-Part 11-
Monster's Obsession
Rapid footsteps echoed down the stagnant corridors of the hospital. She had to get out as fast as she could. What she had heard back there was almost too much to bear...
Everything had started out fine, but...
Weeks of training went by in a strange sense of time, flying by rather sluggishly. Katy found the days boring and she wanted to do anything but train, but before she knew it the sun was gone. It was shortly after Katy returned from her muddy adventures. Anna had finally gotten a hold of Ebisu and, after chewing him out, work began. Mae volunteered a helping hand in the daily training sessions, improving her own skills in the process.
For Katy, it went a little further.
Calypso had things to teach her as well. All the strain she had been subjected to made the wound on her side hurt terribly. That night, she discovered it to be reinjured. She wasn't healing as well as she should have. It was another trip to the hospital for her. Everything had started off okay... until she learned Lee was still there.
Katy laid uncomfortably on the white sheets, the sterile smell irritating her nose. She'd never been to a medical facility this much before, so it bothered her. She wanted to leave.
She subdued an exasperated groan. Every part of her seemed to be itching to leap out that window and be gone from this place. However, she obediently ignored the yearning. She was taught at a young age to be good at the doctor's office.
"Did you hear about that boy's condition?" A couple nurses moved down the hall, their chatting catching Katy off guard and spooking her stiff. Their clicking heels came closer to her door and she strained her ears into their conversation.
"You mean Lee? That poor boy. He's been here for so long now. What was the prognosis?"
"Not good. He'll never be a shinobi again. There's too much the doctors can't fix. Especially the damage in his left arm and leg."
"Let's not spend our lunch hour talking about such depressing things..."
Their chatter and clicking heels faded off as they disappeared around the corner. Shock and accusing dread fell on Katy. The one she called Geliebt did that to him. His left arm and leg were crushed. Lee was already down from his use of his technique; there was no need to hurt him further. Silent anger boiled in her.
She slid off the bed. A dull ache in her left side briefly reminded her why she was here. But as it eased into numbness she paid it no more attention. With a twitch, she realized he injured Lee's left limbs and her left hand and side. Did the redhead have something against the left?
She wandered the halls, searching for his room. She didn't know what she'd do exactly when she found him. Apologize, maybe. She still felt partially to blame. She didn't stop him. She didn't yell out. Though, she doubted Gaara would have listened to her cries, there was the fact that she hadn't tried.
The hospital had too many turns. All the hallways looked the same. All she wanted to do was wish him well, an easy task for someone who could find the room he was in.
Confused and agitated, she convinced herself to look through every door until she found the bowl-cut boy. But as she stomped through the halls she halted, the faint hum of shouting traversing to her ears. That sounds like...
Following the voice, she upped her speed until she located the open door the shouts resounded from. She spotted Shikamaru right away, but it was Naruto yelling. Scuffling closer, she saw him on the other side of Shikamaru. Katy was stumped as to why he was in his underwear, a green shirt with a red swirling design on front and white boxer shorts.
There was no more yelling, now Shikamaru was speaking. She was having trouble deciphering what he was saying. Katy moved quietly, crouching down and waiting behind the door. She could understand better from here.
"...Shadow Possession Jutsu. So when you're bashing him you're bashing me too, got it?"
"Right, sorry Shikamaru." Naruto stood beside the Nara. "All right, out with it! What were you tryin' to pull?" Silence stretched on with no answer. "Well?"
Katy wasn't sure what was going on, Naruto sounded so intense. What was happening in that room? She was about to stand up, stride in, and find out. But when she heard his voice, her insides went colder than his tone. "I was going to kill him."
Shikamaru retorted. "You already beat him once in the competition. Wasn't that enough for you? Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?"
"I have nothing against him." The cold, fluid way he spoke sent shivers down Katy's spine. "It's nothing that complicated. I simply want to kill him, that's all."
"You know what? You're sick in the head! You're crazy!" Naruto exploded with accusations.
"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed. "You think we're just going to sit by and let you do whatever you want? You sick selfish psycho."
"If you don't stay out of my way, I'll have to kill you two as well." When he said that, Katy clamped her shaking hands over her mouth, muffling a gasp. She knew he had the power to follow through on his threat.
"Oh, yeah?" Naruto brought up his fist. "Well, let's just see you try it!"
"Hey, whoa, kid! Take it easy," snapped Shikamaru, and edge of caoution in his voice. Then he started to act tough. "Yeah, yeah, we watched your last match against Lee. We know you're strong. But Naruto and I have a few little tricks up our sleeves as well..."
Bluffing wouldn't work. She tried to assess the situation, which was difficult to do on hearing alone. By the subjects of their conversations, there were four people in the room, three talking and one unresponsive. Since they talked of the prelims, Katy concluded Lee was in there, unconscious and totally oblivious that his life hung in the balance. First Gaara crushes the boy and now he was trying to kill him. When did it stop? Katy was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Should she go in to help, or would she just cause more problems by doing that? Maybe she should see where this was going first before bringing in anymore unnecessary drama. Yes, that's what she'd do. So she zoned back in just as Shikamaru demanded Gaara to leave.
"I'll say it once more. If you get in my way," His spoke with a perilous tone, "I'll kill you."
"And I'll say it again, let's see you try it!"
"Hey!" Shikamaru tried to keep the blonde boy in check. "We don't want to go there! This guy fights like he's mad, like he's a demon or something!"
"He can act like a demon all he wants. I have the real thing inside me!" His confession made Katy balk, confusion swirling.
"Idiot!" Shikamaru snapped. "Leave this to me. What' the point of getting him mad?"
"A demon, huh? My demon is as real as yours is."
Bewilderment swamped the chocolate haired girl's mind, but as Gaara spoke on, things got clearer and clearer.
"From my birth my upbringing was not what most people would consider a happy one. To ensure that I became the strongest of shinobi, my father had cast his ninjutsu on me, infusing my unborn self with a sand spirit. I destroyed the life of the woman who gave birth to me. I was born a monster."
Katy's heart seemed to slow as a sinking feeling engulfed her. Shikamaru was stunned but still had his voice. "A sand spirit?"
"Its name is Shukaku..."
For a moment she couldn't perceive sound. Her mind was reeling. Another memory pushed its way out of the depths of her subconscious. The last day she was with him, before Calypso made her leave, he asked her... if she thought he was a freak. The question hit her so hard; she wondered why he'd even think that. But now, she was starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"Yeah, some kind of demonic jutsu. But to use it on a baby, before it's even born? Man that's creepy. Gee," Shikamaru continued, sarcasm laced in with his words. "What a swell guy your dad must have been. He really must have loved you a lot."
"You speak of love? Don't measure me by your standards." His tone was void of emotion, and tears prickled at Katy's eyes at what he said next. "Family... You want to know what that is to me? It's simply pieces of meat connected to me by murderous intent and hate."
This is what he has become. It's over, said one side of her. Your Geliebt is dead. Calypso was right.
No, no, it can't be over! There must be something – anything – that I can do!
"Given life by the death of my mother, I was brought into being and nurtured as the salvation of the village. I was the 'Kazekage Child'. My father taught me the inner most secrets of the shinobi. He pampered and protected me and left me to myself. For a time I thought that was love... And that was when everything started..."
Kazekage Child... She barely remembered them calling him that.
"When what started?" Shikamaru asked him.
"What was it?" Naruto cut in when no response was given. "Are you gonna tell us or not?"
Still nothing. Katy wanted to know, too. What did they do? Whatever his answer was going to be, she could tell he was thinking on it.
Finally he answered, his voice no longer flat but filled with crazed elation. "In the years since she left, my father has tried to destroy me more times than I can count!"
The gasps from Shikamaru and Naruto did nothing to match the screaming going on inside of Katy.
The Nara was quick to regain his composure. "You just finished saying your father protected and pampered you. So which is it? And who is this she? Who left?"
Katy's heart hammered in her chest, like it was trying to claw its way out. Hot tears rimmed her eyes and the hands clamped on her mouth did little to ease her breathing. However, it was all she could do to keep from crying out.
He ignored Shikamaru's inquiry about Katy, only answering the former question. "Those who get to be too strong are apt to become feared. The jutsu that gave me birth had unbalanced something in my mind. Even the fools in my village finally realized I had... emotional problems. My father, the Kazekage, created me as his ultimate weapon but I eventually became a threat to the very village I was meant to save.
"By the time I was six I became a figure of terror to the villagers. To them I was a relic of the past that they wished would disappear. So, you see, I had failed at the one purpose for which I was given life. What then was left for me in this existence, why go on living? I thought I had found a reason, but she slipped from my grasp. For a long time after she had gone, I couldn't find an answer."
Every sentence was engraving itself into her brain. If she had been there, she could have eased his suffering. If she had been there...
"But in order to live, you need a purpose. To exist for no reason is the same as being dead.
"Then in time the answer came to me. To put it simply, my reason for living is in the killing of others."
Katy shook her head back and forth, hoping it would somehow stop him from saying any more.
"For years I lived in fear of those who were sent to murder me, but now I am at peace. I killed many would be assassins and it was while I was doing it that the truth was made clear to me. I live solely for myself; I love only myself. As it was the death of my mother that first gave me life now it is the death of others that sustains me, that makes me almost happy to be alive. And there's no end to it. As long as there are still people to kill in this great, wide, crowded world... I will never disappear."
A hissing sound made Katherine's skin crawl. She could hear the sand moving...!
"Naruto! Hey, snap out of it! Oh man, what a drag! Naruto!"
"Now, let me feel alive!" Sand shot up, driving towards the two boys.
Katherine stood erratically, ready to dive in. Fright made her legs wobble, but she had no choice. She'd throw herself in there if she had to! However, when she moved to do just that, she bounced off a muscular wall of green.
"All right that's enough! Save it till tomorrow, that's when the final competition begins." The green giant walked in the room, saving his student and his defenders. "Or do you want to stay here starting today?"
The scarlet haired boy clutched at his head, breathing raggedly as the sand retreated back into the gourd. She could hear his heavy footsteps as he came to the door. She scrambled away, backing up and leaning into the wall, as if trying to become a part of it.
He stopped, emitting one last threat to kill them all. Then, he walked out the door. Katy's breath caught in her throat. He went right past her like she was no different from a ghost. She breathed out a sigh of relief.
Everything he had said was whirling though her mind. She could have fainted.
A voice echoed in her mind. A child's voice, her Geliebt's voice.
Don't leave me alone...
If she hadn't left him alone, he wouldn't be like this. He begged her not to go. He begged her. She turned and left anyway. Now, something told her it was too late. Calypso was right. Hope was gone.
She bolted. She didn't want it to be true. She wouldn't let it be true. She ran as fast as she could, out of the hospital, out onto the streets, and she would not stop. She had to get away.
She just had to keep running.
+.+.+
The house was empty when she got there. She rushed up to her room, slamming the door and locking it tight. She tossed herself down on her bed and hid there until nightfall.
Everything he said kept replaying over and over in her head like a broken record. She didn't know which was worse: all the pain and devastation he'd suffered or all the desolation he was reaping on other people's lives as a result.
Loud rapping at her door startled her. "Katy, are you in there?" It was Anna.
"Y – yeah. What is it?"
"You're supposed to be at the hospital!"
"I know, I," stumbled her tongue, "It's fine now."
"Okay... Are you gonna come out or what? I'm making something to eat."
"Oh, I'm not hungry. Thank you."
"Hey!" The rubyhead pounded on the door. "I'm a really good cook and you know it!"
"Okay!" Kat sat up, glaring at the closed entrance. "I'm really tired, okay?"
"No... it's not okay. What's up? Can I come in?" asked the ruby haired girl, concerned for her friend. She began twisting the doorknob.
Throwing herself at the door to keep the girl from entering, Katy wailed, "No, please go away!" The brunette tried to keep herself together, but she cracked.
Hearing the pain in her friend's voice, Anna froze not knowing how to handle the situation. "Kat? Hey m – my cooking isn't that bad! Let me in –"
"Please, just go away. I'm tired and told you I'm not hungry." Fed up with her prying, Katy finally snapped, desperate to be alone.
Anna conceded and stomped off.
Katy slumped back into her comforter. She really did feel tired; her brain was in a haze. Her eyes drooped shut.
When she woke up, it was past midnight. Lethargically she pulled herself up and headed down the hall to the bathroom. The house was dark. Anna and Mae were already asleep, tucked away in their own rooms. Trying to be as quiet as possible, Kat brushed her teeth and washed her face. She'd have to wait until morning for a bath. The chocolate haired girl finished up and tiptoed back into her room, locking the door behind her.
She shivered, a gust of wind sweeping through the open window. She paused. She didn't remember opening that. Shrugging it aside, she crept to the bed and laid down. The fresh air would do her good, maybe clear her mind a little.
She gazed blankly up at the ceiling, thinking. Many nights she prayed with no proof that any one of them was heard. She prayed for a lot of things, for a lot of people. She prayed for peace, for safety for her friends and family, and gave thanks for the blessings she had.
She prayed for her precious friend most of all. But now, she wondered... was she ever getting through?
Can you hear me? Am I getting through tonight?
Hope was fading in the young girl. She didn't want to face the truth, if it was the truth, that her Geliebt was dead. She would fight it, she would hide from it, whatever it took. She had to keep believing there was a chance, or else she'd surely crumble. Though, to bring her friend back would require a miracle. If there was a way, she had to find it.
Even when hope was frail, it was hard to kill.
A sound yanked Katy from her reverie. Lifting her head, she scrutinized the dark room. Everything seemed to be in place. The organized chaos cluttering the dresser had not spilled over to the floor and her overflowing desk had not lost any of its papers. She sighed as she eased her head down on the pillow. Second-guessing herself, she glanced around the room again. Still nothing. Her childish imaginings must be at work. There was nothing out of the ordinary and there was no monster under the bed. Her ears were playing tricks on her. She squirmed in frustration. She just wanted to go back to sleep.
The hissing sound reached her ears before she had time to react.
When she snapped her eyes open, he was there, standing over her. The girl stiffened and froze, bewilderment and shock dominating her expression. Tendrils of sand slithered up her legs, her arms, and her torso. The grains creeping up her throat made her shiver. She continued to look at him wide-eyed and slack-jawed. What was he doing here – how did he find out where she was living? Did he follow her? But, at the hospital, he walked past her like she wasn't even there.
She snapped her jaw shut after failing to utter any words. Maybe she was just seeing things. No, she could hear his troubled breathing and even in the dark she saw the crazed sheen in his eyes.
His hand stretched out over her, slender fingers slowly curling. The sand around her was contracting. Alarm rocketed up her gut. Images of the crushed and scattered bodies of the Rain ninja in the forest flashed in her mind. So much blood...
Calypso! Where was the phantom? She couldn't feel its presence. Fear twisted her heart.
Her trembling form and confused, frightened gaze did nothing but urge him on.
Constricting, constricting, more and more!
What would her family think if she died like this? Her body would be crushed beyond recognition. Panic consumed her. The phantom was nowhere to be seen. It was just her, alone against the crimson haired shinobi.
In her petrified state, she was not aware that she began humming. When she did, she didn't know why. Perhaps it was a vain attempt to calm her nerves so she could think to escape.
Vaguely, she started realizing what song she was humming to, it was one she knew best and the first melody that came to her.
You are...my sunshine...my only sunshine...
The slithering, hissing sand stilled. He gaped down at her, paralyzed. The intensity of the stare was so overwhelming it nearly choked her. The panicked humming in her larynx grew quiet. Confusion pulsed with terror when the sand receded. His eyes never parted from her as he dropped the gourd by her nightstand and advanced closer. The mattress shifted with new weight. He carefully crawled onto the bed and Kat bit her lip to keep from crying out.
Sea-foam orbs clouded, he acted like he was in a trance. His face was void of any emotion, giving the brunette no clue to what he was thinking as he crawled on top of her, one leg in-between hers. His hands pressed into the bed on either side of her, effectively trapping her. His gaze drifted down from her wide eyes to her lips. Katy's breath hitched. He seemed to be studying her mouth. She pressed her lips together, and that's when she felt it. The blood, warm and wet, now messily smeared and coated her lips red. She had bitten down harder than she intended. A small, slow smile graced him, his stare intensifying.
It's not you he's smiling at. It's the blood.
Spellbound with shock, she could do nothing but gawk as he brought his fingers to the crimson fluid. The look he gave her when he licked the blood from his fingertips disturbed her greatly.
A wicked, almost gleeful grin spread across his face. Hungry intent flickered in his eyes. The girl was torn, what could she do? If she tried to run, he'd get her. If she cried out for help, she'd put Anna and Mae in danger. And she'd dare not push him away, that rejection would surely bring disaster.
Even in the night, his eyes gleamed like a predators, catching and reflecting the barest of light. Suddenly, thirstily, he leant down and leisurely dragged his tongue over her vermillion-wet lips. Horror impaled her chest and tears stung, spilling down her cheeks. Bloodlust was replaced with fascination at this. With a curious tilt of his head, he watched one tear descend. He considered it frivolously before leaning back down to taste it. Katy's breaths were coming out in short spurts, her chest heaving. He pulled away, catching her gaze.
A hollow, dead smile harmonized with his voice. "You taste... good."
She whimpered incoherently, trying to process thoughts into viable words. He's obsessed with blood, he'll want more. The girl was quaking now. He's going to rip you open and get it all out. He'll soak in it, he'll bathe in it, he loves it.
Every idea passing through her mind only made her panic worse. She was better off not thinking at all!
Born a monster...
That's what he said... But it wasn't true! She knew him back then! He was kind, he was sweet, and he was caring. He wasn't like this! She gasped, the glint of his teeth spooking her. His fingers went back to her lips and he traced her mouth before gradually tracing down her jaw line. And then, he traced down her jugular. Katherine stopped breathing.
This was it. He was going to kill her now. Her expression was a painful merge of emotions. She squeezed her lashes shut and grit her teeth, bracing for the worst. She waited, the feel of his cool fingers stroking her throat sending bitter shivers up and down her spine. His hand encircled her neck. Then...
"Why did you stop?"
His question baffled her. She peeked out from her eyelids before opening them fully. His manic grin was gone, substituted by an irate frown. He bit out the question again, agitatedly rubbing her throat with his thumb. What did she stop? She tried to ask, but her mouth felt like it was frozen shut. His thumb pressed harder into her windpipe. Then, she understood. Quietly, she began humming. Her voice was unsteady, nearly mute, but he heard it. A far-off look glazed his eyes and an empty smile slowly curved the harsh line of his mouth.
This doesn't make sense. What is it about my voice? It's not even a good voice! Is he going to kill me or what?
Maybe you should be glad you're not dead yet, stupid, her other side hissed. If you want to see your family again, you'll do what he says! Whatever keeps him calm!
She squeaked as he laid down the full weight of his body on her, sinking her further into the mattress. He rested his head above her collarbone, his ear against her pulse. He could feel her heartbeat through their clothes, hammering erratically against his steady one. Her trembling softened a little and her tone smoothed out some. He listened to the quiet tune, feeling himself being pulled into a relaxed daze. Absently, he licked his lips, savoring the salty sweet flavor of her blood and tears. He released a long, appeased sigh.
"Don't bleed for anyone except me," he murmured into her flesh.
She gasped out a sob, temporarily interrupting the melody. He was sick, she told herself. He needed help. Was there anyone strong enough to help? Fresh tears rained down her face; she was unable to give an answer. She would pretend, for now, that she was five years old and trying to lull him to sleep. It was the only way she could keep a grip on her sanity.
The girl's frail voice went on, and the boy drew closer, smiling, the taste of her blood lingering in his mouth.
+.+.+
A/N: I hope this didn't scare anyone away. I don't know why I like writing awkward and creepy scenes, I just do.
So what do you think? Reviews are greatly appreciated!
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Merry Christmas!
