Of Monsters and Shinobi

Chapter 11: Shed

Team Seven burst into the lab, each of them ready on the draw with one of their more powerful attacks. Their gathered chakra quickly bled away however, at the sight in front of them. Orochimaru lay sprawled on his back, chest heaving, shedding a steady stream of tears from eyes that gazed unseeingly up at /&*HIS-SOUL\&*!

It takes a moment for it to sink in, but as they look between themselves Sasuke mouths 'His Soul?' and the other two nod. With Sasuke immune to illusions, Sakura's perfect chakra-control and the Fox guarding Naruto's mind, they had no idea how the thought was implanted in their heads, especially so subtly. They turned back to Orochimaru, and stared hard at the colorful cartoon heart hanging in the air above the Snake-Sage.

It looked like the thing's natural color was a deep green, but it seemed to be encased in a thick translucent black crust. Said crust was being eaten away by a yellow flame that clung to the heart, its tint somehow not obscuring the heart's own color. Sasuke nudged Naruto, "What do your senses say, I'm not cleared to use my eyes yet." He demanded, Naruto frowned, "Whatever that thing is, the black part reminds me of how Kurama used to feel. The regret is coming from the green part." Sakura's expression firmed and she started snapping out orders, "Naruto, I need you to pin him down while I do a diagnostic. Sasuke be ready to take a kill-shot if he gets loose and I can't get clear, if he's not in his right mind he's likely to throw his full strength into flailing."

Naruto obediently poofed out four Shadow-Clones, and each of him went to hold down a limb, the one holding the head keeping the mouth clamped shut so the Snake-summoner couldn't get his tongue loose. Sakura kneeled next to that one and wreathed her hands in green without a single hand-seal, carefully hovering them down his head and working her way to his chest, when she let out a little gasp,

"Either-either it's a very good, very elaborate gen-jutsu or that thought we all had is onto something." She looked up at them, a rattled look on her face, "His internals are fine but-there's a part of his chest that has something in me screaming 'something's missing!'"

Asgore blinked at the Chu-nin, befuddled by the man's outburst. Though, now that he'd had moment to catch up he could be assured that the teacher wasn't trying to poach Frisk. He backed-off a step and coughed into his fist, "Well, thank you, for your help in that regard Umino-san."

Asgore wanted to stop there but… he had to be sure, 'For my people.' He insisted to himself. "Although Umino-san, I can't help but ask, why you showed such little reaction to the f-fates o-of the other humans?" He said, and it was all he could do to not shrink in on himself in preparation for the explosion he was sure was coming. After all this man was a teacher, the only people who could love children anywhere close to as much as a parent, and- "Oh yes, of course! Your Majesty, you have my deepest condolences. Even if it was for the good of your people, I cannot imagine the pain such actions must have caused you." With this the ninja bowed deeply to him, and Asgore-

Asgore—

Asgore… very nearly broke.

Even still he let out a high keening noise, his face crumpling, and slumped like a great weight had been placed on his shoulders.

Then he lunged forward, claws outstretched-

Iruka was a shinobi.

Many forgot that in the face of his kind smile and mild manner.

As a shinobi, he had been trained from a young age to have a very specific reaction to large figures with sharp points bearing down on him… But even after all these years, that instinct has yet to override his ability to tell when someone's in need of a hug. On more than one occasion this ability has helped bring in people his superiors were convinced would have to be killed and several spies to spontaneously spill their guts. This time it netted him an arms-full of sobbing Monster royalty. He bore it with good grace, whispering soft reassurances into the Kings long floppy ears and rubbing his back.

After a few moments of only the sounds of awkward shuffling, he heard, "I would have that burden from you Umino-kun."

Iruka turned his eyes up to see the Queen standing over them, a look of mixed pity and regret barely covered by what she likely hoped was a reassuring smile. He nodded to her, and gently budged-up the King into his wife's arms.

She gently held him up, and guided him back to the bed. He sat heavily on it and covered his face with his fists. The three children rushed over to him from the opposite side of the room, climbing onto the bed and clinging tight to him. The child with red eyes briefly pulled their face up from being buried in the King's fur to glare at him, then nuzzled their face into his side again. The Queen stood off to the side slightly, gripping her own hands and looking lost at Asgore, for some reason unsure if her comfort would be welcome or perhaps reluctant to give it.

"ahem." Iruka looked to his left to see the shorter skeleton, Sans, and a pace behind him Captain Undyne.

"we should talk. elsewhere."

Sakura ran her hands over Orochimaru's chest-cavity one last time and growled in frustration, "I'm positive now, this is unlike anything I've seen before." She didn't motion for Naruto to withdraw as she stepped back, keeping her eyes on the floating heart. The yellow flames were still busily chipping away at the black crust, small chunks of it sloughing off and dissolving in the air. She scowled at it, "That thing seems to be siphoning his yin-chakra, meanwhile his cells are dying for seemingly no reason, creeping up from his extremities. I've got no idea what the heart is, and it'd be stupid to try poking it, especially with Medical-Jutsu." She looked back to the boys, "Any ideas?"

The Naruto holding the head perked up, "Um, I could try one of my original Seals, I've got one that can scan things without touching them." Sasuke hmmed, "We should also ask the Monsters about this." At his teammate's inquiring looks he continued, "Seeing the thing forces us to think 'soul' and they mentioned that their magic has to do with the soul. Even if they didn't cause this they may be of help." The Narutos blinked, then squinted, his thinking face that's been the same since childhood, "Maybe I can do something then?" Sasuke glared, "Come on idiot, you know by now not to mess with techniques you don't understand, especially on other people." He ground out.

Naruto nodded though, "Yeah yeah, but I can still sense. And now that we've got what looks like magic in action I might get a better handle on it, enough that when we go to the Monsters about it we won't look clueless." He looked to Sakura for conformation and she nodded seriously, "He's right, asking for help is all well and fine but to admit we know nothing of what we're asking for could be dangerous for our Land." The Naruto holding the right arm nodded and poofed out a clone who then took his post, the real Naruto moving back a fair distance to sit in lotus-position and closed his eyes.

Sasuke and Sakura had barely settled in to wait when Naruto suddenly sprang up with a cry of, "THE HELL!?", and the heart's glow intensified, the yellow flames flaring. As they scrambled back the flames seemed to curl inwards, gripping the black crust by the openings it'd already made, and with a sound almost like a wail of anger and pain ripped it off the green heart. Meanwhile, below, the Snake-Sage's body started to disintegrate rapidly. Not rotting but evaporating into multi-colored motes of light, rising up to swirl around the now freed heart, which now pulsed as if it was a real heart.

The members of Team-Seven snapped to battle stances a fair distance away, just in time for the motes of light to begin coalescing, clumping together and gaining substance.

Soon enough they were looking into the empty eye-sockets of a large, serpentine skull.