Chapter 11: Damnation
Tenten stumbles through the curtaining rain, clutching her side. She has thrown up several times already, and further attempts only result in dry heaves, leaving her panting and out of breath. Three days. She has gone three days without sleep, but there is no time for that. Neji may have been slowed by the Black Ops team, but he'll still be moving. The unknown medicine in her pocket becomes more and more tempting with each wracking step. She has already determined that it isn't any kind of poison she knows of. What could it hurt?
No. Whatever may be, it is still from Orochimaru's labs. It is strictly a last resort. She struggles onward, unsure if the fog before her eyes is from her own breath in the chilled air or from the pain. That's enough rest for now. Mustering up her willpower and energy, she takes to the trees, taking the flying leaps one at a time, trying her best not to slip. The branches are made slick by the falling water, and a misstep will send her tumbling to the forest floor.
Onward. Ever onward. It seems that she is now chasing her teammate's back not only in training but also in life. The irony almost makes her laugh. She thinks of Lee, likely still incapacitated behind her, and wonders where it all went wrong.
Tenten hears it incoming before she sees it: a combination sibilant hiss and whining whistle. It's a sound she's heard many times, though usually leaving from her hand. A throwing knife with an explosive tag. It detonates to her left, slamming her off balance with a solid wall of concussive air. She flails in midair, snatching desperately at twigs and leaves, none of which offer her any purchase. Branches blur past her, several smashing into her plummeting body and sending her into a spiraling free fall. She feels liquid well up in her lungs, threatening to drown her in her own blood.
After an eternity of battering torment, she hits the ground.
Crimson mist bursts forth from her lips, quickly washed away by pregnant raindrops. She can't see for a moment; the world is naught but red-white agony. Her attempt to roll to her feet is rewarded by a sickening pain in her right leg. Broken. With bleeding fingers, she drags herself along the muddy ground. Dimly, she is aware of someone dropping to the ground behind her.
"You look terrible, Traitor."
It's spoken like it's her name. The speaker – a male – lands a brutal kick to her side and sends her careening in uncontrolled tumbles. Panic overtakes her as a fresh wave of suffocating copper washes into her throat and it is all she can do to raise her face out of the muck long enough to expel it. Through an obscuring film of tears and rainwater, she sees the pale complexion and black clothes of her attacker.
"S...Sai," she coughs wetly. He smiles in acknowledgment of his name, but the expression is utterly devoid of any sort of warmth or comfort. She knows very little about him, other than the fact that he had Black Ops level training and no emotions to speak of. In her condition, she would be hard-pressed to stave off a civilian, let alone him. Weakly, she mumbles, "D...Do me a f...favor."
He tilts his head to one side. She says something, but her voice is too feeble to be heard over the rain. Clearing her throat gingerly, she tries again. Still nothing.
"You'll have to speak up, Traitor," he prompts with false cheer. He has the chivalry to lean down, at least.
"I s...said," Tenten begins shakily. She gropes out blindly for his collar, curling her fingers into it and yanking him close to rasp, "Go to hell."
She slaps an exploding tag onto his face with her opposite hand and falls limp, letting the shockwave sweep her shattered body away.
【[_|[__§__]|_]】
Tenten lands in a small gully, too delirious to care about the pain or the dizziness. Her arm is blackened and numb. She doesn't know if it's intact, but she likely won't be using it for a while. In the depths of her sluggish mind, she realizes something is out of place. Sai has the means to catch up to her, but he does not have the tracking skills to f–
"Heh, nice move, that one."
Kiba Inuzuka. He must have scented her while one of Sai's ink birds carried the two along her trail. The thought of being tracked down like a prey item by someone as animalistic as that one fills her with revulsion. She catches a whiff of wet dog as Kiba squats before her, flashing those bestial canines of his at her in a savage mockery of a grin.
"I don't s...suppose you're here t...to help me. Is Akamaru h...here, too?" Tenten asks, shuddering to suppress another cough. Breathing is becoming unbearable, but even small movements are worse.
"Nah," Kiba shrugs, "Not enough room on those stinkin' birds for four. Gotta take you back, after all."
"Only you l...left to take out, then," she says, resting her head back against the bank and allowing herself a moment of reprieve. Kiba blinks at her incredulously, then lets out a whooping bark of a laugh.
"Take me out? You? Like that? Please. Anyway, Sai's still fine."
Tenten's eyes snap open as she sees Sai slide down the slippery slope. Half of his face is burnt raw and a good portion of his shirt has been blown away, but he moves in the manner of someone completely uninjured. Damn. She must have underestimated his capabilities.
"Hello again, Traitor," he says with that same mirthless smile.
"So what's it gonna be, sugar?" Kiba smirks, "Easy way or the hard way?"
Tenten feels incredibly tired and her head lolls to one side, but manages a quiet, "You can g...go to hell too, Kiba."
Kiba reaches out and touches his fingertips to the underside of her chin to turn her regard back on him. The gesture would have been intimate, were it not for the scalpel-sharp claws that prickled her skin.
"You're closer, sugar."
"Yeah... s...suppose you're right..."
Sai lunges forward as her hand dives into her pocket, but he is too far away and Kiba is too focused on her face to notice either action until, with a snap of her fingers, Tenten pops the glass lid off of the hypodermic needle and jams it into the side of her own neck.
【[_|[__§__]|_]】
Acid burns through her veins and spreads through her body. The rain feels like liquid fire, sizzling in heated protest against her skin. But she feels so... alive. The pain is empowering. Empowering her. Though. Who is she? No matter. With a sweep of her hand, she knocks the fanged man into the pale one, blasting them into the dirt. Good. That's where they belong, the worms.
The fanged one stands. Who the fuck is he? An animal. No better than an animal. Disgusting. And that face. She's behind him, dragging that ugly face through the mud and burying it down deep. Disgusting. The pale one looks surprised. Surprised at her strength? Her speed? Only because he's weak. He draws a short sword from his back. Ha. Challenging her with weapons. She catches his wrist and crushes his cheekbone with a backhand. He doesn't fall fast enough for her liking, so she clubs him again.
She decides he can stay standing. But his legs are going soft. He's soft. She skewers him through the shoulder with his joke of a sword and impales him onto the dirt wall. He'll fit right in with the rest of the dirt. Trash. The fanged one is yelling something at her. Shut the fuck up, animal. He claws at her. Dumb beast. The hell does he think he is? She hits him three times before his strike reaches her and scrapes ineffectually off of her iron skin. Not that there was any force behind it. He's already unconscious. Stupid worthless beast. She snaps his arm for good measure. Doesn't how to use it properly, anyway. Maybe she should just rip it off.
No. Something... wrong. Reason... why are there feathers on her skin? Prey... have to find prey. White eyes. The world elongates into a blurred tunnel as she streaks through the trees. Black feathers. She must be an angel. Yes, yes, that's right. She's an angel.
No. Neji. Have to save Neji. She falls to her knees, the patterned feathers receding, crawling over her body. Weak. She is weak. No. Synergy of mind and body. Forcing... weak. Neji. She screams as the last of the feathers are swallowed up into the triple pinwheel of commas on her neck.
Tenten. She is Tenten. Yes, she is Tenten, and she realizes in horror that she has branded herself with Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven.
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