Chapter 9: Curtain Fall
"When one person is missing, the whole world seems empty." -Pat Schweibert
"Bunnies can die of loneliness, y'know." - Thoughts
"Bunnies can die of starvation, y'know." -Speaking
I kicked Orochimaru's leg as hard as I could. To my dismay, my foot seemed more bruised than his legs.
This was impossible. Was this my fate? To die here, or be used as a test subject in Orochimaru's experiments? I'd rather die than go through that shit... No. I would live. I couldn't just die here!
But what could I do? Orochimaru could kill me with his little finger!
My vision blurred with tears, and I felt the bridge of my nose wrinkle. Large goblets of water fell from my eyes, dripping down my face and onto the horribly cold hand that held me. These were not the cute tears that I used to manipulate Jiraiya, but ugly, emotional tears.
"Don't cry, I'll put you out of your misery soon, brat." His grip tightened around my neck, and I choked in pain as he began crushing my larynx, compressing my arteries, killing me slowly and painfully. I began to kick harder.
"Kuh, ah, uh...! S, st, stop...! Ba...!"
Orochimaru continued his small monologue, squeezing harder and harder with every second. A sadistic smile widened on his face, and he flickered his eyes to a Jiraiya who watched my pain for several more seconds, and turned his back on me. Guilt scrawled itself across his face.
"You're just another orphan conceived from bloodshed, battle, and war."
My vision began flickering a strange orange, and my body weakening from the lack of oxygen. "You have nobody and nothing left. There's nobody to care for you and feed you. I'm doing a favor for you by ending your suffering."
"Uh, m-m, ma..." The last vestiges of air I had left me.
"N-no!"
"Chou!" Who was that? His voice was familiar.
Darkness began eating up the edge of my vision, and I flew away.
No, not to heaven. Not to hell either.
I flew from Orochimaru's disgustingly sweaty grip to land gracefully on my face for the second time that day.
"Ack! Guh, ugh, hah!" More tears spilled down my face, and I gratefully gulped down SWEET OXYGEN that didn't abandon me! What had happened? Why had Orochimaru let me go? I swiveled my head around rapidly to glance at the desolate destruction around me. It was hard to focus; my head spun and ached terribly.
My eyes locked on to a struggling pair.
It was Father. He had tackled Orochimaru, catching him by surprise. His knotted arms, muscled from years of hard farming, constricted around Orochimaru's waist.
But only for a few seconds.
In the very next moment, he dropped to the ground, and blood flew. His head flew through the air, and bounced to land next to my hands.
I picked it up, and the next thing I knew an arm wrapped around me, and everything became a nauseating blur of speed.
The arm placed me gently on the ground, and I clutched Father's head tightly to my chest, staring up into Jiraiya's eyes.
I blacked out.
I floated on a sea of white lilies. A golden light rained down on me.
It's warm.
"****...?"
I can hear a voice. It sounds like honey.
"****?!"
Is that you, Mom? Dad, I miss you.
"****!"
I want to see you again.
I raised my hand to the golden light.
"Brother?!"
... Natalya?
A monotone, alien voice cut through my reverie. The warm light shattered into glass, slicing my skin and dying the lilies red.
"You can never. Ever. Go back."
A scream broke from my throat and anemone flowers pulled me down into the sea.
My eyes opened slowly to a wooden roof.
"... Mother?"
This wasn't home. I sat up suddenly, frightening a butterfly with translucent wings away. Yeesh, I was sore. Weak morning light trickled in from a half-open window, and I was swathed in comfortable sheets. The clothes I wore didn't irritate my skin like the burlap I wore before and I held a strange heavy orb-no, not an orb...
What the fuck was I holding? I glanced down at the-h-HOLY SHIT!
"AAAaAAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I fumbled with the head in my arms, flinging it away from me wildly. It rolled onto the floor, spinning several times before stopping at the door.
The door flung itself open with a bang, and Jiraiya burst in waving a set of chopsticks and a steaming hot bowl of ramen. The severed head smashed against the wall, and rolled right next to the bed.
"Never fear, Jiraiya is here!" He used the chopsticks to slurp up some noodles, and choked when he saw me, awake. "Guh-kah!" A large lump traveled down his throat, and he wheezed. He coughed several more times, and straightened up.
"A-ah, Chou, you're awake! I'm sure you have lots of questions, which the Great Jiraiya can certainly answer! B-but, breakfast first, okay? Do you want bacon, eggs, ramen, tofu, salmon-" I held a hand up to quiet him, and his voice died down.
I stared at him.
He stared back.
"Jiraiya."
"... Yeeeees?"
I beckoned him over. He came over, stepping carefully over the head (who did it belong to? I couldn't seem to remember...) and sitting next to me on the bed.
I waved him to come closer. Jiraiya leaned in, still holding his ramen, slight suspicion on his face.
I smashed that fucker's ramen right into his face.
Jiraiya's screaming and ten minutes later...
A light and simple breakfast platter sat on a benito bed tray in front of me. I ate slowly; I grew up eating meagre foods, and eating quickly would likely wreck even more havoc than had already been wrecked on my body.
Jiraiya sat in front of me, face wrapped. He glared balefully at me, and went back to reading his censored magazine. I smirked at him, and savored the lightly seasoned soup. Miso, I think? Delicious. This food was heavenly.
I dug my nails into a tangerine, picking the thick skin off. The sharp tang of citrus filled the air. I wiped a line of saliva from my mouth, and popped a piece into my mouth. Fuuuuuck. It was... exquisite. I could cry. I finished the tangerine off, and wiped my mouth with the provided cloth.
"Thanks for the food." I yawned, and glanced out the window.
There was so much hustle and bustle. The people here wore clothes that weren't ragged and dirty. Merchants called out the names of their wares from their stalls. They were full of life and happiness, yet I didn't care about any of that.
They were all nobodies. No Mom, Dad. Nothing.
Reality began to set in, and I clutched the sheets to stop the sudden trembling that came over me. Memories screamed at the edge of my brain, and I struggled to push them to the side.
"Jiraiya..."
Jiraiya glanced from his porno. "Hm, what is it?"
"W-where are we...?"
He closed his dirty magazine, and set it to the side. "We're on the border of the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Fire, in the bustling trade center of Amazake-gai(1)."
"How... how far is that from the, uh, Land of R-Rice?"
A sigh escaped from his mouth. "Quite a bit away. Luckily, I used Shunshin to arrive quickly. You were asleep for five days." He paused, chewing on the inside of his mouth. "I don't want to bring up bad memories... but, I also used Shunshin to get you away from Orochimaru... He chased for quite awhile. I was beginning to think that he was chasing me out of spite, haha..." He trailed off awkwardly.
The small inn room fell silent.
I began to remember the faintly fuzzy memories of the incident.
Everyone dying.
Jiraiya's betrayal.
Mother dying.
Father dying.
Blood, everywhere.
My stomach lurched, and I clapped a hand over my mouth. I had to vomit. The bed shook as I failed to scramble out, ending up falling on the floor near the bed roughly. Another lurch. My breakfast was tossing and turning, rising and falling.
"H-hey, don't push yourself!" Jiraiya knelt next to me, holding me up. I clutched at his clothes, staring wide-eyed.
That head... was Father's...
Hurk.
Can't take it anymore.
I threw up on Jiraiya's clothes, vomit and partially-digested food spewing from my mouth. It shot out of my nose as well, dripping everywhere.
"Kid! Take it easy!" He held me away from him until I finished puking my guts out.
I collapsed against him, weak. I hated this weak feeling, persistent throughout this terrible, TERRIBLE, life. Tears dripped down my face. Fuck, now I was crying again!
"Hic-damn it... I'm such a c-crybaby... Damn it... I'm so weak, hic..." I dug my fingernails into his clothes, tearing into it slightly.
He wrapped his arms around me in a hug, and we stayed like that for a few moments.
A sticky, vomit-covered, tear-stained, hug.
"Y'know... Since you're stuck with me now... Why don't I teach you how to write? Would you like that?"
I stayed silent for several moments, and finally spoke.
"... Yeah. I'd like that."
Omake - Yagi the Conqueror
Orochimaru held Chou by the throat, smirking evilly as his life slowly withered away.
"Fufu, this is all your fault, Jiraiya. This child will die because of you!"
Jiraiya gritted his teeth in fury. He would help the kid if he could, but as it was, he couldn't!
Chou's struggling began to slow, and stopped completely.
"Hah, he's dead now. Now, Jiraiya, hand over-" A grey blur barrelled out of nowhere, smashing into Orochimaru's side and sending him rocketing away into the atmosphere. He became a star in the sky.
It caught Chou gently on its back, and looked up. Her amber eyes sparkled, and her rectangular pupils caught the waning light of the sunset majestically. One tear rolled down Jiraiya's cheek at the sheer power of the goat.
Yagi stood triumphant, and bleated her bleat of victory.
Jiraiya walked over, and patted Yagi on the head.
"How would you like to be a shinobi?!"
Yagi became a shinobi of the highest caliber, surpassing even the strongest shinobi in the world. She then went on to defeat the Akatsuki with the power of her mighty horn stubs and coat-eating powers. She ate their coats, which sapped the evil organization's powers completely. Then she ate the moon, and everyone lived happily ever after.
The end.
Translation Notes:
(1) Amazake-gai 甘酒街- Sweet Sake Town
Author's Note-
metroneko: Sorry, haha. I don't do cliffhangers on purpose, really. Seriously. But that doesn't mean I won't do more cliffhangers.
AyumiUK: I tried to make the last chapter more humorous because it was April Fool's a few days back. I wanted to post it on April Fool's, but I got lazy. Hah...
kenegi: I'll post up a warning once things start heading towards slashy shtuff.
allonsyepicsnowman: This fanfiction is my practice for writing stories. To be well-rounded, I need to write romance as well.
Meow Muse: :3c
llat-2: Chou is bisexual.
.cake: My story loves you too.
I've been trying to update faster, but AP exams are coming up. Well, I usually update slowly anyways... Also, if you people are wondering where Chou's dad came from, he was knocked to the side by Orochimaru. He was stunned for a few moments, but he lasted long enough to distract Orochimaru. Hehe. Also, Yagi's short is just an AU short. Yagi the nanny goat who fed Chou is dead. Sad face.
Anyways, this is the end of Arc 1, Rice Village Blues, I guess? It's time for Chou's adventures in the big, wide world! Fun! Lots of fun! Also, this story hit 100 favorites and 165 followers! Thanks! I really appreciate your support!
That should be all, I believe.
Bye! -Rin
Word Count: 2069
Status: Unedited and un-beta-ed.