Future Plans

A/N: Yarn.

A/N 2: To king: Sorry for the confusion. Sasuke's dead and his spirit is for some reason attached to Naruto.

A/N 3: Even though Rent is the main star from my slew of OC's, Yumi intrigues me the most so I gave her a backstory.

Chapter X: Where The Rabbits Play

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….Nine Months Ago….

Blood….

How long's it been since I've seen so much of it? Flowing...rushing from my body as though my flesh had corroded…?

I hate my life….

In darkness is where I lay, my battered body thrown to the cold, steel floor. It stung, this frost creeping in from nowhere; I couldn't see anything, nothing but black….

Was this why I was born?

"Yumi…."

No….

"Yumi, get back on your feet."

I can't even feel my feet….

Unconsciously, I got to my hands and knees. Agony roared over every inch of my flesh, I felt like one big bruise. God help me I wanted to pass out but pain kept me grounded firmly in reality. Yes, this was my life...this was the way of my clan….

I could feel blood flowing down my forehead, curving my welted cheek to drip onto the floor. No...ignore it. Vision blurred red, I looked up and beheld the two figures who stood over me. A man and a woman to most, mother and father to me. Being their daughter really didn't amount to much. Hell, being a girl meant jack shit….

I received no compliments for my looks, I was never called 'their baby', my father never swung me around in the air by my armpits laughing while I laughed, my mother never showed me the finer points of taking care of ones hair or nails—they treated me like a creature born for one purpose, and they were damn well drilling the lesson deep into my head….

The climb to my feet was nauseating but I made it and stood with my arms at my side.

Why...why aren't they hitting me anymore?

The taller of the two, obviously my father, made a movement and a candle was ignited, bathing the room in its flickering light. This only served to make it more ominous as now I had a clear view of all the gouge marks dug into the steel floor; blood filled the cracks easily. Before, I had been tracking my parents movements through 'sense' alone as the very thought of being done up by the cat clan with their snarky 'oooh, we can see in the dark' was downright unacceptable.

Just remembering what they put me through so my eyes could pick out densities in darkness made my stomach curl. Even now, I couldn't literally 'see'...only 'feel'. Thank God that was good enough for them….

My father placed the candle on the floor and knelt down before me. Even then his head reached mine. "Today is your birthday." He didn't sound the least bit happy or excited. "Tell me, how old are you?"

That question took me a second to answer as this was the first time my parents had ever mentioned the day of my birth. Just how old was I? Hell if I knew. I didn't know much about the traditions of being born. In fact, I learned of birthday parties through other family members, yet the moment I fixed my lips to even ask for one I lost consciousness for three days and forget the rest.

Somehow, my brain and lips worked in harmony for me: "I'm thirteen, father."

"Correct."

And he stood, the lengthy sky-blue ears atop his head flopping almost comically. I remember the first time I laughed—just, you know, a friendly laugh between father and daughter—and suddenly I was on the ground clutching my bleeding mouth. That was the day learned that laughing led to punishment.

My mother did nothing about it. She didn't do much of anything really. I'd seen some of my aunts who laughed and played with their young like it was completely normal family behavior. Since laughter was taboo, I tried hopping onto her back. That didn't work out so well. Spent the next six weeks healing from a broken arm and a fractured pelvis.

Laughter? No.

Fun? No.

Living? Just barely.

"As is customary of our clan," began my father stringently, "every rabbit that comes of age participates in an Arcena duel with their siblings."

God help me I wanted to laugh when he said 'every rabbit'—I really did—but the consequences to follow weren't worth it.

My clan had the abnormal propensity to reproduce at an alarming rate, just like our lesser evolved kin. Me, I was number seventeen in a little of thirty-two. Naturally, this caused a somewhat overpopulation problem for the entirety of Moon-X.

Then, it happened.

Other stronger clans began slaughtering us in order to thin out our numbers. Despite the treaties signed and agreements reached, every head clan member saw their actions as the quickest and most efficient way to free up more breeding room. Nowadays, after coming to an agreement with the Queen herself, those in my clan—mostly brothers and sisters—were subjected to Arcena duels when they came of age.

The losers died.

The winner kept their life.

It was our clans legalized way of accomplishing two goals: maintain a safe number so as not to incite war and weeding out the strong. I call it euthanizing and wanted no part in it but being born into the main branch of my clan meant I had responsibilities, even more so when my parents chose me to mercilessly train. When I asked why, they told me, "Because you're not pretty...you're not smart...you can't cook or clean...you can barely read...so that leaves your only outlet, your only redeeming quality, to be combat."

Now it was my turn to participate….

How long has it been since I've laughed…? Since I've smiled?

"Get ready." My father's voice was crisp, clear. "In four days time the Arcena duel for litter 42 will commence in training ground zeta."

And like shadows, my parents left the room, exiting through a door in the way back still shrouded in the gloom. As soon as I heard the door close with a rumbling clunk, feeling left my legs and I crashed back to the ground in a motionless heap. Tear began to slide. I didn't stop them, I couldn't. In less than ninety-six hours I would be fighting a wave of my siblings for the right to live, a right that was given to me naturally when I was born. I shouldn't have to fight to preserve it….

My stomach hurt. My parents had forgotten to feed me. Pft. As if. They hadn't forgotten, they'd never meant too. There was blood splattered all over the floor—my blood—and it filled the room with the strong stench of copper...but it made me thirsty….

While one of the ears atop my head was broken, hanging at an awkward angle, the other worked fine and I dipped the white tip into a deep crevasse of blood. The chilled liquid sent a shiver through my ear that felt something like brain-freeze but I lifted it over my face and let it drip into my mouth. My stomach instantly curdled, more from thought than actual taste, and I would have vomited had I been given food.

Drinking my own blood because I'm thirsty...God, this is nasty….

VVVVVVVVVVVV

….Four Days Later….

I stood amongst thirty of my siblings, over half of them boys. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one looking queasy or frightened and I joined them in staring around at the crowds of people gathered all around in the coliseum stands. A huge section was devoted to the rabbit clan but I could clearly see some from the lion, wolf, and tiger clans. They were no doubt drawn to the fact that a lot of blood was minutes from being shed.

My left ear was still broken, wrapped in gauze, and hurt like a knife to my brain but all I needed was my right. Just like my siblings I was dressed in ceremonial, genderless white robes. We were all huddled in a shivering group, scare shitless, wanting nothing more than to go home...but home was a privilege reserved only for the winner. Any other rabbit would find home in a never-ending darkness….

As was tradition, the Queen, Nonohime-dono herself was to supersede the 'thinning' process and she sat at what was understood to be the head of the coliseum, seated upon a golden throne with my mother and father position on either side. They sat seiza style, looking out over their frightened children with looks filled with nothing but contempt. Nonohime-dono's right-hand assistant, Kazu, was positioned closest to the railing, ready to signal the start of the duel.

The moment his lips parted, my eyes shot to the boundless sky above. The clouds were a polluted looking gray, casting cold shadows over all underneath. It would rain soon….

"In the name of the Queen," began Kazu loudly, proudly, his voice towering over the roaring of the crowds, "let the 42nd Thinning of Hares commence!"

Before he could even finish speaking, something heavy struck me upside the chin. As I fell, my cheek on fire, I caught glimpses of war breaking out as my scared brothers and sisters began attacking one another with savage brutality. They were scrambling over one another, trading blows honed through rigorous training.

My eyes flared and I slammed a hand to the ground, flipping sideways to my feet. I scanned the area...so much chaos, so much blood spilling; the cheering from the stands was deafening, adding fuel to the bloodbath.

A flash of lightning lit up the coliseum grounds and in that instant one of my sisters came running up to me. Her left eye had been viciously gouged out and her mouth was open in a fierce battle cry, screaming through the blood. I watched her near, surprised that she seemed to be running in slow motion.

She swung, a straight jab forward.

Without any thought I sidestepped, grabbed her by the forearm, put a hand to her elbow, and pushed in as hard as my training allowed. The most grisly noise met my ears when bone cracked and tore through flesh like paper. I watched my sister fall to her knees, screaming at the top of her lungs, clutching a limb that would likely never work right again.

How did I…?

And then it clicked, like a light coming on deep within my subconscious. Everything suddenly became so surreal, like all my pores had been forced opened and chakra began leaking out. Mind clouded, I stared down at my wounded sister, drenched from head to toe in scarlet—

My blood tasted nasty….I wonder….

The bellowing crowds, Kazu's sickening commentary, my kin's fighting—all that noise faded from me as I lifted a hand, joining my fingers to make a sort of spear. "Bye-bye." I struck her in the back of her neck, a discreet killing blow that my father had tried to use on me countless times. My sharpened nails tore through skin and muscle, severing her spinal column like a twig.

As her body fell over, I lifted those crimson fingers to my lips and took a little lick. My eyes bugged; the flavor nearly blew the top of my head off. This...this sensation...so sugary, yet with a tangy aftertaste that left my tongue lolling out, thirsting for more.

Like I had a crick in my neck, I slowly turned to face the mob of bodies still thrashing about each other. So much fur and blood was flying through the air, so many howls of anguish pierced the crowds cheering. Already the ground was caked in blood and severed limbs, mostly bisected ears and puffy tails.

My combat sense, I thought, beginning to run towards the nearest pair of fighting siblings, has been activated.

I grabbed one of my brother's arms—his face morphed into shock as he turned, raising his knee. I leaned back, almost parallel to the ground, before snatching him forward, extending my foot into his chest. He coughed blood in my face as I used the momentum to flip him right over me.

On my back now, I watched upside down as he hit the earth with such force his body crumpled in on itself.

That seemed strange. Had he been trained properly? I could survive a fall from twice that height and come out perfectly fine. Why hadn't he? My nose twitched and I rolled sideways as a knife stabbed down right where I'd been—

"Yumi!" It was one of my sisters. How'd she get that knife? It was already stained with blood and she had a deranged look in her eyes. "Don't—don't come near me! This isn't fair, it isn't fair! You got special training from mom and dad! Why? Why only you?"

As rain began to fall, I opened my mouth only to realize I had no answer for her. Why had I received special training? "Because I'm not special." Once again my mouth had come to my rescue. "I can't do anything, unlike you." My sister's name was Tsukani and she excelled where literature was concerned, able to organize and store books with startling proficiency. "The only thing our parents said I could possibly be good at was…fighting."

A brother of mine dropped from the sky like a nuke, roaring proudly as his knees collided with Tsukani's shoulders, taking her down in one motion. They wrestled for only a split second until my brother snatched the knife and ran it across her throat in a flash of scarlet.

"Gurk…." Reaching up for him with a trembling hand, Tsukani gurgled wretchedly before falling still, her arm thudding to the ground.

My brother stood, leering at me with a psychotic smirk. "That makes fifteen, Yumi. Come...be my sixteenth…."

I crouched, spreading my legs a shoulder's length apart. Lifting my arms defensively, I let all the training I'd been taught wash over me, engulf me, control me. It all finally made sense...why my parents had never shown me any love, why they had never bothered to teach me anything other than the principles of combat.

They had wanted me to survive. To be the last one standing.

Tears sprang to my eyes to accompany this revelation as my brother rushed towards me. His form was fatally weak, his guard all over the place. To my honed senses, he, like my other siblings, seemed to be moving at a snail's pace, telegraphing his next move like a vocal broadcast.

My parents saw potential in me that they didn't see in my other brothers and sisters; they saw my survivors spirit. Yeah...yeah! Why would they teach me how to be a lady? Why learn to sew? Cook? Read? Have fun? Being a lady wouldn't help me dodge a knife thrust; learning to cook wouldn't save my neck from being cracked. All that horseshit was the very crippling agent killing my siblings now. They weren't bred for combat like me, they hadn't been bathed in the fires of blood and broken bones.

My brother swung up high and I ducked, stepping into his space. Using the back of my left hand I knocked his knife away as he tried a downward slice and with my right, delivered an open-palm strike to his nose, mashing whatever cartilage and bone resided there into a bloody pulp that flowed from both his nostrils.

Howling, he fell over onto his side. I bent down and picked up the knife, running my tongue along the smooth end. My mouth was overrun with more of that deliciously candied red liquid; my knees quivered, heart raced.

"Oh, God...more…." My brother was still alive, curled into a ball as he tried in vain to shovel back in what was spilling out of his nose. I put my foot to his neck and applied pressure, silencing his piteous whining. He looked up at me, his eyes so full of fear, regret, agony—and I offered him a smile, one so wide it nearly reached ear to ear. "You're gonna die," I happily sang, "because our parents loved me most."

And knowing that piece of information would forever corrode his soul, I imbedded the blade deep in his forehead, relishing in the way his face grew slack, how his eyes rolled up.

The look of death was so sweet.

I wanted to see it some more. Lots more! It's what my parents wanted me to do!

It took me a second to realize that Kazu was no longer commentating and that the crowds had gone eerily silent. Senses prickling, I pulled a 180 and saw that the remaining thirteen of my siblings had ceased their fighting and were all facing me. At once I knew what this was and felt myself smiling again.

I could feel my father's words from long ago coming back to me, begging to be repeated: "So, you guys aren't that stupid after all, huh?"

"Talk your shit, Yumi!" barked one of my brothers and, for reasons I didn't comprehend, he too wielded a weapon, a hand-axe. "You think you're the best because they trained you to fight? Big fucking deal—all of us were taught the ways of combat!"

Smiling, I stomped the knife all the way through the corpse of my brother. A trail of blood dribbled over my bottom lip and I eagerly, hungrily slurped it back up. Then...I had an idea. "Alright then...tell you guys what. Thirteen against one ain't fair in the least so here...lemme give you all a handicap!"

CRACK

White-hot bursts of pain lit up my vision as my left arm hung limp, snapped at the shoulder. I wanted to simultaneously vomit and laugh: vomit because the agony was nigh unbearable, and laugh because I knew that even with half my hearing gone and only one arm I was still going to tear the rest of my siblings to bloody rinds.

"COME AT ME!" I roared above the clap of thunder.

Behind me, his voice blaring for all to hear, Kazu yelled out, "And it seems like the rest of the Kazama siblings have turned against one of the females"—he paused to whisper something to my father, who whispered back, then continued with—"named Yumi! Why this sudden surge of unity from the other siblings? What has this Yumi done to make herself the black sheep of the thinning? Well, whatever the case, at such a disadvantage we're sure to see her entrails splattered over the ground soon enough!"

….18 Minutes Later….

Ah, the rush! The glory! The bloodshed! The various clans and their cheering meant fuck-all to me as I stood upon a small mound of deceased brothers and sisters. Every single one of them had been torn into no less than three pieces—when viewed from above, the coliseums grounds looked like a painting from the most macabre mind, filled with body parts, squished organs, and gallons of sweetly tasting scarlet liquid.

The adrenaline had yet to leave me yet the agony in my arm was coming back full force. I wavered, but continued to smile. No, no fainting. Not yet, not yet.

With blood caked over my face I looked up towards the stands in time to catch Queen Nonohime standing...and offered her a clown-like smile. She placed a hand over Kazu's shoulder and he instantly bowed, stepping back to allow her front stage.

She cleared her throat, her elegant voice dwarfing even the rain.

"Ladies and gentlemen...it seems as though a winner has been decided! Yumitakuri Kazama from the Kazama branch of the rabbit clan!" Her words were met with great fanfare, especially from the more ravenous clans. "I do hope you placed your bets wisely and enjoyed the show!" She lifted a regal hand, giving a pageant wave. "Until next time!"

The moment she moved away, Kazu reclaimed his spot and bellowed, "As the ritual dictates, accruing enough graveyards for all those lost during a Thinning is next to impossible. So as to cut down time and save space, all those present who are feeling ravenous, feel free to partake of the bountiful helpings offered up generously by the rabbit clan!"

And suddenly there was a mass movement from the audience as everybody began leaping down. As leaders of the other clans, the lion hybrids devoured the largest chunks of my siblings while the lesser carnivorous hybrids stuck to random clumps of fur and flesh. I watched with dimming eyes as various members of my clan—aunts and uncles most—tried to gather up the remains of their loved ones for a proper burial. There was more blood…and more tears…but none of that mattered because six seconds later, as a bolt of lightning lit up the gruesome feeding scene around me, I lost consciousness….

….Present Day….

Panting, Rent eyed his opponent across the grassy plain with a look of confusion mixed with astonishment. That Yumi...what the hell…?

He and his other teammates had been ordered by Kazu to spar in the Rust Forest, named such because the grass felt like shards of glass due to the amounts of blood shed over the vast fields.

Ban stood off to the side while Rent and Yumi sparred. They'd been going at it for the better half of six hours and so far neither side showed any signs of slowing down. This confused Rent as he knew in terms of strength, he had Yumi, yet he hadn't expected her endurance to match his so closely.

"Just…what are you, Yumi?" he asked, readying himself for another round.

"A little tank with rabbit ears, I'd guess," said Ban, hunching his shoulders.

Yumi smiled, wiping sweat from her brow. "I am Yumitakuri Kazama from rabbit clan! The most powerful hyrbids in all of Moon-X!" she declared proudly, throwing up the peace sign.

Ban snorted. "Sure, sure, let's not forget whose jungle you reside in, rabbit."

A shudder ran down Rent's spine when Yumi faced Ban with an unnervingly wide smile, the kind she gave to whoever she was seconds from disemboweling. "Then join in, Ban. It's no fun just fighting Rent. I want the satisfaction of tasting your blood when it's mixed with his!"

Looking surprisingly composed despite her claim, Ban pushed up his crudely made glasses and threw his neck side-to-side. "Big mistake, little rabbit."

Sighing, Rent scooted a tad to the left as Ban joined his side, sporting a white-fanged grin. "Ban...please...you know how she is, don't get so riled up."

Talking to the lion hybrid was useless, Rent realized, as Ban's rising chakra levels struck him like a wall of warm water. This only caused Yumi to squeal in delight, bouncing up and down clapping her hands.

Rent closed his eyes and swished his shaggy tail. Fine. Just this once. Rent lifted his arms in an X-shape across his chest and focused over half his chakra into a point just behind his chest. It felt cold, unnatural...hostile. He hadn't called upon this much chakra since the day he protected Queen Nonohime during that assassination attempt, promising himself he would never go that far ever again. Now though, with Yumi's seemingly endless vigor and Ban's murderous intent crashing into him, why not show off for a minute or two?

Mold it...shape it...control it….Breathe, Rent….

Rent's clothing began to ruffle and he opened his eyes, not surprised to find that his teammates had gone through similar motions. All three of them stood straight, their combined chakra pressure blowing the grass around them in every directions, colliding forcefully in the air like sonic booms.

Rent side-glanced Ban. "We don't kill her. Agreed?"

"I agree to nothing." The ears atop Ban's head fell back, a tell-all sign he wasn't going to pull his punches. "Sparring has no set rules other than victory, you flower-picker."

Yumi giggled. "Two big boys against one little girl ain't really fair now is it? I mean, really, looks like you guys need a little handicap!"

Rent twitched, his finely honed chakra disrupted only slightly when Yumi grasped her left arm with enough strength to crack her humerus. The pain that any normal human or hybrid would have felt from that seemed null against Yumi still sported her maniacal smile, with an added chortle.

"Well, alright then," said Rent, unfazed.

Ban sucked his teeth. "Don't think we're going to go easy on you because of that, crazy ass."

The chortle morphed into a disturbed giggle. "Oh, trust me, Ban honey, I'm about to show just how crazy I am."

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A/N 4: Hope you all enjoyed that. Lemme know what you think. Side note: Ip Man kicks ass and MLP ain't as bap as I thought it was.