twenty-four seven. He was going to receive better medical care once he was back in Konoha but for now was in stable condition.
"Bye everyone!" Houtaru yelled and they all waved at her as her team caught up with her.
After about an hour of travel no one had said anything. It wasn't tense like the last silence it was just that the day was so peaceful. You could hear birds chirping, the sky was a pure blue only just littered with tiny puffs of white (it reminded Toshiro of Houtaru's eyes) and a gentle breeze was blowing; like the calm after the storm.
"Houtaru-chan, why don't you grace us with another song?" Konohamaru suggested with a smile. Houtaru smiled and skipped ahead a bit before starting to sing. It was a happy care-free song. Upbeat and it matched to feeling of the day.
I
got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine. Do what you want, but
you're never gonna break me. Take me away: Take me away I
got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine. Do what you want, but
you're never gonna break me. I got a pocket, got a pocketful of
sunshine. Wish that you could, but you ain't gonna own me. Take me away: Take me away There's a
place that I go, But nobody knows. And there's no more lies. Take me away: Take me
away to Take
me away: Take me away Take me away: Take me away The sun is on my side. The sun is on my side.
I got a love, and I
know that it's all mine.
Oh. woah
Sticks and stones are never gonna
shake me.
No. woah
A secret place.
A
sweet escape:
Take me away.
to better
days.
Take me away:
A hiding place.
I got a love, and I
know that it's all mine.
Oh. woah
Sticks and stones are never gonna
shake me.
No. woah
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine.
Oh. woah
Do
anything you can to control me.
Oh, no.
A
secret place.
A sweet escape:
Take me away.
to
better days.
Take me away:
A hiding place.
Where the rivers
flow,
And I call it home.
In
the darkness, there's this light.
And nobody cries.
There's
only fireflies.
A
secret place.
A sweet escape:
Take me away.
better days.
Take me away:
A hiding place.
A secret place.
A sweet escape:
Take me
away.
to better days.
Take me away:
A
hiding place.
A secret place.
To better
days
take me away.
to better days.
Take
me away:
A hiding place.
Take me
for a ride.
I smile up to the sky.
I know I'll be all
right.
Take me for a ride.
I
smile up to the sky.
I know I'll be all right.
And she knew. In the long run, everything was going to be ok, but she still had a long way to go.
Holy Moo that was a long chapter! I told y'all that if I'd stopped at any point during that last chapter you would have chased me with sticks and killed me!
Sorry it took so long to get the chapter out. I had end of school exams and my birthday so this chapter took more time than usual.
Game! You can put in a request for anything to happen in this story and I will try to make it work with the story (odds are I'll be able to put it in) if you can guess the age I just turned last Friday!
Rules: The only thing I won't put in is any more couples than are already established. Like I won't make Naruto leave Hinata for any reason. No. However if you have any suggestion for couplings for the kids I'll try to fit those it as well!
Hint: I'm younger than most people think I am.
I love reviews! Ask any questions and I'll make sure to answer!
Peace out, fella's!….yea…no one heard me say that…..cough cough…..